Charles Lawson - Böcker

Debates about Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) have moved on in recent years. An initial focus on the legal obligations established by international agreements like the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the form of obligations for collecting physical biological materials have now moved to a far more complex series of disputes and challenges about the ways ABS should be implemented and enforced: repatriation of resources, technology transfer, traditional knowledge and cultural expressions; open access to information and knowledge, naming conventions, farmers’ rights, new schemes for accessing pandemic viruses and sharing DNA sequences, and so on. Unfortunately, most of this debate is now crystallised into apparently intractable discussions such as implementing the certificates of origin, recognising traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expression as a form of intellectual property, and sovereignty for Indigenous peoples. Not everything in this new marketplace of ABS has been created de novo. Like most new entrants, ABS has disrupted existing legal and governance arrangements. This collection of chapters examines what is new, what has been changed, and what might be changed in response to the growing acceptance and prevalence of ABS of genetic resources. Biodiversity, Genetic Resources and Intellectual Property: Developments in Access and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources addresses current issues arising from recent developments in the enduring and topical debates about managing genetic resources through the ABS regime. The book explores key historical, doctrinal, and theoretical issues in the field, at the same time developing new ideas and perspectives around ABS. It shows the latest state of knowledge and will be of interest to researchers, academics, policymakers, and students in the fields of intellectual property, governance, biodiversity and conservation, sustainable development, and agriculture.

Addressing the management of genetic resources, this book offers a new assessment of the contemporary Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) regime. Debates about ABS have moved on. The initial focus on the legal obligations established by international agreements like the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the form of obligations for collecting physical biological materials have now shifted into a far more complex series of disputes and challenges about the ways ABS should be implemented and enforced. These now cover a wide range of issues, including: digital sequence information, the repatriation of resources, technology transfer, traditional knowledge and cultural expressions, open access to information and knowledge, naming conventions, farmers’ rights, new schemes for accessing pandemic viruses sharing DNA sequences, and so on. Drawing together perspectives from an interdisciplinary range of leading and emerging international scholars, this book offers a new approach to the ABS landscape; as it breaks from the standard regulatory analyses in order to explore alternative solutions to the intractable issues for the Access and Benefit Sharing of genetic resources. Addressing these modern legal debates from a perspective that will appeal to both ABS scholars and those with broader legal concerns in the areas of intellectual property, food, governance, Indigenous issues, and so on, this book will be a useful resource for scholars and students as well as those in government and in international institutions working in relevant areas.

Addressing the management of genetic resources, this book offers a new assessment of the contemporary Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) regime. Debates about ABS have moved on. The initial focus on the legal obligations established by international agreements like the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the form of obligations for collecting physical biological materials have now shifted into a far more complex series of disputes and challenges about the ways ABS should be implemented and enforced. These now cover a wide range of issues, including: digital sequence information, the repatriation of resources, technology transfer, traditional knowledge and cultural expressions, open access to information and knowledge, naming conventions, farmers’ rights, new schemes for accessing pandemic viruses sharing DNA sequences, and so on. Drawing together perspectives from an interdisciplinary range of leading and emerging international scholars, this book offers a new approach to the ABS landscape; as it breaks from the standard regulatory analyses in order to explore alternative solutions to the intractable issues for the Access and Benefit Sharing of genetic resources. Addressing these modern legal debates from a perspective that will appeal to both ABS scholars and those with broader legal concerns in the areas of intellectual property, food, governance, Indigenous issues, and so on, this book will be a useful resource for scholars and students as well as those in government and in international institutions working in relevant areas.

Taking a global viewpoint, this volume addresses issues arising from recent developments in the enduring and topical debates over Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and their relationship to Intellectual Property (IP). The work examines changing responses to the growing acceptance and prevalence of GMOs. Drawing together perspectives from several of the leading international scholars in this area, the contributions seek to break away from analysis of safety and regulation and examine the diversity of ways the law and GMOs have become entangled. This collection presents the start of a much broader engagement with GMOs and law. As GMO technology becomes increasingly more complex and embedded in our lives, this volume will be a useful resource in leading further discussion and debate about GMOs in academia, in government and among those working on future policy.

Debates about Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) have moved on in recent years. An initial focus on the legal obligations established by international agreements like the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the form of obligations for collecting physical biological materials have now moved to a far more complex series of disputes and challenges about the ways ABS should be implemented and enforced: repatriation of resources, technology transfer, traditional knowledge and cultural expressions; open access to information and knowledge, naming conventions, farmers’ rights, new schemes for accessing pandemic viruses and sharing DNA sequences, and so on. Unfortunately, most of this debate is now crystallised into apparently intractable discussions such as implementing the certificates of origin, recognising traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expression as a form of intellectual property, and sovereignty for Indigenous peoples. Not everything in this new marketplace of ABS has been created de novo. Like most new entrants, ABS has disrupted existing legal and governance arrangements. This collection of chapters examines what is new, what has been changed, and what might be changed in response to the growing acceptance and prevalence of ABS of genetic resources. Biodiversity, Genetic Resources and Intellectual Property: Developments in Access and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources addresses current issues arising from recent developments in the enduring and topical debates about managing genetic resources through the ABS regime. The book explores key historical, doctrinal, and theoretical issues in the field, at the same time developing new ideas and perspectives around ABS. It shows the latest state of knowledge and will be of interest to researchers, academics, policymakers, and students in the fields of intellectual property, governance, biodiversity and conservation, sustainable development, and agriculture.

