Advocating for a world where intellectual
property law serves the public interest.

19 Vaccines as Global Public Goods: Between Life and Profit

[Katiuska King Mantilla and César Carranza Barona] Abstract: In the context of a health emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, the global availability of and access to vaccines are imperative. This research paper provides an analysis from the perspective of international political economy, of the financing of COVID-19 vaccines and of the market strategies adopted by some of the companies that

Patent Law and 3D Printing Applications in Response to COVID-19: Exceptions to Inventor Rights

[Muhammad Zaheer Abbas] Abstract: ... This paper examines the issue of patent rights being at odds with access to critical 3D printable health technologies during COVID-19 crisis. It undertakes an in-depth analysis of the right to repair and calls for a clearer recognition of the right to repair exemption at the global level. It also evaluates the private and non-commercial

COVID-19 Impacts on Cultural Industries and Education and Research Institutions: Key Questions from the WIPO Report

[Steven Wyber] Tomorrow, the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) will hold an information session on the impact of COVID-19 on the cultural and creative industries, on the one hand, and on education and research on the other... To support this, WIPO has published a commissioned study, based both on a series of responses

Bulgaria Falls Into All the Traps Set by Article 5 of the CDSM Directive

[Ana Lazarova] Abstract: With Article 5 of the CDSM Directive, the EU legislator aspired to remedy the inherited legal fragmentation in the area of copyright exceptions and limitations, by introducing a mandatory exception for the purpose of ‘illustration for teaching’ in the digital environment. Bulgaria already had an educational exception as per the InfoSoc Directive, which was rather broad, technology

A Study of Patent Thickets

[Bronwyn H. Hall, Christian Helmers, Georg von Graevenitz and Chiara Rosazza Bondibene] Executive Summary: This report analyses whether entry of UK enterprises into patenting in a technology area is affected by patent thickets in the technology area. The aim is to contribute to our understanding of the role of patent thickets as a barrier to entry into new technologies for

Getting Ready for WIPO

[Teresa Hackett] The 42nd session of WIPO's Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), the global forum that sets international copyright law and policy, takes place in Geneva from 9 - 13 May 2022. It is the first full meeting since the start of the pandemic... Three topics of high importance to libraries will be discussed during the week: