Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

Arthritic Flexibilities: Analysis Of Wto Action Regarding Paragraph 6 Of The Doha Declaration On The Trips Agreement And Public Health, Brook K. Baker

ExpressO

This paper explores the tortured history of developing countries’ pursuit of access to affordable generic medicines that they are unable to produce efficiently on their own. Having lost rights to treat medicines as essential commodities and as generalized exceptions to patent protections in the WTO TRIPS Agreement, developing countries and public health activists temporarily reasserted the primacy of health over profits in the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health in November of 2001. However, since most developing countries lack meaningful pharmaceutical capacity to manufacture medicines efficiently on their own, they needed flexibility to import medicines from countries …

Trademarks Under The North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) With References To The New Trademark Law Of Spain, Effective July 31, 2002, And The Current Mexican Law, Roberto Rosas

Faculty Articles

A trademark is any distinctive sign indicating that certain products or services have been manufactured or rendered by a specific person or company. This concept is currently recognized worldwide; however, the origin of trademarks dates back to antiquity when artisans placed their signatures or “marks” on their products containing an artistic or utilitarian element. Through time, these marks have evolved to such an extent that today, a reliable and efficient system for their registration and protection has been established. Besides protecting owners of trademarks, this system also helps consumers identify and purchase goods or services, which, because of the essence …

The Protection Of Folklore, Silke Von Lewinski

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The article examines the challenges of protecting folklore under existing intellectual property laws, highlighting the limitations of current legal frameworks and advocating for a new international system that balances the rights of indigenous communities with the demands of commercial exploitation. It emphasizes the need for a comprehensive approach that considers the cultural, financial, and integrity interests of indigenous peoples, while addressing the historical failures of international efforts to establish effective protection for folklore.

Trademark Distinctiveness In A Multilingual Context: Harmonization Of The Treatment Of Marks In The European Union And The United States, Eric E. Bowman

San Diego International Law Journal

This Comment will examine the similarities and differences between the trademark protection laws with regard to the multi-cultural nature of the consuming public of the European Union and that of the United States, and then will recommend ways in which the laws can be harmonized to promote the congruent development and expansion of economic activities globally. This harmonization is necessary in light of the interplay between these schemes for protection of marks and the protection provided under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks, and the Madrid Protocol. The …

Misreading A Canonical Work: An Analysis Of Mansfield's 1994 Study, Paul J. Heald

Scholarly Works

It would be hard to overestimate the influence of Edwin Mansfield's 1994 empirical study for the International Finance Corporation (an arm of the World Bank) of American business executives' attitudes toward low levels of intellectual property protection in developing nations. His paper is ubiquitously cited for the proposition that if developing countries raise their level of intellectual property protection (especially patents), they will attract foreign investment and technology transfer. In the spirit of the honoree of this symposium, I take a skeptical new look at a canonical work and conclude that the developing world should be very suspicious of the …

Le Droit Et Les Reseaux Internationaux D'Information, Joel R. Reidenberg

Faculty Scholarship

Travaux pour obtenir le grade de Docteur De L'Universite Paris I. Discipline: Droit. Sujet des publications: Le Droit Et Les Reseaux Internationaux D'Information

The Protection Of Test And Other Data Required By Article 39.3 Of The Trips Agreement, G. Lee Skillington, Eric M. Solovy

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the origins, purpose and scope of protection for test and other data required by TRIPS Article 39.3. Through this analysis, which looks to the ordinary meaning of the provision in proper context in the same manner as would a WTO dispute settlement panel or the WTO Appellate Body, we conclude that Article 39.3 provides protection against the unjust or unfair application or conversion of certain test and other data to make a profit or to obtain a benefit. Such protection must be provided long enough to allow the originator to at least recoup …

Past Cultural Achievement As A Future Technological Resource: Contradictions And Opportunities In The Intellectual Property Protection Of Chinese Medicine In China, 21 Ucla Pac. Basin L.J. 75 (2003), Benjamin Liu

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Should China Provide Intellectual Property Protection For Genetically Modified Animals?, Ke Geng

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The advent of recombinant genetic engineering techniques has revolutionized biotechnology. The biomedicine and biotechnology industries have extensively employed these techniques to improve the quality of agricultural crops and livestock and to create genetically modified organisms ("GMOs") in order to produce drugs. Since as much as twenty-five percent of the world's intellectual property-related trade involves biotechnology, many countries have realized the importance of providing intellectual property protection for biotechnological technologies, including GMOs. In the past decade, China's booming economy has helped make its biotechnological market the fastest growing market in the world. To stimulate innovation and attract private investment in its …

Legal Movements In Intellectual Property: Trips, Unilateral Action, Bilateral Agreements, And Hiv/Aids, Margo A. Bagley

Faculty Articles

This Article begins with an overview of the relationship between the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the "TRIPS Agreement") and the HIV/AIDS pandemic which created the need for the Doha Declaration. It then discusses two trade-related movements, unilateral action and TRIPS-plus bilateral agreements, that call into question the long-term effectiveness of the TRIPS Agreement process, generally, and the benefits of the Doha Declaration, in particular, in addressing multiple facets of the access to essential medicines problem. This Article concludes that a consideration of these issues should be included in the development of any further TRIPS-related solutions to …

