Planet earth is host to a dazzling variety of living organisms. This diversity of life, or – biodiversity, is vital to the survival and prosperity of humanity, supplying such vital amenities as food, clothing, shelter, natural biochemicals useful in medicine, industry, and agriculture, and...

Since 2010 approximately 40 developing countries and transitional economies imposed interest rate caps. This article analyses the impact of these interest rate caps on microfinance institutions. Introducing the taxonomy of soft, mezzo and hard interest rate caps we take a stance against hard...

Currently trademark bullying has become a serious concern for many small businesses that feel as though powerful corporations are abusing aggressive trademark enforcement and litigation techniques to crush genuine competition. No doubt these concerns merit the serious consideration of all...

On May 14, 2018, the United States Supreme Court struck down the federal prohibition on sports gambling. The sweeping opinion, authored by Justice Alito, ended more than a quarter-century old policy that kept states from offering sports gambling and therefore, sports betting was confined almost...

This is the introduction to a book that explains and interprets important international agreements, beginning with the landmark Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS), but also including more recent free trade agreements and the pending Anti-Counterfeiting Trade...

Section I of this article includes a brief explanation of the WIPO treaty process. Section II gives an overview of how a patent system would function with the proposed changes. A chart, keyed to the draft treaty articles, is included to show the functional role of each provision. While this...

It is hoped that this rather comprehensive review, of patent law harmonization treaty work in process, will help organizations and individuals evaluate the current situation and prepare recommendations for their representatives, governmental and nongovernmental, who will participate in the final...

An “invention,” as used in the United States patent laws, refers to anything made by man that employs or harnesses a law of nature or a naturally occurring substance for human benefit. A watermill, for instance, harnesses the power of gravity to run machinery. But legal methods, such as tax...

Across the globe, renewable energy policy is changing. The change is coming so quickly that it appears the world is now on the cusp of a new future. The renewable energy policy of the past is on its way out; a new and different policy is taking its place. That new policy has different end goals,...

The Chinese version of this paper can be found at "http://ssrn.com/abstract=2008149" http://ssrn.com/abstract=2008149.As could be expected, the global financial crisis is on everybody's mind and causing a lot of worries. The current crisis has reached the consumers globally and intensified...