Magister Legum - LLM / The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) ia a multilateral international treaty introduced by the World Trade Organization (WTO) that came into effect on 1 June 1995. At a basic level it attempted to establish minimum standards for the regulation of intellectual property rights within those countries that are members of the WTO and signatories to it. This thesis served a dual purpose. The first leg was to embark on an investigation into TRIPS, criticallt analyzing the provisions of the Agreement. The important aim here was to analyze and discover whether TRIPS is sensitive to weaker countries. The second leg was to probe within the the legislative framework of South Africa and determine whether South Africa as a "developing copuntry", has complied with the demands as expressed by TRIPS. This investigation was done with specific reference to South African patent law. / South Africa

The Agreement on Trade – Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights has almost universal application due to the large number of signatories from the World Trade Organization member states. 149 countries signed the TRIPS by 1994. Therefore, the TRIPS Agreement has also become a valuable tool for the protection of special intellectual property rights under the term geographical indications. GIs have current relevance in the world market to consumers who are healthy and quality conscious. The legal protection of GIs is due to their economic value to many countries where the producers are in rural areas. This is because most GIs are based on traditional methods of production which have earned goodwill. The TRIPS came in to prevent fee riding of such rights by producers who do not conform to the standards and rules of production. The TRIPS Agreement requires member states to harmonise their legal systems to provide legal means of protecting GIs to the standard stipulated therein. Malawi joined the WTO on 31 May 1995 which means that the obligation above mentioned is applicable from then on. Therefore, this study is an investigation of whether Malawi has complied with the obligations in article 1.1 of the TRIPS especially in so far as geographical indications rights are concerned. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

No abstract available / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Private Law / unrestricted

The role of intellectual property (IP) rights, such as patents, in innovation is the subject of an ongoing debate. Using a sudden shift in the patentability of genomic compounds, this dissertation contributes new evidence to this debate by shedding light on three different roles that patents can play in innovative processes. In three complementary essays, I examine the impact of patents on follow-on innovations, markets for technology, and scientific research. Compiling data on the population of patents on isolated genes, I show that their sudden invalidation has increased innovation in commercialized diagnostic tests, but decreased the cooperative agreements among the biopharmaceutical firms. I further show that these effects are heterogeneous across firms and markets. The results of my analyses, however, present no significant evidence of patents hindering the scientific progress. The findings of this study provide novel contribution to a vigorous academic debate on IP rights and inform policy by discussing the consequences of a recent high-profile ruling on the patent-eligibility of genomic compounds.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(経済学) / 甲第20875号 / 経博第570号 / 新制||経||284(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院経済学研究科経済学専攻 / (主査)教授 柴田 章久, 教授 矢野 誠, 准教授 遊喜 一洋 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Economics / Kyoto University / DGAM

Intellectual products, scientific knowledge, information, professional, scientific, spiritual and cultural potential of the society today are the driving force behind economic growth, determine the competitiveness of production. This sets a strengthening of the role of intellectual property. The crucial role of intellectual assets in the global economy growth determined the choice of innovative strategy by Ukraine in the 21 stcentury. The important part of that strategy is the development of the national legal framework that includes adoption of the national laws and accession to international agreements that become part of the national legislation. The solution of the problem of forming an effective system of protection of intellectual property is a prerequisite for building a strong background for an innovative model of Ukraine’s development, its modernization, and the raising of its competitiveness in a global social-economic system, and consequently - creating jobs in new industries that could shape a 21st century global economy - an economy based on knowledge. The following thesis is a qualitative study about intellectual property protection and intended for Ukrainian companies and for students as information paper because there is differences between the old system in former Soviet and the European/US systems that has to be understood and business in Ukraine as well as researchers/inventors has to adjust to this different situations in order for companies to exploit the full potential of their innovations, part of this is by IP protection.

This dissertation research aims to illuminate the interdependence of inimitability, competitive landscape, and the factors that bind them. Specifically, this study examines the antecedents and effectiveness of investments in inimitability within a historical context of innovation and competition in a mature sector, the global tire industry. The findings here contribute to our understanding of the complexity of inimitability that works for competitive advantage in light of the dynamics of competition in an industry as the adoption of innovation and intellectual property rights (IPR) protection continues to change. The contribution of this dissertation is two-fold. First, this dissertation highlights the dynamic nature of resource inimitability and protection. Although it is conventionally assumed that firms have strong incentives to protect valuable innovations with weak inimitability, this study shows that weak inimitability of a key resource does not necessarily trigger protection from imitation. Moreover, the link between resource inimitability and imitation protection is not static. When imitating a key resource would destroy the imitator’s other valuable resources, the key resource stays inimitable, and the owner firm of the resource does not engage in active protection. The findings of this study deepen our understanding of why firms choose not to invest in imitation protection and the timing when firms finally decide to deter imitation. This research aims to shift the resource-based view (RBV) toward a more dynamic and practical setting in which firms can delay their investment in inimitability and alter their protection strategy according to a newly emerged competitive landscape. Second, this dissertation reveals the strategic choice of emerging economy firms between innovation and imitation beyond global agreements of IPR protection. Formal IPRs under global agreements are a policy linchpin of the new global knowledge economy. However, while some emerging economy firms have successfully transitioned from imitation to innovation, others persist in imitation, sometimes resulting in IPR violations. To understand the divergent behaviors, this study follows design innovation in the global tire industry, uncovering patterns of IPR violations after the establishment of a global IPR protection standard. The findings show that the presence of “keystone organizations” in a national industry ecosystem matters because these organizations enforce innovation in the ecosystem. This study thus emphasizes the importance of linkages to keystone organizations as crucial elements supporting operations that comply with global IPR regulations. Policymakers are recommended to devise policy instruments to facilitate the growth of keystone organizations and their close alliances with embedded actors to build a critical mass of innovation capability and IP stocks. / Business Administration/Strategic Management

