Patent Law In Global Perspective

Patent Law in Global Perspective addresses critical and timely questions in patent law from a truly global perspective, with contributions from leading patent law scholars from various countries. Offering fresh insights and new approaches to evaluating key institutional, economic, doctrinal, and practical issues, these chapters reflect critical analyses and review developments in national patent laws, efforts to reform the global patent system, and reconfigure geopolitical interests. Professors Ruth L. Okediji and Margo A. Bagley bring together the first collection to explore patent law issues through the lens of economic development theory, international relations, theoretical foundations for the patent law system in the global context, and more. Topics include: the role of patent law in economic development; the efficacy of patent rights in facilitating innovation; patents and access to medicines; comparative patentability standards (including subject matter eligibility for biotechnology and software inventions); limitations and exceptions to patent scope and protection (including exhaustion, compulsory licensing, and research exceptions); patents on plants and other living organisms; and the impact of emerging economies on global patent system governance. The contributors provide a wealth of original insight and thought-provoking discussion that will be of great interest and benefit to scholars, policymakers, and practitioners alike. Review: Ruth Okediji and Margo Bagley have stitched together a vast tapestry into which all the strands of credible patent theory past and present have been skillfully woven. The resulting work has colour, depth, and reflects both those areas of consensus that have driven patent systems together and those dissonances which come so close to shaking them apart. Whatever your view of patents, this collection of essays will be sure to enhance it. --Jeremy Phillips, Professorial Fellow, Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute Though much of the recent literature on international patent law focuses on harmonization, there is considerable cross-national diversity in patent law and practice. Patent Law in Global Perspective is the best single source describing the reasons for this diversity, the tradeoffs countries face in designing patent law, and the implications of these choices. Fascinating and informative, it will be valuable not only for academics doing research on patents, but also to policymakers considering the wisdom of different policy approaches. --Bhaven N. Sampat, Associate Professor, Columbia University