This book examines the impact and shortcomings of the TRIPS Agreement, which was signed in Marrakesh on 15 April 1994. Over the last 20 years, the framework conditions have changed fundamentally. New technologies have emerged, markets have expanded beyond national borders, some developing states have become global players, the terms of international competition have changed, and the intellectual property system faces increasing friction with public policies. The contributions to this book inquire into whether the TRIPS Agreement should still be seen only as part of an international trade regulation, or whether it needs to be understood - or even reconceptualized - as a framework regulation for the international protection of intellectual property. The purpose, therefore, is not to define the terms of an outright revision of the TRIPS Agreement but rather to discuss the framework conditions for an interpretative evolution that could make the Agreement better suited to the expectations and needs of today's global economy.

This book is highly topical. The shift from the multilateral WTO negotiations to bilateral and regional Free Trade Agreements has been going on for some time, but it is bound to accelerate after the WTO Doha round of negotiations is now widely regarded as a failure. However, there is a particular regional angle to this topic as well. After concluding that further progress in the Doha round was unlikely, Pacific Rim nations recently have progressed with the negotiations of a greatly expanded Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement that includes industrialised economies and developed countries such as the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, recently emerged economies such as Singapore, but also several developing countries in Asia and Latin America such as Malaysia and Vietnam. US and EU led efforts to conclude FTAs with Asia-Pacific nations are also bound to accelerate again, after a temporary slowdown in the negotiations following the change of government in the United States and the expiry of the US President s fast-track negotiation authority. The book will provide an assessment of these dynamics in the world s fastest growing region. It will look at the IP chapters from a legal perspective, but also put the developments into a socio-economic and political context. Many agreements in fact are concluded because of this context rather than for purely economic reasons or to achieve progress in fields like IP law. The structure of the book follows an outline that groups countries into interest alliances according to their respective IP priorities. This ranges from the driving forces of the EU, US and Japan, via Asia-Pacific resource-rich but IP poor economies such as Australia and New Zealand, recently emerged economies with strong IP systems such as Singapore and Korea to leading developing countries such as China and India and second tier industrializing economies such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Under the auspices of the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law (now the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition). And Institutum Iurisprudentiae, Academia Sinica, a group of twenty scholars from around the world gathered to study the experiences made with regards to compulsory licensing. The results are demonstrated in this book. Different articles analyze how the international conventions on intellectual property may be interpreted and explore the related doctrinal groundwork surrounding compulsory patent licensing and beyond. It is shown how the compulsory licensing regime could be transformed into a truly workable mechanism facilitating the speedy use and dissemination of innovation and other subject matters of protection.

This book evaluates existing and explores new mechanisms for the adequate payment of copyright owners for the use of their works. The underlying assumption is that adequate rewards to creators and subsequent right holders will continue to be a goal of copyright law (particularly to incentivize further creation and investment). In the search for viable methods it first focuses on the reduction of transaction costs and the role of new technologies. It also discusses the further development and broader application of new mechanisms that might be necessary to enhance the adequacy and efficiency of payment systems, since the more onerous payment systems are, the more irrelevant copyright risks become due to lack of acceptance, and the less likely both are to fulfill their functions.

This book is a very useful reference guide on how de jure and de facto standards are being developed and how these standards compete against each other. The book also looks at how FRAND commitments are being determined across countries, how these disputes have played out, especially in Asia, and how they can be better dealt with in future globally. The book gives a broad overview of the business model of dominant SEP patentees and analyzes some standards for FRAND licensing of SEPs which are converging in major Asian jurisdictions. It highlights the need for ex ante regulation in the FRAND licensing of SEPs and suggests how we can reconcile conflicts which may arise from different legal standards. This book provides detailed and comprehensive analysis of recent SEP cases with an emphasis on Asia and will interest anyone who wishes to have more insight into the legal, policy, industrial and economic implications of such issues.

Im Zuge der Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise wird verstarkt diskutiert, welcher Mechanismen es bedarf, um die Interessen "aller "Marktteilnehmer im Wirtschaftsleben zu wahren. Grosse Bedeutung gewonnen hat dabei der Aspekt der " business ethics ." So richten immer mehr Unternehmen sog. Compliance-Abteilungen ein, die die Einhaltung von unternehmensinternen Grundsatzen wie namentlich die der " Corporate Social Responsibility "(CSR) zur Aufgabe haben. Kaum untersucht ist bislang jedoch die "rechtliche Verbindlichkeit "solcher CSR-Standards, obgleich sie zunehmend von Unternehmen auf ihrer Website verkundet oder auf anderem Wege zu Public Relations- und Marketingzwecken bis hin zur Werbung eingesetzt werden.

Sind CRS damit nur wohlklingende Absichtserklarungen, oder handelt es sich um rechtlich verbindliche Standards und wenn ja, unter welchen Voraussetzungen entsteht ein Rechtsanspruch gegen Unternehmungen, wenn diese die sich selbst gegebenen Standards nicht einhalten? Anders gefragt: Gibt es ein corporate right to lie, oder setzt das (deutsche, europaische, internationale) Recht Grenzen? Im Fokus steht hierbei das "Recht zur ""Bekampfung unlauteren Wettbewerbs," im deutschen Sprachgebrauch kurz auch Lauterkeitsrecht genannt, das in allen entwickelten Wirtschaftsnationen wenn auch mit unterschiedlichem Ansatz Markthandlungen unter dem Gesichtspunkt der Fairness uberpruft.

