Research report 2008 - Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property, Competition and Tax Law

A New Generation of European Free Trade Agreements: Towards a Comprehensive Balance of Interests?

Authors
Grosse Ruse-Khan, Henning
Departments

Geistiges Eigentum und Wettbewerbsrecht (Prof. Dr. Dres. h.c. Joseph Straus)
MPI für Geistiges Eigentum, Wettbewerbs- und Steuerrecht, München

Summary
Most standards of international protection of intellectual property derive from a growing number of free trade agreements. They often promote increasing levels of protection in developing countries, without taking into account the public or private interests they affect. A new generation of European free trade agreements however claims sustainable development as one of its primary goals. Do these agreements offer new approaches for reconciling private rights with conflicting private and public interests? Do they serve as an example for a reform of the multilateral intellectual property regime?

For the full text, see the German version.

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