Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- PART I International Provision of Public Goods under a Globalized Intellectual Property Regime
- PART II Innovation and Technology Transfer in a Protectionist Environment
- 8 Can the TRIPS Agreement Foster Technology Transfer to Developing Countries?
- Comment I: Technology Transfer on the International Agenda
- 9 Patent Rights and International Technology Transfer Through Direct Investment and Licensing
- Comment II: TRIPS and Technology Transfer – Evidence from Patent Data
- 10 Proprietary Rights and Collective Action: The Case of Biotechnology Research with Low Commercial Value
- 11 Do Stronger Patents Induce More Local Innovation?
- 12 Markets for Technology, Intellectual Property Rights, and Development
- 13 Using Liability Rules to Stimulate Local Innovation in Developing Countries: Application to Traditional Knowledge
- 14 Stimulating Agricultural Innovation
- PART III Sectoral Issues: Essential Medicines and Traditional Knowledge
- PART IV Reform and Regulation Issues
- Index
13 - Using Liability Rules to Stimulate Local Innovation in Developing Countries: Application to Traditional Knowledge
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 May 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- PART I International Provision of Public Goods under a Globalized Intellectual Property Regime
- PART II Innovation and Technology Transfer in a Protectionist Environment
- 8 Can the TRIPS Agreement Foster Technology Transfer to Developing Countries?
- Comment I: Technology Transfer on the International Agenda
- 9 Patent Rights and International Technology Transfer Through Direct Investment and Licensing
- Comment II: TRIPS and Technology Transfer – Evidence from Patent Data
- 10 Proprietary Rights and Collective Action: The Case of Biotechnology Research with Low Commercial Value
- 11 Do Stronger Patents Induce More Local Innovation?
- 12 Markets for Technology, Intellectual Property Rights, and Development
- 13 Using Liability Rules to Stimulate Local Innovation in Developing Countries: Application to Traditional Knowledge
- 14 Stimulating Agricultural Innovation
- PART III Sectoral Issues: Essential Medicines and Traditional Knowledge
- PART IV Reform and Regulation Issues
- Index
Summary
When economists speak of an underlying legal structure that imposes an “absolute permission” requirement on access to, and use of, knowledge goods protected by intellectual property rights (IPRs), they typically have in mind the domestic patent and copyright laws. Under these and related intellectual property regimes, one cannot normally make use of a protected invention or creative work of authorship for specified purposes and for limited periods of time without prior authorization of the rights holder, typically in the form of a license.
When economists speak of liability rules, in contrast, they envision an underlying legal structure that permits third parties to undertake certain actions without prior permission, provided that they compensate injured parties for all or part of the costs they inflict. While typical examples are found in tort laws regulating the abatement of nuisances, liability rules also abound in the realm of intellectual property law, where, however, their function has largely been overlooked or mischaracterized by legal and economic scholars. In this context, liability rules conjure up a regime built on a “take and pay” principle. Under such a regime, second comers can access and use the protected subject matter for specified purposes without permission, but they must compensate the first comer for these uses in one manner or another.
This chapter discusses new forms of liability rules that might profitably be used to stimulate local innovation in developing countries.
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- International Public Goods and Transfer of Technology Under a Globalized Intellectual Property Regime , pp. 337 - 366Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2005
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