Patent law is applied in a variety of settings, including the Patent Office in determining an applicant's initial entitlement to a patent, the courts in enforcing patent rights, and the Patent Office in reconsidering previously issued patents. These settings differ significantly in their...

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...

On 4 December 2009, the European Council unanimously adopted conclusions on an enhanced patent system in Europe, which inter alia intends to establish a new EU patent as well as a new common patent judiciary – the European and European Union Patent Court (EEUPC). The EEUPC will constitute a...

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is technology that allows consumers to manufacture an endless variety of items in the comfort of their homes. Although innovators have recently used 3D printers to make remarkable creations like human tissue and functional guns, it is becoming ordinary for average...

Emerging in the nineteenth century, with a focus on classical engineering and chemistry, patent law has seen many technological changes and developments. A relatively new field of technology is associated with the term “nano”. In order to show its impact on patent law, nanotechnology has to...

Competition law and rules on compulsory licensing are considered as indispensable instruments to balance patent rights. In this article, we examine the room for using such balancing instruments in the context of the UPC. We analyse whether the balancing instruments will remain applicable to...

Simplicity and harmonization of international agreements under international trading system has become prevailing principle of international trading system. With the change of global economy with increasing innovation and invention of intellectual property rights as soft law has become one of...

Laws concerning intellectual property have been part and parcel of the international harmonization of commercial law for over a century. With the 1994 TRIPS Agreement, international standards for protecting intellectual property were firmly woven into the larger structure of global economic...

Personalized medicine defines an individualized healthcare system based on patients’ unique characteristics, such as genetic information. It aims to reduce the predictable risk of disease and improve response to treatment by applying a specific therapy. This particular field brings along the...