Die Autoren der Beitrage dieses Buches sind ausgewiesene Fachleute des Europa-, Wirtschafts- und Wettbewerbsrechts. Sie diskutieren auf der Grundlage rechtstatsachlicher Erkenntnisse alle mit der wettbewerbsrechtlichen Beurteilung von CSR zusammenhangenden Fragen, insbesondere unter Berucksichtigung der Rolle, die CSR fur Unternehmen, Abnehmer und die Gesamtwirtschaft spielt.

Auch die Vorstellungen anderer Rechtsordnungen und Kulturkreise sind einbezogen. Gefragt wird letztlich, ob es ein U"nternehmerleitbild "gibt, das die Beachtung ethischer Standards einschliesst und das uber das Lauterkeitsrecht auch rechtliche Verbindlichkeit erlangt.

Mit Keynote von "Gesine Schwan."

"

This book is highly topical. The shift from the multilateral WTO negotiations to bilateral and regional Free Trade Agreements has been going on for some time, but it is bound to accelerate after the WTO Doha round of negotiations is now widely regarded as a failure. However, there is a particular regional angle to this topic as well. After concluding that further progress in the Doha round was unlikely, Pacific Rim nations recently have progressed with the negotiations of a greatly expanded Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement that includes industrialised economies and developed countries such as the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, recently emerged economies such as Singapore, but also several developing countries in Asia and Latin America such as Malaysia and Vietnam. US and EU led efforts to conclude FTAs with Asia-Pacific nations are also bound to accelerate again, after a temporary slowdown in the negotiations following the change of government in the United States and the expiry of the US President's fast-track negotiation authority. The book will provide an assessment of these dynamics in the world's fastest growing region. It will look at the IP chapters from a legal perspective, but also put the developments into a socio-economic and political context. Many agreements in fact are concluded because of this context rather than for purely economic reasons or to achieve progress in fields like IP law. The structure of the book follows an outline that groups countries into interest alliances according to their respective IP priorities. This ranges from the driving forces of the EU, US and Japan, via Asia-Pacific resource-rich but IP poor economies such as Australia and New Zealand, recently emerged economies with strong IP systems such as Singapore and Korea to leading developing countries such as China and India and 'second tier industrializing economies' such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Under the auspices of the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law (now the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition). And Institutum Iurisprudentiae, Academia Sinica, a group of twenty scholars from around the world gathered to study the experiences made with regards to compulsory licensing. The results are demonstrated in this book. Different articles analyze how the international conventions on intellectual property may be interpreted and explore the related doctrinal groundwork surrounding compulsory patent licensing and beyond. It is shown how the compulsory licensing regime could be transformed into a truly workable mechanism facilitating the speedy use and dissemination of innovation and other subject matters of protection.

This book evaluates existing and explores new mechanisms for the adequate payment of copyright owners for the use of their works. The underlying assumption is that adequate rewards to creators and subsequent right holders will continue to be a goal of copyright law (particularly to incentivize further creation and investment). In the search for viable methods it first focuses on the reduction of transaction costs and the role of new technologies. It also discusses the further development and broader application of new mechanisms that might be necessary to enhance the adequacy and efficiency of payment systems, since the more onerous payment systems are, the more irrelevant copyright risks become due to lack of acceptance, and the less likely both are to fulfill their functions.

Das Recht zur Bekampfung unlauteren Wettbewerbs stellt in Landern wie Deutschland, OEsterreich, Schweden und Belgien ein wichtiges eigenes Rechtsgebiet dar. Aus dem genuin nationalen Recht ist jedoch im Laufe der Zeit zunehmend europaisches Recht geworden. Andererseits ist es auf Gemeinschaftsebene bisher nicht gelungen, ein einheitliches europaisches Lauterkeitsrecht zu schaffen. Die europaischen Vorgaben erschoepfen sich vielmehr in einer Vielzahl von Richtlinien und Verordnungen zu jeweils einzelnen Problemkreisen. Da sich diese Regelungswerke zunehmend uberlappen und unterschiedlichen Zielsetzungen folgen, droht eine empfindliche Stoerung der nationalen Lauterkeitsrechte. Die Autoren dieses Buches, ausgewiesene Fachleute des Europa-, Wirtschafts- und IP-Rechts, zeigen die Grunde fur die bisherige Entwicklung auf und beleuchten spezielle Fragen in rechtlicher und wirtschaftlicher Hinsicht. Eine systematische und koharente Ausrichtung des europaischen Lauterkeitsrechts fur die Zukunft ist das Ziel der Diskussion.

This book examines the impact and shortcomings of the TRIPS Agreement, which was signed in Marrakesh on 15 April 1994. Over the last 20 years, the framework conditions have changed fundamentally. New technologies have emerged, markets have expanded beyond national borders, some developing states have become global players, the terms of international competition have changed, and the intellectual property system faces increasing friction with public policies. The contributions to this book inquire into whether the TRIPS Agreement should still be seen only as part of an international trade regulation, or whether it needs to be understood - or even reconceptualized - as a framework regulation for the international protection of intellectual property. The purpose, therefore, is not to define the terms of an outright revision of the TRIPS Agreement but rather to discuss the framework conditions for an interpretative evolution that could make the Agreement better suited to the expectations and needs of today's global economy.