Ours is an era when human genes can be copied and patented. From genetically modified foods to digital piracy, the concept of intellectual property (IP) and the laws upholding it play a foundational role in our society, but its political and ideological dimensions have rarely been understood outside of specialist circles. This collection cuts through the legal jargon that so often surrounds IP, to provide both a comprehensive history and analysis that explores the corporate interests that shape its conception and the movements that are developing alternatives. As the nature of industry changes, we might ask: what are the wider implications of the concept of IP, be it for agribusiness and pharmaceutical companies or the film and music industries? Has IP law has been used to safeguard and assert the ownership of ideas and creativity, or is it an essential foundation of our culture? Today, with mounting challenges from the growth of free software and open source movements, this collection provides an accessible and alternative guide to IP, exploring its significance within the wider struggle between capital and the commons.

"The relevance of intellectual property (IP) law has increased dramatically over the last several years. Globalization, digitization, and the rise of post-industrial information-based industries have all contributed to a new prominence of IP law as one of the most important factors in driving innovation and economic development. At the same time, the significant expansion of IP rules has impacted many areas of public policy such as public health, the environment, biodiversity, agriculture, information, in an unprecedented manner. The growing importance of IP law has led to an exponential growth of academic research in this area. This Book offers a comprehensive overview of the methods and approaches that can be used to address and develop scholarly research questions related to IP law. In particular, this Book aims to provide a useful resource that can be used by IP scholars who are interested in expanding their expertise in a specific research method or seek to acquire an understanding of alternative lenses that could be applied to their research. Even though this Book does not claim to include all existing research methodologies, it represents one of the largest and most diverse compilations, which has been carried out to date. In addition, the authors of this Book comprise an equally diverse group of scholars from different jurisdictions, backgrounds, and legal traditions. This diversity, both regarding the topics and the authors, is a fundamental feature of the Book, which seeks to assist IP scholars worldwide in their research journeys." --

Examining the harmonisation of Intellectual Property policy, law and administration in Africa, this book evaluates the effectiveness of efforts to establish continental Intellectual Property institutions and frameworks. It also considers sub-regional initiatives led by the regional economic communities and the regional Intellectual Property organisations, focusing on relevant protocols and agreements that address Intellectual Property as well as the implementing institutions. The book assesses the progress of such initiatives with particular reference to the current socio-economic status of African states. It argues that that harmonisation initiatives need to be crafted in a way that is supportive of the developmental goals of African states and advocates for due consideration of individual states’ unique conditions and aspirations. This book will be of great relevance to scholars and policy makers with an interest in Intellectual Property law and its harmonisation in Africa.

Piracy and Intellectual Property in Latin America is the first sustained effort to present an alternative framework for understanding piracy and contemporary challenges to global discourses on intellectual property (IP) in the Americas. While piracy might just look like theft and derivative reproduction from the perspective of many right-holders, the contributors to this volume go beyond this economic-driven logic and show how practices of copying are in fact practices of reinvention that reflect the rich social networks and forms of creativity, authorship, commerce, and consumption that characterize informal economies. From a perspective informed by contemporary scenarios in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Guatemala, and the United States, they engage in a discussion of alternatives that—predicated on the importance of protecting culture—allow for other ways of conceiving prosperity at local, national, regional, and global levels. Examples discussed include video games, clothing, trinkets, music, film, TV, and books. Designed to help understand the broader implications of IP and piracy for the field of Latin American studies, this book will be a major contribution to Global South studies, as well as to the growing bibliography on globalization, informal markets, and piracy.

Complex geopolitical debate surrounds the role of intellectual property (IP) in advancing and achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Summarising and advancing this discourse, this prescient Companion is a thorough examination of how IP law interacts, influences and impacts each of the seventeen SDGs.

"TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 799: Management Guide to Intellectual Property for State Departments of Transportation documents guidance on how agencies can manage the copyrights, patents, and other intellectual property that may be used or produced as a byproduct of the agency's usual business activities." -- Publisher's description.

This book explores the intellectual property dynamics in the "Global Knowledge Economy" focusing on digitization and information revolution phenomenon and the concept of a post-industrial society in order to articulate an agenda for global governance of intellectual property law in the twenty-first century.

A timely examination of fundamental issues in intellectual property (IP) law, with international perspectives looking across regimes, jurisdictions, disciplines and professions.

Invaluable book for anyone seeking to use intellectual property strategically and put intellectual property to work. When effectively and ethically managed, intellectual property can accelerate the development of lifesaving, poverty-alleviating innovations and provide access to them.