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Using Patents To Protect Traditional Knowledge, Jay Erstling
Using Patents To Protect Traditional Knowledge, Jay Erstling
Faculty Scholarship
The role that intellectual property can play in the protection of traditional knowledge (TK) has been on the international agenda for more than ten years, with little to show for it. For example, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has provided a forum for international policy debate on the subject since 1998, and the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) has held meetings on draft provisions for the protection of TK against misappropriation and misuse since 2001. Similarly, since 1999 the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been examining the most effective means …
Death From The Public Domain?, Kevin Outterson
Death From The Public Domain?, Kevin Outterson
Faculty Scholarship
In his recent article in the Texas Law Review, Ben Roin advances the claim that pharmaceutical innovation and the public’s health are harmed by the doctrines of non-obviousness and novelty. He does not mince words, labeling the nonobvious requirement as “perversity” with a “pernicious” effect on drug development. In his view, these standards pose an insurmountable barrier for drug companies seeking to commercialize inventions already in the public domain. He claims that valuable, life-saving drug ideas languish in the public domain because the companies face high barriers to entry from the FDA, but potential free riders are encouraged through the …