International Intellectual Property



International Intellectual Property

Question 1:

Answer 1a):

This section is actually a description as the legal counsel for Medicines for All (MFA), which is a Paris-based non-profit organization. This section discusses the areas of inquiry regarding the patent claims which are useful in making decisions about the specific course of actions. Because of the importance of literary properties, digital technology, and business know-how that can be protected by intellectual property (IP) laws, there are ongoing debates, and widely differing views, on the scope of protection for IP and on the increasing criminalization of IP offenses. The underlying tension in IP law, whether civil or criminal is between protecting trade and promoting innovation. The twin goals that support arguments for greater protection of IP are (1) providing incentives for creativity and (2) protecting the results with trade monopolies. Critical values that support arguments for a larger public domain, where IP does not apply, include access to knowledge and freedom of expression (Albanese, 2009).

The debate over IP rights and IP crimes is so heated that many proponents and opponents take rationales usually in support of the other's preferred outcome, and articulate how those values actually support their proposals. Thus, both IP holders and users claim that creativity, expression, and exchange values are on their side. Generally speaking, two opposing movements are arguing over changes to IP laws and policies, including the remarkable increase in the criminalization of IP offenses over the last few decades (1970s to date) (Arber, 1950).

The term intellectual property refers to monopoly rights held in intangible products or creations. According to U.S. law, IP is the bundle of monopolies held in immaterial goods and services, such as inventions, literary or artistic expressions, musical compositions, business goodwill or reputation, and industrial designs. While these immaterial objects are usually embodied in physical form—and often must be in a tangible form to obtain IP protection at law—the rights are held in the immaterial, or intangible, value within the goods and services, rather than in the tangible embodiment of the physical item (Blakey, 1987).

Another way of conceiving IP is to think of the rights as a bundle of sticks, each representing an exclusive right held by the original author, inventor, or company (or by their licensees or transferees) in creative outputs—that is, in products of the mind. Instead of owning a physical chair, the copyright holder owns exclusive rights in the design of the chair, and so can prevent copying and distribution of infringing versions; and instead of owning a compact disc (CD), the copyright holder owns the right to copy and distribute the original expression of music that is recorded on the CD, and so can bring lawsuits to enforce the right to copy, distribute, and perform as distinct rights within the bundle of rights.

Answer 1b):

The Kenya Technical Institute of Science (KTIS) is a public institution of the federal government of Kenya. The institute has not received the formal notice from Oxford University regarding the 123 patent application or ...