The present report is based on an independent, policy-oriented investigation of the current European patent system. The central premise of the report is that the patent system has so far been a positive factor in promoting innovation and the diffusion of knowledge, and thus that the system is...

Patents are a key element of our knowledge based economy. They are meant to operate as an instrument for fostering innovation by generating incentives through the grant of temporary exclusive rights. The present paper starts by describing some major trends in patent law and practice and throws...

In the last decade patent law has been in turmoil and has been seriously criticized. At present, serious concerns are being raised with regard to human embryonic stem cells and oocytes. Are the arguments put forward against patents for human genes similar to the objections raised against patents...

The relationship between human rights and intellectual property (IP) rights has been under-theorized for a long period. IP rights have remained a “normative backwater” in the burgeoning post-World War II human rights movement. Only over the last decade, human rights discourse has gained...

The present paper examines the relationship between price differentiation and intellectual property rights (IPRs). We explore this relation from two opposing, yet complementary angles. First, we investigate whether IPRs form a barrier to differential pricing. Do pharmaceutical patents hinder the...

Framing the problem: The current patent landscape for human genomic science has refuelled the debate on human gene patents. Expressed in figurative language, concerns are raised that patent thickets and blocking patents will lead to a tragedy of the anti-commons, and that new genetic inventions...

Background of the Report: On April 24 2001 the European Commission appointed the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE). In his welcome message President Prodi requested the Group to give an Opinion on the ethical aspects of patents resulting from research into stem...

Recent years have seen a remarkable increase in patents in the field of information, communication and entertainment (ICE) technology and biotechnology. The growth of patents in those areas has triggered serious concern about access to ICE and genome related inventions, as the rise of patents...

The present paper explores the multi-layered relationship between plant patents, the right to food and competition law. The present contribution takes the view that the growing tendency to appropriate agricultural crops through intellectual property (IP) – thereby making a pivotal shift from...

In the delicate interaction between intellectual property and public interest, two antinomian questions come to the fore. The first question is to what extent patent law guarantees public interest, contributes to public interest or, on the contrary, limits public interest. The second question is...