Biomedical patents have been the subject of heated debate. Regulatory agencies such as the European Patent Office make small decisions with big implications, which escape scrutiny and revision, when they decide who has access to expensive diagnostic tests, whether human embryonic stem cells can be traded in markets, and under what circumstances human health is more important than animal welfare. Moreover, the administration of the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights by the World Trade Organization has raised considerable disquiet as it has arguably created grave health inequities. Those doubting the merits of the one size fits all approach ask whether priority should be given to serving the present needs of populations in dire need of medication or to promoting global innovation. The book looks in detail into the legal issues and ethical debates to ask the following three main questions: First, what are the ideas, goals, and broader ethical visions that underpin questions of governance and the legal reasoning employed by administrative agencies? Second, how can we democratize the decision making process of technocratic institutions such as the European Patent Office? Finally, how can we make the global intellectual property system more equitable? In answering these questions the book seeks to contribute to our understanding of the role and function of regulatory agencies in the regulation of the bioeconomy, explains the process of interpretation of legal norms, and proposes ways to rethink the reform of the patent system through the lens of legitimacy.

The Handbook constitutes a global resource for the fast growing interdisciplinary research and policy communities addressing the challenge of driving innovation towards socially desirable outcomes. This book brings together well-known authors from the US, Europe and Asia who develop conceptual and regional perspectives on responsible innovation as well as exploring the prospects for further implementation of responsible innovation in emerging technological practices ranging from agriculture and medicine, to nanotechnology and robotics. The emphasis is on the socio-economic and normative dimensions of innovation including issues of social risk and sustainability.

Are assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) such as in vitro fertilization a medical issue or a matter of public policy, subject to restrictions? In Delivering Policy, Francesca Scala employs the concept of boundary work to explain the prolonged debates that ensued when the Canadian government appointed a royal commission in 1989 to draw up a blueprint for legislative action. From the birth of the first “test tube baby” in 1978 to the Assisted Human Reproduction Act of 2004, Scala reveals how policy makers, civil society actors, and members of the medical-scientific community attempted to define assisted reproductive technologies from within the realms of science or politics. They challenged, defended, or blurred the boundaries or divisions between the two fields of knowledge to secure their position as the authoritative voice on the issue. Delivering Policy delineates in vivid detail the people, institutions, and processes that influenced ARTs policy in Canada. This compelling account contributes to our understanding of the interaction between science and politics, the exercise of social control over science and technology, and the politics of expertise in policy making.

This volume provides the most comprehensive contemporary academic writing on Ukrainian competition and intellectual property law in English. Especially over the last few years, these areas have been in considerable flux, a main driver being the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement. The chapters cover a broad range of different topics and share a forward-looking perspective. They also outline the basic background that is necessary to understand the context of the issue discussed, especially with regards to the legal system of Ukraine. The publication is the result of a two-year project, and it is addressed to a wide range of international scholars, practitioners, and policy makers. It aims to make the state-of-the-art in Ukrainian legal scholarship visible and accessible to the international research community and to stimulate global debates in academia and politics. Therefore, it may be of interest and use to anyone who is interested in competition and intellectual property law, and/or in Ukraine.

A unique collection of legal, religious, ethical, and political perspectives on debates surrounding biotechnology patents or 'patents on life'.

The untold story of how America once created the most successful economy the world has ever seen—and how we can do it again. The American economy glitters on the outside, but the reality is quite different. Job opportunities and economic growth are increasingly concentrated in a few crowded coastal enclaves. Corporations and investors are disproportionately developing technologies that benefit the wealthiest Americans in the most prosperous areas -- and destroying middle class jobs elsewhere. To turn this tide, we must look to a brilliant and all-but-forgotten American success story and embark on a plan that will create the industries of the future -- and the jobs that go with them. Beginning in 1940, massive public investment generated breakthroughs in science and technology that first helped win WWII and then created the most successful economy the world has ever seen. Private enterprise then built on these breakthroughs to create new industries -- such as radar, jet engines, digital computers, mobile telecommunications, life-saving medicines, and the internet-- that became the catalyst for broader economic growth that generated millions of good jobs. We lifted almost all boats, not just the yachts. Jonathan Gruber and Simon Johnson tell the story of this first American growth engine and provide the blueprint for a second. It's a visionary, pragmatic, sure-to-be controversial plan that will lead to job growth and a new American economy in places now left behind.