Patents Profits and Power: How Intellectual Property Rules the Global Economy

The weath of many businesses comprises the collective knowledge and innovation of the employees and leaders. In the global economy, innovation has become as valuable as gold. Consquently, intellectual property protection has become the focus of considerable legal and regulatory attention, at both an international and national level. Theft, piracy, and infringements on IP can be revealed at every level, from the state to the individual. This work examines the less desirable players on the world stage, why they chose to defy the law, and how the rest of the world is responding. The book also looks at how the Internet is changing the rules of intellectual property protection. It is packed with international case studies and examples to illustrate the impact of the Internet on the development, control and protection of valuable ideas, products and services.

Table of Contents:
Part 1 The ghost of IP past: The path to intellectual property protection; The world without intellectual property; Creativity without interference. Part 2 Intellectual assets - the new wealth: How it works; Linking industrialization and intellectual property; A modern scenario; The IBM example; Knowledge management; Intellectual capital. Part 3 That's brilliant - what is it?: Patents; Trademarks; Copyright; Geographical indications; Industrial designs; Trade secrets; Layout designs (topographies) of integrated circuits; Breeders' rights. Part 4 The enforcers; WIPO; Intellectual property protection treaties; Global protection treaties; Classification treaties; Administrative agreements; WTO; The European Patent Office; National intellectual property agencies. Part 5 The new currency: Information and power; Microsoft - intellectual property warrior; Prosecuting intellectual property crimes; Protecting trade secrets and other intellectual assets; Intellectual property protection strategies; Due diligence. Part 6 Rogue nations and false creations: A Canadian example; Why nations condone intellectual property theft; The economics of intellectual property theft; International enforcement mechanisms -power or pushover?; Corporate offenders; Teachers, students and copyright abuses; Intellectual property theft quiz. Part 7 Thoughts on the future of thought: The future of the international institutions; Future disputes and controversies; Intellectual property alternatives; Festo - challenging the power of patents; Questioning the right to intellectual property rights; Future innovation, high stakes and market instability; Choosing our destiny. Part 8 Internet rules: intellectual property at cyberspeed; Internet piracy; The Digital Millennium Copyright Act; Felten, copyrights and freedom of speech; Protecting property on the Net; Intellectual property resources on the Web. Part 9 Developing intellectual property in developing nations: Honouring international obligations; The problem with piracy; Where there's a will.; India; China; The technology solution; Hope and help from developed nations. Part 10 Losing your mind: Nothing is really new; Intellectual property and the wrong kind of growth; The power of ideas.

About the Author :
Curtis Cook is a founding partner of Global Trade Solutions, an international business development and strategy firm based in Ottawa, Canada. He has worked with many private- and public-sector clients from around the world to help them improve their competitiveness in the global marketplace. He is a Certified International Trade Professional and an instructor with the Forum for International Trade Training (FITT). The author is a prolific speaker and is author of Patents Profits and Power, published by Kogan Page.