Yes / We investigate the relationship between intellectual property rights (IPR) and innovation, for a panel of 48 countries between 1998-2011. Prior empirical studies mainly focus on strength of patent regulations largely ignoring the enforcement of such laws in practice. We employ a new index that accounts for the enforcement related component of the patent system and the Ginarte and Park (1997) index of patent regulatory strength. We thus include two crucial elements of a national patent system, the de jure position relating to book law and IPR regulations, and the de facto position relating to IPR enforcement. We consider nonlinearities between IPR and innovation, and we find that both nonlinearities and the enforcement aspect are significant in explaining the relationship between innovation and IPR systems.

The goal of this diploma thesis is to introduce the intellectual property rights protection in the member states of the World Trade Organization and the main agreement that regulates this area, i.e. Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual property Rights. The only discussed topic in the current round of negotiations are geographical indications and the creation of multilateral system for notifying and registering geographical indications for wines and spirits. Moreover, the thesis deals with the work of the TRIPS Council and several disputes related to TRIPS fulfillment.

This thesis aims to examine the intellectual property regimes in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states and assess the relationships between legislation, enforcement mechanisms and sharia law. The GCC states, currently Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar, all have varied mechanisms in place for both the implementation and enforcement of intellectual property rights. The thesis pays close attention to the evolution of intellectual property laws and regulations in the GCC states with particular interest directed towards the development of national intellectual property laws within the GCC states from the 1970’s onwards1. Intellectual property protection in the GCC states is considered from two perspectives. The first perspective addresses the international demand for higher standards of intellectual property protection in the GCC states. The second perspective defines intellectual property within the laws of Islam and explores the relationship between Islam and intellectual property. The latter part analyses religious influence, societal and cultural norms, economic reality and the developmental stage of each GCC state. It is an important area of study as developing Muslim countries are struggling with meeting international standards and a successful integrated framework will impact not only on GCC states but other Islamic states and as a result could potentially lead to more informed negotiation in trade agreements with developed states. The research argues there are systematic flaws in the GCC states adopting intellectual property laws which are in essence a procrustean modification of foreign laws which have developed from colonial occupation or laws taken from donor countries. The GCC legal systems of the states have evolved utilising different sets of legal principles and therefore it could be argued the foreign laws that have been adopted are somewhat unsuitable for the GCC states. The research has focused on the implications of the national and international legislative regimes on the protection of intellectual property rights on the GCC states. Consideration is given to compliance, mainly how compliant the GCC is to its World Trade Organisation (WTO) membership and Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIP’s) Agreement and to what extent the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) influence the intellectual property protection regimes in the GCC. The research has examined the development of the GCC in three distinct stages; pre-TRIPS, TRIPS compliance stage and TRIPS plus. Furthermore, the thesis argues that the somewhat simplistic formula of the GCC states passing a large number of intellectual property laws to appease the EU and US does not have the significant economic impact on the GCC economy as the international agreements would suggest. Not all trade is intellectual property related and not all foreign direct investment is contingent upon intellectual property protection. However, as the GCC states are largely oil dependent, they do need to diversify their trade and as such an intellectual property protection model that accounts for international intellectual property law and the bespoke cultural and religious views amongst GCC citizens can produce tangible results for both the GCC and its trading partners. What sets the research apart from previous research is two-fold. Firstly, the research is qualitative and has scratched beneath the surface of intellectual property law in the GCC and examined in detail the Islamic law principles that have been used to justify sharia compliance, the western perspective on international intellectual property and the impact of multilateral trade agreements. Secondly, the analysis of Islamic finance and the application of successful sharia compliant models in Islamic finance to intellectual property is innovative as it acts as a springboard to creating a modified sharia compliant intellectual property protection model. Finally, the thesis will conclude by making a series of recommendations to develop an integrated approach to intellectual property rights which takes into account; the structure of the GCC states, international agreements and pressures, the international institutions, Islamic finance and both societal and religious views.