International & Comparative Patent Law
Innovation is one of the buzz-words of our society at the beginning of the 21st century. We are hungry for new and better products. All this requires massive investment and that alone creates a desire to protect the results. Patents are the key legal tool in this area. How do we distinguish though between those inventions that deserve protection and other inventions and innovations that can simply be left to the market. Especially in the area of biotechnology and where living material is involved it is not easy always easy what amount to an invention and whether we have a patentable invention, i.e. one that is new, involves an inventive step and is capable of industrial application.
Once a patent is in place it is up to the rightholder to enforce it. But what exactly is the scope of protection and what will amount to an infringement? When is a slightly different product an improvement that deserves protection in its own right and when does it essentially copy the invention? Harmonisation of these rules has been difficult in Europe and in the US the doctrine of equivalents creates its own problems.
This module looks at all these issues from an international and comparative perspective, as innovation and its exploitation are global phenomena. We also apply these principles in areas such as biotechnology and stem cell research, where they are pushed to the limit due to the involvement of living human material.