This chapter traces the development of India's patent and copyright policy over the last sixty years. Shortly after independence, India replaced its British-era copyright and patent legislation with new laws which significantly whittled down the standards of IP protection. In the 1970s, India...

This paper presents a way to think about a legal solution to an intractable problem, reconciling a now worldwide patent rights regime with access to essential medicines. In doing so, it insists that the potentialities of the current TRIPS flexibilities be assessed realistically. The focus is on...

Building on developments at the national level, WIPO has played a key role in creating Geographical Indications (GIs) as a contemporary field of intellectual property (IP). Three main initiatives of WIPO have been influential in this regard. First, WIPO served as the forum for refining the GI...

The rise of digital technologies, their ability of creating infinite and identical clones as well as global communication networks allowing unlimited dissemination of digital content are providing new opportunities for access to information. Individuals are able to access, reproduce and...