In their animated book 'The Patent Crisis and How the Courts can Solve It', Dan Burk and Mark Lemley give an account of their quest into the judicial treatment of patents in different industry sectors. They present an in-depth commentary on industry specific differences in the patent system from...

The exchange of patented inventions and related know-how often takes place through bilateral or cross licenses. Our previous research examined the role of collaborative licensing models in streamlining access and use of patents, specifically in the field in genetics. The present essay examines...

The present paper examines the last, quintessential steps in the parcours towards the final implementation of the EU Biotechnnology Directive in Belgian patent law. Whereas the first bill was hotly debated in parliament [see G. Van Overwalle, ‘Of Green Mice with Red Ears’,...

The present paper explores the multi-layered relationship between plant patents, the right to food and competition law. The present contribution takes the view that the growing tendency to appropriate agricultural crops through intellectual property (IP) – thereby making a pivotal shift from...

Intellectual property rights have, from their inception, been shaped by international treaties. National legislators have had to look at the international scene to gain some insight into the prevailing intellectual property standards. This trend was less prominent in the field of patent law and...

Various remedies have been suggested to deal with potential hindering effects of patents in the area of plant and human biotechnology – two areas which show remarkable linkages and share similar problems. What many of these suggestions have in common, is their call for a more responsible...