This book gathers and builds on research into distinct national and regional traditions in regulating innovation. It is an early attempt at a comprehensive legal history of the uneven trans-Atlantic harmonization of IP law. Authors explore harmonization as a legal mandate and a progressive ideal, and imagine areas in which coherent regulatory webs could build a more vibrant trans-Atlantic knowledge economy.

. . . very refreshing. . . a valuable contribution to the debate. European Intellectual Property Review The collection of articles makes a valuable contribution to current debates on these critically important issues by providing a range of views on the human rights implications of intellectual property law and policy. Madhu Sahni, Journal of Intellectual Property Rights Gathering together essays by leading commentators, Professor Willem Grosheide s timely book offers an excellent overview of the many significant questions of social and legal policy that emerge at interface between intellectual property and human rights. . . Providing a range of views on the human rights implications of intellectual property law and policy, this collection makes a valuable contribution to current debates on these critically important issues. Graeme Austin, University of Arizona, US In the modern era where the rise of the knowledge economy is accompanied, if not facilitated, by an ever-expanding use of intellectual property rights, this timely book provides a much needed explanation to the relationship between intellectual property law and human rights law. The contributors promote the view that this relationship should be central to the analysis of many of the profound problems that nation states and the international community encounter today, be they scientific, technological or cultural. The book is divided into sections covering the law and its trends, IP rights as human rights and human rights as restrictions to IP rights. This stimulating book will appeal to academics, postgraduate students, national and international public authorities and those involved with international organizations in the fields of intellectual property law and human rights law.

Professors Flanagan and Montagnani have assembled a volume of essays recognizing that in a global information age, intellectual property is not merely a business asset, but a social phenomenon. The contributors marry consideration of fairness with exploration of efficiency, examination of economics with analysis of equity, drawing upon expertise and examples from both European and American law. The resulting collection will be an invaluable resource on both sides of the Atlantic, and around the globe. Dan L. Burk, University of California, Irvine, School of Law, US Intellectual Property Law examines emerging intellectual property (IP) issues through the bifocal lens of both economic analysis and individual or social justice theories. This study considers restraints on IP rights both internal and external to IP law and explores rights disequilibria from the perspective of both the rationale of IP law and the interface with competition law. The expert contributors discuss the phenomenon in various contexts of patent, trade secret; and copyright, each a tool to incentivize the growth of knowledge beyond innovation and creativity. This timely book will strongly appeal to academics, scholars, and postgraduate and PhD students interested in where and how the balance to intellectual property law is, should or could be set. Policymakers will also find this insightful resource invaluable.

'This collection, edited by one of the leading scholars in the field, provides a broad-based introduction to the economic and legal issues raised by TRIPs and the accompanying globalization of intellectual property law. It ranges from accessible, policy-oriented essays to cutting edge technical papers. Scholars, students and policymakers with an interest in intellectual property issues should find the collection to be an invaluable reference.' - Alan Sykes, University of Chicago, US This comprehensive collection brings together major articles written by leading economists, political scientists and legal scholars to analyse the complexities of the modern global system of intellectual property rights (IPRs) and its relationship with the WTO.

Technological change has transformed the ways knowledge is developed and shared internationally. Accordingly, in the quarter-century since the WTO was established, and since its Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights came into force, both the knowledge dimension of trade and the functioning of the IP system have been radically transformed. The need to understand and respond to this change has placed knowledge at the centre of policy debates about economic and social development. Recognizing the need for modern analytical tools to support policymakers and analysts, this publication draws together contributions from a diverse range of scholars and analysts. Together, they offer a fresh understanding of what it means to trade in knowledge in today's technological and commercial environment. The publication offers insights into the prospects for knowledge-based development and ideas for updated systems of governance that promote the creation and sharing of the benefits of knowledge.