This course takes an interdisciplinary and theoretical approach to examine: the history of intellectual property globalisation: governmental and NGO organisations involved in his process; political debates, alliances and ideologies that have shaped global intellectual property law-making; the economics of globalisation and intellectual property; and sociological, cultural and domestic legal effects of globalising through intellectual propertization.

Main Topics

Introduction to the Globalisation of Intellectual Property Regulation
History of Intellectual Propertisation and the Globalisation of Intellectual Property Regulation
Non-Western Methods of Regulating Access to and Use of Ideas, Information, Knowledge and Symbols
The Politics of Contemporary International Intellectual Property Regulation and Governance
The Economics and Political Economy of Contemporary Intellectual Property Regulation
The Sociology of Globalisation via International Intellectual Property Standardisation
Issues in Intellectual Property Regulation in a Global Setting

1. Sovereignty

2. Legal Transplants

3. Development

Case Studies of Intellectual Property Regulation in a Global Setting:

          1. Copyright, Patents and Traditional Knowledge
          2. Patents and Access to Essential Medicines around the World
          3. Trademarks and Multinational Branding Practices

The Cultural Impact of Globalising via the International Standardisation of Intellectual Property Laws
Blending Theory and Practice in Domestic and International Intellectual Property Law- and Policy-Making