The relationship between intellectual property and food affects the production and availability of food by regulating dealings in products, processes, innovations, information and data. With increasingly intricate relations between international and domestic law, as well as practices and conventions, intellectual property and food interact in many different ways. This volume is a timely consideration and assessment of some of the more contentious and complex issues found in this relationship, such as genetic technology, public research and food security, socio-economic factors and the root cause of poverty and patent-busting. The contributions are from leading scholars in this emerging field and each chapter foregrounds some of the key developments in the area, exploring historical, doctrinal and theoretical issues in the field while at the same time developing new ideas and perspectives around intellectual property and food. The collection will be a useful resource in leading further discussion and debate about intellectual property law and food.

Taking a global viewpoint, this volume addresses issues arising from recent developments in the enduring and topical debates over Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and their relationship to Intellectual Property (IP). The work examines changing responses to the growing acceptance and prevalence of GMOs. Drawing together perspectives from several of the leading international scholars in this area, the contributions seek to break away from analysis of safety and regulation and examine the diversity of ways the law and GMOs have become entangled. This collection presents the start of a much broader engagement with GMOs and law. As GMO technology becomes increasingly more complex and embedded in our lives, this volume will be a useful resource in leading further discussion and debate about GMOs in academia, in government and among those working on future policy.

This detailed and concise book surveys the international genetic resources laws applying in Antarctica, space, the oceans and seas, the lands, and the airspaces above land and water. The well-structured analysis traces the evolution of these various schemes and their contributions to the comprehensive arrangements under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the World Health Organization's PIP Framework. The book details the different avenues and concluded positions, documenting a laboratory of legal approaches and possibilities. Regulating Genetic Resources will be a valuable addition to academics, governments, NGOs and students in environmental and intellectual property law.

This illuminating book incisively surveys the complex legal regime of access and benefit-sharing in key aquaculture countries. With an international focus spanning countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and South America, the authors explore the application of international legal standards and how these translate into domestic measures.Presenting key critical perspectives, the book examines the ways in which access and benefit-sharing laws facilitate access to aquaculture resources and how they could, in return, deliver a fair and equitable share of the benefits, promoting conservation and longer term food security. The authors’ in-depth analysis of various case studies reveals that these legal standards rarely accommodate the distinctive features of aquatic genetic resources, digital sequence information and traditional knowledge. They argue that the access and benefit-sharing concept is not fit for purpose and suggest how the concept could be re-imagined to achieve more efficient outcomes for conservation, sustainability, fairness and equity.Access and Benefit-sharing in Global Aquaculture is a fundamental resource for academics, researchers and students of environmental law and governance, environmental politics and policy, management, and regulation. Policymakers working with the aquaculture industry will similarly benefit from the authors’ practical recommendations.

This Commentary on the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) provides a detailed textual analysis of TRIPS - a pivotal international agreement on intellectual property rights.TRIPS sets minimum standards for national laws on copyright, patents, trademarks and other forms of intellectual property rights. TRIPS profoundly impacts upon the regulation of access to medicines, compulsory licensing of copyright material, geographical indicators and other significant IP-related matters.This reference book is a major authoritative work that is clearly organised and presented, allowing users to navigate quickly to commentary on any element of TRIPS. The book begins with a context-setting section, providing guidance on interpreting TRIPS. It considers the salient elements of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the WTO Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, and the preamble to the Agreement Establishing the WTO. The book then follows the seven part structure of TRIPS, and provides an article-by-article analysis of each of its 73 provisions and specifically addresses the interpretation of key phrases in each article.An essential resource for practitioners and scholars, this detailed and exhaustive volume will also prove invaluable to academics and students of intellectual property law, international law and trade law. It is a first point of reference for anyone needing to know more about TRIPS.Contents: 1. General Provisions and Basic Principles 2. Standards Concerning the Availability, Scope and Use of Intellectual Property Rights 3. Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights 4. Acquisition and Maintenance of Intellectual Property Rights and Related Inter-Partes Procedures 5. Dispute Prevention and Settlement 6. Transitional Arrangements 7. Institutional Arrangements; Final Provisions

This book considers whether the WTO agreement on 'Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights' (TRIPS) will become a vehicle for promoting greater international equity and engagement with the world economy or a tool for wealthy nations to extract excessive rents from poorer countries. Can TRIPS garner the necessary degree of legitimacy and public trust to deliver economic development? Can it become a key instrument for promoting international health and development? In response to these questions, the book proposes interpretive possibilities for the TRIPS' text along with implementation strategies to avoid the threat of its irrelevancy due, amongst other things, to free trade agreements containing TRIPS-plus terms.The book discusses the impact of TRIPS from various perspectives, including those of developing countries. It will be of interest to informed citizens, members of NGOs and students and academics concerned with the debate about the impact of TRIPS on access to medicines at affordable prices, the protection of traditional knowledge, and the alleged neo-colonial effect of net revenue outflows from developing nations to developed nations for copyright and patent royalties.