The national reports have been drafted with the support of the corresponding national intellectual property offices. The purpose of the reports was to collect information about the national rules implementing the SPC Regulations, the national practices and procedures. Particular attention has...

This Study examines the functioning of the system of supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) established in the EU by Regulation 1768/92/EEC on SPCs for medicinal products (now: Reg. 469/2009/EC) and Regulation 1610/96/EC on SPCs for plant protection products (hereinafter: the Regulations)....

As a framework regulation for innovation markets, the patent system needs to be tailored to the innovation process, which it is supposed to serve, and to the competitive environment, within which it must operate. In order to ensure an efficient functionality of the patent system as an innovation...

The "International Instrument on Permitted Uses in Copyright Law" (the Instrument) is the result of a research project for a balanced reconciliation of interests in copyright law. The project was coordinated by the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition and resulted in a legal...

Traditionally, international agreements on IP rights are built on the concept of minimum protection which members must implement in their national laws. The concept implies that members are free to provide more extensive protection. However, that observation needs to be qualified in certain...