Intellectual Property Management by Innovative Firms

The aim of this chapter is to show that innovation can only produce value once it is legally protected. Indeed, the law is involved throughout the entire life cycle of innovation. Thus, legal protection helps to transform innovation into an intangible asset for the company (patent, trademark, designs and models, databases, etc.). The chapter presents the different legal choices that allow the firm to develop innovation internally or externally. The authors explain that the firm, as a taxpayer, must optimize its accounting and tax choices in relation to innovative activities. Moreover, legal management implies an optimization of the legal and tax structure of the corporate structure in the sense that it is important to choose the most suitable form for an innovative activity. They also show that protecting innovation helps to exploit it through several legal techniques of different natures, such as contractual assignment or concession tools (licenses) or other judicial tools. The legal management of innovation appears as one of the key factors for the success of the innovative firm.

Women Custodians of Tradition

Hidden in the obscure spirals of rural subconscious of Bihar are vast memories of history, culture, and tradition. These memories are invoked and brought forth by the subtle nuances of folklore, song, and painting by women. A sub-stratum of women memories of power and energy has existed since the ancient past where women were the repositories and sustainers of heritage. Madhubani painting can be said to be a creation of communal spiritual experience. It can be comprehended not just as an aesthetic wonder but also as a representation of collective mind, expressing millennia of traditional knowledge of the women artists and a form of transmitting a series of ancestral motifs. The uniqueness of this beautiful art form along with its specific geographical location has led to it being conferred its own geographical identification or GI tag by the government. The region has evoked the interest and appreciation of art connoisseurs, scholars, and tourists from all over the world, thus creating a niche for itself in the world of art.

Interface Between Right to Education and IPR

The chapter seeks to explore the extent to which copyright law impedes the fulfillment of the right to education and discuss the alternatives that seek to balance these conflicting rights. The chapter is divided into three parts: the first part of the chapter discusses the embodiment of the right to education in several national and international instruments, the extent of problem of the lack of access to educational materials due to copyright protection. The next part of the chapter discusses the flexibilities provided in international copyright law and efficacy of the same, primarily the doctrine of fair use. The last part of the chapter discusses alternatives to fair use and impact of these supplementary mechanisms.

Access to Medicines in the Light of Patent Law Regime in India

This chapter aims to trace the development of patent law regime in India and analyze its evolution in response to globally-influential intellectual property framework, such as TRIPS and pressure from the developed countries US and Europe to open up her markets to permit cash-rich pharmaceutical companies to sell their drugs and receive patent protection in India. An observation of the legislative actions and judicial responses reveal that both the parliament and the supreme echelons of the judiciary have been tediously careful in protecting the healthcare needs of the poor by promoting the generic drug industry through a guarded interpretation of Section 3(d) of Patents Act, 1970. The objective of the chapter is to critically analyze the legislative reforms and judicial interpretations of patent law in light of the socio-economic needs of the country.

Critical Evaluation of Laws on Traditional Knowledge

People at large do not have the capacity to transform their knowledge into formal specification and consequently into wealth. Some people who are hampered because of their poverty illiteracy, isolative habitat, lack of information and technological gadgets are unable to convert their knowledge into wealth. In this background, the chapter has critically evaluated traditional knowledge in the context of the challenges it faces. Further, it analyses the protection given to traditional knowledge under different laws and its international perspective. Moreover, efforts are taken at both the national and regional levels. Lastly, the chapter has come up with certain suggestions for its improvement and protection.

Biopiracy

Bio-piracy indicates unauthorized use of bio-resources of a country either by the individuals or institutions or companies of other countries. The countries with enormous bio-resources, like India, become the victims of biopiracy. The paper highlights different issues relating to biopiracy in the context of food security of India. It has been argued that the distress of farmers has increased a lot after the emergence of GM seeds. First of all, GM seeds raise the cost of cultivation by monopolizing the seed business in the hands of a few. Secondly, taking monopoly control over the market by the MNCs became easier because technology allowed them to develop seeds which can be used once-for-all. The farmers, therefore, have to give up their traditional practice of saving and sharing of seeds. The paper cites various instances of biopiracy in India and explains how biopiracy jeopardizes the food security and health security of the people in India. Events of piracy of plants with medicinal values and medicinal knowledge of traditional healers are also on increase at a rapid pace in India. This trend also poses challenges health security of India. More initiatives need to be taken at different levels including government and NGOs need to be taken in documenting codified and non-codified traditional knowledge (TK).

Challenges Related to Protection of Indigenous Resources Against Biopiracy

The protection of indigenous/aboriginal resources is one of the important aspects of biodiversity justice. Many international treaties and conventions legitimised natural rights and privileges of tribal societies and indigenous communities. But some interventionist practices like a conflict of interest in bioprospecting agreement and biopiracy have become major concerns for prospering third-world countries. Strategic application of prior-informed consent and benefit-sharing procedures will definitely meet socio-environmental sustainability in the country. The responsibility and liability of state biodiversity authority and local biodiversity committee at village level need to be fixed to maintain transparency and accountability. Conservation of ethnobiological resources is also important in the view of increasing patent infringement. That's why issues of patentability must include complete disclosure of specification claims even in the case foreign natural resources.

Traditional Knowledge and Arbitration Dispute Resolution

The unique requirements of the Indigenous people with respect to the intellectual property are very different. There are many conflicts regarding the questions of culturally appropriate usage, sharing of knowledge, and proper attribution. The process followed by courts may not resolve their issues. They have distinct social, cultural, and economic needs. The redressal system should be such that it helps to maintain and protect their position. ADR is one of the best to resolve their disputes as it offers a number of possibilities. The main methods of ADR are negotiation, mediation, and conciliation. WIPO plays a role in providing ADR arbitration rules in regards to the Indigenous people and local communities. The WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre was established in 1994 providing the resolution among the private parties regarding their international commercial disputes across borders. Through this chapter, questions such as the extent of ADR in resolving these issues and can this centre be considered as an appropriate forum for addressing the issues and settling them are presented.

Arbitration in Patent Disputes

The commercial disputes between business entities to boost international trade and technology will increasingly involve an aspect of patents. Among various modes of ADR, the arbitration is preferred more over litigation. Still, various arguments have been presented both in favor and against arbitration in patent disputes. Thus, this chapter deals with the scope of patent disputes that can be referred to arbitration, which needs to be analyzed and defined, keeping in mind the consequent advantages of arbitration in case of patent disputes over traditional litigation. Additionally, there are various procedural aspects related to arbitration that might be specifically relevant to an arbitration involving patents and may require special attention by parties involved in such arbitration have also been made subject and discussed in detail.

Traditional Knowledge and State Compliance

The chapter analyses Indigenous traditional knowledge and traditional ecologic knowledge in the context of international intellectual property instruments (IP). In so doing, the chapter studies the major international intellectual property law regimes such as the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and the Convention on Biological Diversity to prove that such instruments are ill suited to protect Indigenous peoples' knowledge and the biological resources in their custody. The New Zealand case Wai 262 shows in detail how international economic pressures often trump any aim to create national sui generis IP instruments to safeguard Indigenous knowledge.