Intellectual Property law is a dynamic field; its ever-changing landscape challenges us to constantly revisit the existing laws and policies. Although ideological currents of a second-tier patent (STP) regime are sweeping through the South Asian region in recent years, the concept of utility model or petty patent remains a largely unexplored option in Sri Lanka and in other parts of the South A…
With the advent of a global community, which draws its sustenance from the unfettered communication of ideas and expression, it is worth reflecting on the role of copyright law and considering whether the existing legal frameworks of copyright in Europe have the capacity to meet the changing needs of a new generation who have given a whole new meaning to the term "creativity" and to that of "or…
With the interplay between competition law and IP rights becoming ever more intense in major economies a functioning framework is required to discourage monopolistic behaviour while stimulating innovation and consumer protection. In this dissertation the author studies issues at the nexus between China’s Anti-Monopoly Law (AML) and a fast-evolving IP regime.De jurethe two legal systems pur…
This publication discusses one of the most influential pieces of legislation relating to technology transfer in the United States: The Bayh-Dole Act. The publication discusses the history that led to the groundbreaking Act, characterizes strengths and weaknesses of the Act from an economic and a policy standpoint, and details the recent Supreme Court Stanford v. Roche case, which may carry impl…
Trademark rights play a significant role in the proper functioning of a common market of a given regional bloc. Experience teaches that, unless national trade mark regimes of individual countries cooperating in a given regional bloc such as the East African Community (EAC) are integrated into a common market, trademark proprietors may invoke their intellectual property rights to dissect the com…
The world increasingly faces the adverse impact of climate change. What role can intellectual property play to stimulate the necessary innovation and technology transfer? Providing an inventory of patent law, policy and information, including certain private initiatives, this thesis discusses issues at the crossroads of intellectual property and climate change, such as: compulsory licensing for…
Defining the true meaning of the acronym FRAND reminds of the parable of two political parties arguing before the elections: who is right and who is wrong, although they both know that there is no such thing as one truth and most utterly it depends on the individual perspective. Given the very substantial legal and business concerns involved within the telecommunication standardization environm…
For many Americans the term “patent” is linked to a sense of tradition and cultural icons such as Thomas Edison, inventor of the operational incandescent light bulb. The very image of the light bulb itself has become a symbol for invention or a good idea.¹ Another commonly held notion is that a patent guarantees an individual protection from having his or her idea stolen by unscrupulous co…
“Inventions, their exploitation, and the related prior art being inherently scientific and technical in nature, have a proclivity for recordation of information directed to their development, particulars of construction, modification, and application in documents.”¹ In fact, documents, tangible items and processes embody the most vital evidence available for proving patent validity and inf…
Intellectual Property rights are expanding and, thus, overlapping more than ever before. This poses challenges to a system devised as comprising a set of isolated compartments, each with its defined purpose.The diverging rules concerning ownership and entitlement can lead to different rights on the same object being owned by different persons. What happens then? This question is addressed under…