This paper argues that the consequences of the 'fragmentation' of the European patent system are more dramatic than the mere prohibitive costs of maintaining a patent in force in many jurisdictions. First, detailed analysis of judicial systems in several European countries and four case studies...

Post-grant validity challenges at patent offices rely on the private initiative of third parties to correct mistakes made by patent offices. We hypothesize that incentives to bring post-grant validity challenges are reduced when many firms benefit from revocation of a patent and when firms are...

André Sapir produced this short paper at the request of Commissioner Mandelson for the Expert Seminar on Trade Defence Instruments at the European Commission.

This paper has two main objectives. First, we aim to discuss current developments in the field of AD and document the AD practices in the world. Second, we aim to assess the implications of possible future enlargement of the EU to include Turkey on the AD practices of both. We show that there is...