Patents have long been regarded as the 'gold standard' of intellectual property protection. In 'Little patents and big secrets: managing intellectual property', Anton and Yao (2004) call this traditional view into question by finding that firms keep their most important innovations secret. This...

This think piece examines the issue of patents and innovation in the light of both the TRIPS Agreement and the available evidence. After reviewing the raison d'être of the TRIPS Agreement, it focuses on what can be done within the confines of the WTO to ensure that patent protection stimulates...

How to structure IP laws in order to maximize social welfare by striking the right balance between incentives to innovate and access to innovation is an empirical question. It is a challenging one to answer, both because innovation is difficult to value and changes in IP protection are rare. The...

The patent system has a 'one size' approach to duration of protection, in that all inventions are entitled to the same maximum period of grant: 20 years. This paper seeks to answer the question whether this 'one size' approach 'fits all' inventions. It does so by determining if the duration of...

Recent patent-related judicial developments and legislative proposals have implications for the business of technology commercialization. This paper summarizes the most significant of these developments and proposals, and highlights their potential implications for technology commercialization...

The Supreme Court's 2006 eBay ruling marked a turning point in injunctive relief policy. Unfortunately, there seems to be considerable confusion about the implications of the decision. Some authors, concerned over patent holdup and excessive royalty rates, interpret the eBay decision as giving a...

A common pattern for scientific research will involve experimentation with existing theories, products and processes with the aim of discovering something new. Some of the products and processes that researchers use or investigate may be patented, but the user may be ignorant of this fact. There...

Patent scope is probably one of the most debated issues in patent law generally and it has recently gained new contours thanks to the substantial scientific improvements in genetics and modern biology, which have resulted in the creation of what we now address as the biotech industry. Indeed,...

Universities are regarded as key institutions in the knowledge economy. Traditionally, the concept of scientific progress has been linked with an ideal of free and open dissemination of scientific information. At present, however, there is a growing strain to cash in the commercial potential...

This working paper provides a statistical analysis of 74 patent families which cover subject matter relevant to ten COVID-19 vaccines. These vaccines have accounted for 99% of the global COVID-19 vaccine production as of 31 December 2021, comprising over ten billion doses. Eight of them, namely...