Global trade and investment have become increasingly liberalized in recent decades. This liberalization has lately been accompanied by substantive new requirements for strong minimum standards of intellectual property (IP) protection, which moves the world economy toward harmonized private rights in knowledge goods. While this trend may have beneficial impacts in terms of innovation and technology diffusion, such impacts would not be evenly distributed across countries. Deep questions also arise about whether such globalization of rights to information will raise roadblocks to the national and international provision of such public goods as environmental protection, public health, education, and scientific advance. This article argues that the globalized IP regime will strongly affect prospects for technology transfer and competition in developing countries. In turn, these nations must determine how to implement such standards in a pro-competitive manner and to foster innovation and competition in their own markets. Developing countries may need to take the lead in policy experimentation and IP innovation in order to offset overly protectionist tendencies in the rich countries and to maintain the supply of global public goods in an emerging system of transnational innovation.

Global trade and investment have become increasingly liberalized in recent decades. This liberalization has lately been accompanied by substantive new requirements for strong minimum standards of intellectual property (IP) protection, which moves the world economy toward harmonized private rights in knowledge goods. While this trend may have beneficial impacts in terms of innovation and technology diffusion, such impacts would not be evenly distributed across countries. Deep questions also arise about whether such globalization of rights to information will raise roadblocks to the national and international provision of such public goods as environmental protection, public health, education, and scientific advance. This article argues that the globalized IP regime will strongly affect prospects for technology transfer and competition in developing countries. In turn, these nations must determine how to implement such standards in a pro-competitive manner and foster innovation and competition in their own markets. Developing countries may need to take the lead in policy experimentation and IP innovation in order to offset overly protectionist tendencies in the rich countries and to maintain the supply of global public goods in an emerging transnational system of innovation.

Distinguished economists, political scientists, and legal experts discuss the implications of the increasingly globalized protection of intellectual property rights for the ability of countries to provide their citizens with such important public goods as basic research, education, public health, and environmental protection. Such items increasingly depend on the exercise of private rights over technical inputs and information goods, which could usher in a brave new world of accelerating technological innovation. However, higher and more harmonized levels of international intellectual property rights could also throw up high roadblocks in the path of follow-on innovation, competition and the attainment of social objectives. It is at best unclear who represents the public interest in negotiating forums dominated by powerful knowledge cartels. This is the first book to assess the public processes and inputs that an emerging transnational system of innovation will need to promote technical progress, economic growth and welfare for all participants.

This publication addresses factors that promote or inhibit successful provision of the four key international public goods: financial stability, international trade regime, international diffusion of technological knowledge and global environment. Without these goods, developing countries are unable to compete, prosper or attract capital from abroad. The need for public goods provision is also recognized by the Millennium Development Goals, internationally agreed goals and targets for knowledge, health, governance and environmental public goods. The Report addresses the nature of required policies and institutions using the modern principles of collective action.

This volume examines in an innovative and applied perspective the interdependence between the role of international organizations, the existence of global public goods and the need of sustainable development. Moreover, it is set within the context of current challenges in today’s world of dramatic transition and clearly responds to the need for filling the existing research gap in this area. It also demonstrates excellent knowledge of primary resources and a very good mastery of the various concepts and policy issues. Moreover, it offers an important added value to the theory, research and recent publications of the concerned broad study field. Contributors are: Aleksandra Borowicz, Leiza Brumat, Diego Caballero Vélez, Giuseppe T. Cirella, Rasa Daugėlienė, Agnieszka Domańska, Małgorzata Dziembała, Lenka Fojtíková, Katja Zajc Kejžar, Agnieszka Kłos, Ewa Kosycarz, Anatoliy Kruglashov, Andrzej Latoszek, Ewa Latoszek, Mirella Mărcuț, Willem Molle, Ewa Osuch-Rak, Marta Pachocka, Nina Ponikvar, Magdalena Proczek, Angela Maria Romito, Piotr Stolarczyk, Aleksandra Szczerba, and Anna Wójtowicz

Rafael Leal-Arcas expertly examines the interface of climate change mitigation and international trade law with a view to addressing the question: How can we make best use of the international trading system experience to aim at a global climate change agreement? The insightful book contributes to developing the architecture for a post- 2012 global climate agreement and, in doing so, seeks and proposes new approaches to climate change mitigation by linking it to the international trade system. The author suggests the adoption of a bottom-up approach to climate change negotiations by using the evolution of multilateral trade agreements as a model for reaching a global climate treaty. He discusses the innovative approach of inserting climate goals within regional trade agreements, given their proliferation – especially bilateral – in the international trading system. He explains the trade implications of climate change mitigation policies by analyzing a couple of areas where the international regimes for trade and climate change mitigation may potentially clash. Climate Change and International Trade will strongly appeal to undergraduate and graduate students of international and European trade law, international and European environmental law as well as social science academics. NGOs, think tanks, practitioners, researchers, and international organizations will also find plenty of valuable information in this timely resource.

Intellectual property laws have become intricately entwined with discussions about globalization. This volume deals with the politics, economics and effects of global intellectual propertization. It provides essays covering key issues including the international relations of global intellectual propertization, the TRIPS Agreement and the tying of intellectual property issues to international trade negotiations, contentions that global intellectual propertization is a form of post-colonial neo-imperialism, globalization's effects on intellectual property law's classic doctrines and rationales and the cultural effects of global intellectual propertization.

"Brazil is one of the world's most productive crucibles for new ideas and practices in innovation and collaboration. This meticulously researched book provides a sweeping tour of the issues arising form that leadership." Jonathan Zittrain - Professor, Harvard Law School "As policy makers around the world grapple with how to configure their intellectual property policies to promote innovation and economic growth, as well as public access to the fruits of intellectual labour, they would do themselves a huge favour by reading Lea Shaver's excellent book." Pam Samuelson, Professor Univeristy of California, Berkeley "This is essential reading for anyone who cares about one of the most important human rights issues of the century: access to knowledge." Madhavi Sunder, Professor of Law, University of California Davis This volume features four chapters addressing the current issues facing intellectual property, innovation and development policy in Brazil. Each chapter is authored by legal scholars affiliated to the Fundação Getulio Vargas law schools in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Each chapter examines a policy area that significantly impacts access to knowledge in Brazil. These include: exceptions and limitations to copyright, free software and open business models, patent reform and access to medicines, and open innovation in the biotechnology sector.

International rules on trade in services and intellectual property arenew additions to the multilateral trading system, but both have played an important role in the system since their entry. Accompanied by a detailed introduction, this volume contains essays which cover not only the law and jurisprudence of these topics but also the underlying economics and politics behind their incorporation into the multilateral system and continued prominence. The volume provides readers with a comprehensive overview of the development of these controversial and increasingly important areas of international trade law.