This thoughtful book serves not only to contribute to the ongoing debates between intellectual property and other fields, such as public health and biotechnology but also, through in-depth analysis and well-grounded recommendations, to move them closer to resolution in a manner beneficial to all interested parties. Among the matters discussed are the following:
- intellectual property and public health;
- intellectual property and traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions or expressions of folklore;
- intellectual property and plant varieties, biodiversity and access to genetic resources;
- use of marks and other signs on the Internet; and
- the international framework in respect to geographical indications.
Drawing on prodigious familiarity with relevant conventions and international legal instruments in the field and debates on these issues as carried out under international bodies - including the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) and the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the African Model Legislation - the author offers clear, well-thought-out proposals on how to respond to these issues. As a deeply informed analysis of how to integrate intellectual property rights into the international development process, this book takes some giant steps toward the general recognition of the real parameters of the most severe problems plaguing the developing world and offers reachable measures toward significant improvement ofthose problems. It will be of interest to all professionals, officials, and academics concerned with the equitable administration of intellectual property rights.