Patently Unconstitutional: The Geographical Limitation On Prior Art In A Small World, Margo A. Bagley

Faculty Articles

Part I of this Article provides an overview of § 102 of the Patent Act, the role of prior art in the patentability analysis, and the origin of the limitation on relevant non-patent, nonpublished art to that existing "in this country." Part II then analyzes the constitutional deficiency of the limitation in light of the express and implied purposes of the Intellectual Property Clause as informed by judicial decisions, technological changes, global contraction, and expanded notions of inventive research sources. Policy concerns are the focus of Part III, which discusses how § 102's geographical limitation facilitates forms of "biopiracy," conflicts …

Still Patently Unconstitutional: A Reply To Professor Nard, Margo A. Bagley

Faculty Articles

In Defense of Geographic Disparity is Professor Craig Nard's response to my article Patently Unconstitutional: The Geographical Limitation on Prior Art in a Small World (Patently Unconstitutional). According to Professor Nard, my article advocates "the elimination of [the] geographic disparity" of 35 U.S.C § 102 in order to "protect developing nations and indigenous peoples from Western countries' patent law regimes." Professor Nard is correct in his assertion that I seek the elimination of the geographical disparity in U.S. patent law; however, he misses the mark as to my reasons. My opposition to the geographical limitation does not derive from …

The Structural Power Of Strong Pharmaceutical Patent Protection In U.S. Foreign Policy, James T. Gathii

Faculty Publications & Other Works

No abstract provided.

The Best Patent Practice Or Mere Compromise? A Review Of The Current Draft Of The Substantive Patent Law Treaty And A Proposal For A "First-To-Invent" Exception For Domestic Applicants, Toshiko Takenaka

Articles

Part I of this paper I review the past efforts of patent harmonization. In Part II, I review the current draft of the Substantive Patent Law Treaty (SPLT) and compare its major articles with Title 35 of the United States Code, the European Patent Convention (EPC), and Japanese Patent Law (JPL). In Part III, I analyze the changes expected by the integration of the SPLT into U.S. patent practice and examine if such changes would result in the best patent practice. I propose that the best practice takes into account underlying patent policies in such instances in which the changes …

Seeking A Balance: International Pharmaceutical Patent Protection, Public Health Crises, And The Emerging Threat Of Bio-Terrorism, Arnaldo Lacayo

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Harmony And Diversity In Global Patent Law, John F. Duffy

Faculty Publications

The second half of the twentieth century saw the rise of a broad movement to harmonize patent laws across nation-states. The most recent, and most significant, manifestation of this movement is the 1994 TRIPS Agreement, which requires signatory nations to adopt uniform rules on many major issues of patent law. The TRIPS Agreement has now been implemented by well over one hundred countries, including almost all major industrial nations, and it heralds a new level of international uniformity in patent law.

This Article, while acknowledging the value of some harmonization of national law , explores the possible costs of the …

Knowledge-Economy Ilites, The International Law Of Intellectual Property And Trade, And Economic Development, Michael P. Ryan

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The article challenges the simplistic view of the TRIPS Agreement as a tool solely for corporate power, emphasizing instead the agency and strategic choices of developing countries in shaping intellectual property (IP) policies to their economic benefit. It highlights the complexity of IP laws, including trademarks, patents, and copyrights, and their varying acceptance and impact in developing nations. The analysis underscores the importance of understanding sector-specific dynamics and the role of international organizations in promoting IP standards, ultimately advocating for a nuanced approach to IP policies that align with local development goals and global economic integration.

Treaty Law And Legal Transition Costs, Michael P. Van Alstine

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

How Far Have We Come, And Where Do We Go From Here: The Status Of Global Computer Software Protection Under The Trips Agreement, Aaron D. Charfoos

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The TRIPS agreement made significant advances over the pre-TRIPS international regime with respect to the protection of computer software. There are at least two significant advances. First, computer software protections have been embedded into the new dispute resolution procedures. Second, both object and source code are protected under the copyright sections of the Agreement. The dispute resolution procedures provide back-end protection (protection after offenses have occurred), while new copyright provisions provide affirmative front-end protection (protection deterring such offenses). However, the Agreement could have, and should have, gone farther to protect the software industry. By not formally deciding on the ability …

Knowledge, Legitimacy, Efficiency And The Institutionalization Of Dispute Settlement Procedures At The World Trade Organization And The World Intellectual Property Organization, Michael P. Ryan

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

International legal research regarding international economic dispute settlement tends to be a-theoretical. A theoretically-grounded analytic framework is employed in this article which draws from scholarship from political science, sociology, and economics regarding institutions and international governmental organizations. The knowledge-legitimacy-efficiency analytic framework is applied in this article to studies of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GA TT)/World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement in order to relate this relevant scholarship to the economic field under primary study, Internet domain names. GA TT/WTO knowledge regarding international trade law has thickened through multi-lateral trade negotiations and dispute settlement decisions. The WTO's legitimacy is …

Levi Strauss V. Tesco And E.U. Trademark Exhaustion: A Proposal For Change, Kimberly Reed

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

When the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") issued its final decision in the case of Levi Strauss & Co. v. Tesco Stores Ltd. in November 2001, affirming Levi Strauss' right to keep cut-price imported Levis out of the European Union ("E.U."), the general public was outraged at the perceived blow to consumer rights. The ECJ's decision to allow Levi Strauss to prohibit "gray market" imports of its jeans from the United States for resale in the United Kingdom at prices much cheaper than Levi Strauss' own U.K. prices was characterized as protecting "big business" at the expense of consumers. While …

“Democratizing” Globalization: Practicing The Policies Of Cultural Inclusion, 10 Cardozo J. Int'l & Comp. L. 217 (2002), Doris E. Long

UIC Law Open Access Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

"Unitorrial" Marks And The Global Economy, 1 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 191 (2002), Doris E. Long

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

The early decades of the 21st Century may well become known in the annals of intellectual property development as the period when “everything old is new again.” There is one ancient doctrine that has not yet enjoyed a similar renaissance, despite its clear application to today’s new, global, digital economy. It is the old (and currently discredited) view that trademarks and other commercial symbols are universal in nature. First given credence in early US cases regarding the importation of grey market, or parallel imports, the doctrine of universality was gradually replaced by a view of trademarks as creatures of nation …

Maneuvering Through The Landmines Of Multiterritorial Copyright Litigation: How To Avoid The Presumption Against Extraterritoriality When Attempting To Recover For The Foreign Exploriation Of U.S. Copyrighted Works, Nathan R. Wollman

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sovereign Domains: A Declaration Of Independence Of Cctlds From Foreign Control, Kim G. Von Arx, Gregory R. Hagan

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

In the year 2000, the Government Advisory Committee (“GAC”) of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”) passed a set of principles that essentially claimed national sovereignty over country code top-level domains (“ccTLD”s) such as .us, .ca, .uk and .au. Shortly thereafter, ICANN redelegated several ccTLDs in accordance with new GAC principles. Despite the outcry accompanying the passage of these principles and ICANN’s self-professed adherence thereto, the entire exercise could easily be criticized as merely symbolic because of the overriding power of ICANN in the operation of the Domain Name System (“DNS”). Indeed, Stuart Lynn, ICANN’s current president, …

Rights, Patents, Markets And The Global Aids Pandemic, James T. Gathii

Faculty Publications & Other Works

No abstract provided.

International Jurisdiction And Enforcement Of Judgments In The Era Of Global Networks: Irrelevance Of, Goals For, And Comments On The Current Proposals, Jonathan A. Franklin, Roberta J. Morris

Librarians' Articles

Last fall a Symposium at Chicago-Kent College of Law entitled "Constructing International Intellectual Property Law: The Role of National Courts," held on October 18-19, 2001, brought together scholars interested in a group of problems related to the relationship between harmonized rules of international civil procedure and diverse nationally-based rules of intellectual property. Subsequently, extensive discussions between the authors developed this Article into its present form.

Trade-Related Aspects Of Intellectual Property Rights And Biotechnology: European Aspects, John Linarelli

Scholarly Works

There does not seem to be a widely held view among WTO members of the proper role and scope of TRIPS. One of the main reasons why TRIPS is controversial is because it allocates rights in innovation, some would say beyond the bounds of what a trade agreement should seek to do. The lines of the debate are often conceptualized in terms of 'developing' versus 'developed' country differences. One of the major areas of disagreement is how TRIPS deals with rights in biotechnology. Some developing countries are relatively rich in biodiversity and traditional knowledge but poor in capital and scientific …

The Responsibility Of The Rulemaker: Comparative Approaches To Patent Administration Reform, John R. Thomas

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Patent administrators across the globe currently face the most challenging operating environment they have ever known. Soaring application rates, lean fiscal policies and an increasingly ambitious range of patentable subject matter are among the difficulties faced by the world's leading patent offices. These trends have resulted in persistent concerns over the quality of issued patents. Responding to recent writings questioning the value of maintaining high levels of patent quality, Professor Jay Thomas asserts both that patent quality matters, and that increasing the responsibilities of patent applicants provides a fair and efficient mechanism for improving patent office work product. This Article …

In Search Of A Balance Between Police Power And Privacy In The Cybercrime Treaty, D.C. Kennedy

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Imagine that you wake up one morning, turn on your computer, and open an e-mail message with a catchy phrase in the subject line. Immediately after opening the e-mail’s attachment, your personal computer is severely damaged. Obviously having a bad day, you head to your job as an attorney for a multinational corporation. By the time you arrive at work, there has been damage to company computers across the globe. The monetary costs of the damage, coupled with the downtime, are astronomical. The CEO of your company is furious. You hope to diffuse the situation by informing your boss that …