Intellectual Property In The Global Trading System

After exploring multifaceted issues of IPR enforcement, this book argues that the problems with it are not an actual outcome of Confucian philosophy and "to steal a book" is not an "elegant offence." This book demonstrates that counterfeiting and piracy are inevitable consequences of inadequate economic development. It goes on to state that they are a by-product of a unique set of socioeconomic crises that have their origin in a dysfunctional institutional regime.

In light of current negotiations concerning NAFTA and GATT, the question of intellectual property and its impact on international trade has taken on renewed urgency. The recognition and enforcement of intellectual property rights in national jurisdictions can serve to encourage international trade and economic growth or can create barriers to free and open commercial exchange. In this timely volume, Canadian, American, and Mexican scholars examine these landmark agreements and reassess the effects of intellectual property rights on international trade. Focusing on trade and intellectual property policies and practices between and within North America and Europe, they address several key issues, including "gray marketing" in North American and European trading blocs, U.S. trade policy concerning enforcement of intellectual property rights, and dramatic changes in Mexican law regarding intellectual property. The volume is essential for scholars working in intellectual property rights, international trade, and the global economy. Policymakers and anyone wishing to stay current with world trade negotiations will also find this book useful.

Intellectual Property law (IP) - particularly in relation to international trade regimes - is increasingly finding itself challenged by rapid developments in the technological and global economic landscapes. In its attempt to maintain a responsive legislative system that is interacting successfully with global trade rules, IP is having to respond to an increasing number of actors on an international level. This book examines the problems associated with this undertaking as well as suggesting possible revisions to the TRIPS agreement that would make it more relevant to the environment in which today's IP mechanisms are operating. The overall aim is to find an adequate response to the 'IP balance dilemma'. The theme is pursued throughout various topics, including a look at what this means in relation to economy in a country like China, and also considering how IP is increasingly having to reconcile itself with human rights issues.

'This collection, edited by one of the leading scholars in the field, provides a broad-based introduction to the economic and legal issues raised by TRIPs and the accompanying globalization of intellectual property law. It ranges from accessible, policy-oriented essays to cutting edge technical papers. Scholars, students and policymakers with an interest in intellectual property issues should find the collection to be an invaluable reference.' - Alan Sykes, University of Chicago, US This comprehensive collection brings together major articles written by leading economists, political scientists and legal scholars to analyse the complexities of the modern global system of intellectual property rights (IPRs) and its relationship with the WTO.

The rising importance and continuous expansion of intellectual property protection quite naturally goes together with increasing concern about the legal and political foundations of such enhanced protection. Nowhere does the basic equation which underlies intellectual property, namely that the pursuit of short term private interest by the holders of such property will satisfy the public interest in the long term, become both more visible, but also questionable than at the crossroads between the grant and enforcement of exclusive rights with international trade. Catchphrases, such as patent protection and access to essential medicines, or access to genetic resources, benefit sharing and economic development, stand for fundamental tensions and conflicts between private property and the public interest. This book presents the contributions that have been made on these and related topics by a group of internationally renowned experts at a workshop held at the College of Europe, Bruges.

China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 was heralded as historic, and for good reason: the world's most populous nation was joining the rule-based system that has governed international commerce since World War II. But the full ramifications of that event are only now becoming apparent, as the Chinese economic juggernaut has evolved in unanticipated and profoundly troublesome ways. In this book, journalist Paul Blustein chronicles the contentious process resulting in China's WTO membership and the transformative changes that followed, both good and bad – for China, for its trading partners, and for the global trading system as a whole. The book recounts how China opened its markets and underwent far-reaching reforms that fuelled its economic takeoff, but then adopted policies – a cheap currency and heavy-handed state intervention – that unfairly disadvantaged foreign competitors and circumvented WTO rules. Events took a potentially catastrophic turn in 2018 with the eruption of a trade war between China and the United States, which has brought the trading system to a breaking point. Regardless of how the latest confrontation unfolds, the world will be grappling for decades with the challenges posed by China Inc.

This commentary covers the entire TRIPs agreement. It adopts a comparative perspective in highlighting related and similar provisions and developments in other international and regional instruments. It is designed to meet the needs both of the WTO and the intellectual property community.

Jagdish Bhagwati, one of the world's leading economists, offers a fascinating overview of the perils and promise facing the world trading system. That system is now being subjected to powerful centrifugal forces. Concerns with unfair trade are rampant, managed trade is increasingly popular, and regionalism is spreading. The United States, the traditional bulwark of multilateralism, has recently resorted to aggressive, unilateral tactics in trade policy. To a consideration of these developments, Bhagwati brings a unique blend of economic theory, historical scholarship, and familiarity with the institutions of world trade. Bhagwati refutes facile but fashionable criticisms of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Warning of the dangers of flouting the GATT's provisions, he shows that its underlying conception of trading by rules will be undermined if we extend accusations of "unfair trade" practices to areas as diverse as retail distribution systems, infrastructure spending, saving rates, and workers' rights. He challenges the economic and cultural stereotypes of Japan that fuel the sentiments supporting managed trade and aggressive unilateralism. In addition, he provides novel suggestions for rebuilding the GATT and with it the world trading system itself--suggestions that should prove useful at the Uruguay Round and beyond. Originally published in 1991. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.