INSIGHTS

Introduction If you talk about Standard Essential Patents (SEPs), you'll inevitably come to the topic of 5G, which is one of the most important aspects of the discussions. But this approach doesn't do justice to the scope of an institution that regulates almost all of the connected technologies that are in use in commerce today – from the hospital ward Wi-Fi router, to the safety sensor in a modern car. An SEP is a patent that is so basic to a technical standard that any manu

Introduction The growth of the corporation has had a profound impact on the nature of commercial and industrial activity in the present global economy. Companies have a significant impact today on jobs, commerce, public policy and even government. But, at the same time, there have been significant rise in the number of cases of corporate fraud, corruption, environmental negligence and financial scams. This has led to an important question being asked by legal systems: is a co

Introduction Amongst the biggest threats of the 21st century is the climate change phenomenon, which has required governments all over the world to step up their efforts to develop and popularise sustainable technologies. At the core of this transformation are the intellectual property rights, particularly patents, that serve as a mechanism to incentivise innovators by granting them temporary monopoly power to provide sufficient incentive to engage in costly R&D. However, whe

Introduction Consider two firms simultaneously developing a revolutionary process for industry. The first hurries to the patent office, files a patent application in full detail, and receives the exclusive right to the process for twenty years. The other firm does nothing. It simply creates a wall of secrecy and moves forward. Twenty years down the line, the patent granted to the first firm expires, and all the information is available to its competitors, courtesy of the law.

Introduction Patents are important because they grant creators a legal monopoly on the use of their inventions for a set period (usually 20 years), allowing them to benefit financially from their creations. But patents don’t include “trade secrets”, i.e., know-how. So while the general public may have access to the product, they do not have access to the actual know-how (such as clinical trial data) required to produce it. Therefore, if you waive the patent over a drug but c