The graduation thesis surveys present treatment of intellectual property rights and their protection in WTO. The thesis briefly characterizes WTO and describes the development of protection of intellectual property before the TRIPS agreement was concluded. Furthermore, the thesis focuses on the TRIPS agreement in detail because it is the most important instrument of protection of intellectual property rights at present. The thesis critically evaluates the regulation of particular legal institutes in TRIPS agreement and describes disputes of WTO member states in the relevant field. At the end of the thesis there is an outline of means for execution of the rights, present problems in the particular field and possible future development of the regulation.

This thesis examines the impact upon EPO interpretation of European plant patent law of the case Carlsberg and Heineken pertaining to the granting of patents for beer grain enzyme mutations. This analysis will look at current interpretation of the patentability of plant products dependant on the classification of their production process, as well as the extent of the scope of protection granted to these plant patents. This area of law pertains to the exemption of plants from patentability within the European Patent Convention and the Biotech Directive 98/44/EC, with reference to the interpretation of this legal basis within EPO case law. Within this the definition of an ‘essentially biological process’ and the subsequent patentability of the products of these processes is crucial to evaluating why the Carlsberg and Heineken patents were granted and where there remain unanswered questions after this case as to EPO interpretation of European plant patent legislation.   From this basis, it shall be shown that the beer cases of Carlsberg and Heineken mark a turning point in the interpretation of the plant patentability exception and the scope of protection granted to these patents. Changes to legislative interpretation, the industry and economy of beer production, agriculture and the morality of food patents shall all be addressed with regard to the impact of the Carlsberg and Heineken patent decision.

Thesis advisor: James Anderson / National policy regarding parallel importation determines whether prices for a good protected by intellectual property rights are set in a segmented national market or in a larger international market. The innovative pharmaceutical industry has a cost structure which depends on patents and other intellectual property rights in order to recover the large sunk costs of research and development; parallel imports affect the ability of pharmaceutical firms to recover those costs. After discussing the international political context of parallel importation policy, international price differences, which create and are in turn affected by the possibility of parallel importation, are examined. Prices of name-brand pharmaceutical products are found to vary from the ideal of proportionality with income for several reasons, among them income inequality within a country. Applying simple theoretical assumptions about how prices are affected by the possibility of parallel importation, conditions are described under which allowing parallel importation can bring about price moderation. In other instances, parallel importation can have harmful external effects without bringing any benefit. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2003. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

This thesis examines the intersection between authors' moral rights and conflict-of-laws. The research question has been triggered by two important, interlinked factors. The first is that the currently applicable choice-of-law rules to moral rights are the same as those applicable to copyright. The second concerns the fact that moral rights are different from copyright - both in their nature and in the interest they aim to protect. Since these two factors coincide, it is questionable whether it ought to be the case that moral rights are subjected to the same choice-of-law rules as are applicable to copyright. The thesis therefore aims to discover whether the currently applicable choice-oflaw rules available in the context of moral rights are suitable for achieving the goals and objectives of conflict-of-laws. In the course of this thesis, I evaluate the potential validity of detaching moral rights from copyright in conflict-oflaws and instead attaching it to the characterization model of general personality rights. The research question is mainly addressed from the perspective of Rome I and Rome II Regulations. However, as there is no EU harmonization concerning general personality rights in conflict-of-laws, the examination will be directed towards France and England as examples of civil and common law traditions. Moreover, reference will also be made to CLIP and ALI principles by reason of comparison.

After briefly examining the history of trade marks and establishing the theoretical framework of trade mark functions, an analysis from the perspective of semiotics is conducted, viewing the trade mark as a sign. This analysis serves as a tool for the suggestions and conclusions drawn in relation to the role of trade mark law today. The issues of trade mark registration, use and protection are examined, as main facets of the trade mark functions. An analysis of the legal provisions, legal doctrine and case law on trade mark registration and use in Greece, before and after the entry into force of the First Council Directive on the Harmonisation of trade mark laws in Europe 89/104/EEC is undertaken, so as to denote the effect of the European harmonisation on these issues. The Court of Justice case law is examined, in juxtaposition to the Greek case law on the respective implementing provisions. The similarities and differences are noted and analysed. Throughout, examples from a common law jurisdiction, namely the UK, are taken into account. The issues of risk of confusion and dilution are analytically examined at a national (Greek) and European level. In comparison to the Court of Justice jurisprudence, the national legal framework and case law of Greece on these issues is analysed. Examples from other European jurisdictions are taken into account. The theory of dilution in the context of the European trade mark framework is further analysed against developments in the USA. The controversial doctrine of trade mark dilution, introduced by Fr. I. Schechter, is of primary interest in the course of the thesis and suggestions are made for a new perspective of the theory. The controversial doctrine of Schechter is seen, in view of the above, under a new light.

Geographers have investigated agri-foods, commodity chains, 'alternative' food networks, 'local' production, and multicultural cuisine. However, the relationship between food, place, boundaries, environmental determinism, and authenticity remains under-researched. This thesis seeks to redress this deficiency with a detailed study of the construction of the Protected Food Names (PFN) scheme in the UK. PFNs are a type of Intellectual Property (IP) and form the European component of the international Geographical Indications (GI) system. These place-based foods and drinks originate from defined and bounded areas and are produced in supposedly traditional ways. Their manufacturers consider them unreplicable outside the protected zone. This qualitative investigation of three PFNs – Melton Mowbray Pork Pies, Stilton Cheese, and Grimsby Traditional Smoked Fish – critiques the ways in which ideas of place, boundaries, and authenticity are invoked by producers. The thesis interrogates how manufacturers understand place and its boundedness, employ supposedly 'objective' historical evidence, and apply the ambiguous notion of authenticity to stabilise and sustain local practices. The study also examines the strategies deployed to generate consumer interest in an era where uniqueness is an important marker of value. This work thus introduces a different conceptual angle to accounts of the PFN structure which primarily privilege legal or economistic assessments. It aims instead to deconstruct the geographical concepts on which the PFN edifice is based. The ultimate aim is to draw attention to the vagaries inherent in the increasingly hegemonic GI model. This research connects with geographical debates about the construction of place and boundaries, the social production of authenticity, the role of selective historical 'facts' in the development of narratives about place, and the 'selling' of location and its products. It therefore provides a lens through which the foundations and everyday operation of the GI system can be profitably analysed.

Thailand’s plant protection regime presents a unique sui generis plant protection system, which is used as a model by several developing nations. The current Thai Plant Variety Protection (PVP) law has attracted some criticism, and whether or not farmers and breeders actually benefit from the system is in doubt. The questions this situation raises are: has Thailand adopted clear, coherent, and workable rules for plant variety protection in response to the needs of the nation? Is the introduction of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in agriculture via a PVP regime a desirable and contributory factor to the development of Thailand? More precisely, how might such an IPR regime be made compatible with Thailand’s development needs, bearing in mind the obligations the country has accepted through its membership of the WTO and adherence to the TRIPS Agreement? This thesis attempts to address these questions. By highlighting the salient features of the Thai plant protection regime, this thesis addresses the major concerns of the rights of farmers, local communities, and plant breeders. It is suggested that the protection of plant varieties is vital to Thailand, considering the fact that agriculture represents a fundamental economic activity and the livelihood of a large section of the total population; therefore, introducing IPRs in agriculture via the PVP regime is critical to the development of agriculture in Thailand. Thus, a new developmental approach to the IP protection of plant varieties is desirable to ensure the unique needs of the nation the validity of national legislation, and the long-term promotion of agricultural development and sustainability in Thailand. Thailand can provide a more coherent framework for plant variety protection by carefully calibrating the PVP provisions and establishing a coherent set of rules in the form of a new legislative framework. It is concluded that a number of possible elements are available from a variety of instruments that exist in international law, notably the TRIPS Agreement, the UPOV Convention, the CBD, and the ITPGRFA. Lastly, the proposed regulatory reforms suggest that Thailand’s PVP provisions should be amended in three major areas, including (1) provisions for the rights of farmers and local societies, (2) legal protection for plant breeders’ rights, and (3) institutional apparatus governing plant protection issues in Thailand.

The work presented here is part of a wider research programme oriented around three specific questions. First, how do individual agents appropriate returns from innovation and how is this affected by the availability (or not) of intellectual property rights such as copyrights and patents? Second, how does this translate into the aggregate production of knowledge, once one takes account of the interaction between producers and the cumulative nature of the process of knowledge production? Finally, How can we incorporate this into an estimate of the welfare trade-off inherent in intellectual property rights (the basic prerequisite for formulating rational IP policy)? The dissertation contains theoretical work on each of these questions together with a brief introductory preamble and a review of the existing literature on the economics of knowledge.

The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) administered by the World Trade Organization affects a wide range of domestic public policies and industry practices in biotechnology. With the advent of global patent protection for biotechnology, Brazil faces a significant dilemma. It is necessary for Brazil to comply with international intellectual property (IP) standards while simultaneous protecting its local industry and stimulating local innovation. To this end, this thesis investigates whether or not the current IP rights-dependent business models prevailing within Western industry deprive scientists, especially in the developing world, of equitable access to biotechnology techniques, and hinders their participation in research and development by restricting access to research techniques. Drawing on the case study of Brazil, the thesis identifies key issues relevant to biotechnology, IP rights and Open Scientific Innovation (OSI) as an approach to the management of IPRs. Based on an understanding of the international and Brazilian post-TRIPS scenario, the thesis specifically addresses one central question: Is OSI feasible and desirable in the Brazilian context? It is intended that the research findings contribute significantly to the body of knowledge in relation to innovation policies. Overall, it is hoped that the findings of this thesis will promote innovation in the Brazilian biotechnology sector.

This research project consists of a critical analysis of the role of intellectual property amongst other factors in the successful commercial development at the Cavendish Laboratory of optoelectronic light emitting diode display devices based on novel organic semiconductor materials. It begins by giving the background to the quantum mechanical properties upon which the technology is based, followed by a discussion of the path of innovation, describing the interaction between the different socioeconomic factors that influence this path. It then draws an analogy with the development of an analogous technology - inorganic semiconductors - to signpost the factors that may affect the developmental history of the technology. This is followed by an analysis of a chronology derived initially from patents downloaded from the World Patents Database of the European Patent Office to showcase the technology's development steps, and to study the patenting strategy of Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) - the company that was set up to commercialise the novel technology - through a patent trends analysis. From that, the major socioeconomic factors critical to the technology's development are analysed, followed by a test and extension of an existing Black Box mathematical model for studying the dynamics of innovation that is based on the interaction of those factors. Finally, through a patent citation analysis, CDT's commercial strategy for the technology is shown as being based on its patents portfolio to build an extensive licensing programme that pooled major academic, industry and commercial partners for the furtherance of the technology. This later evolved into a new ecosystem for the innovation, of which CDT occupied a central and indispensable position.