Please note that these resources are provided for informational use only.
Terms to Know
- Intellectual Property (IP)
a work or invention that is the result of creativity, such as a manuscript or a design, to which one has rights and for which one may apply for a patent, copyright, trademark, etc.
(Source: Oxford Dictionaries Online)
The definition by the Electronic Frontier Foundation provides some additional perspective and historical background.
- Copyright ©
the exclusive legal right , given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same:
he issued a writ for breach of copyright
works whose copyrights had lapsed
(Source: Oxford Dictionaries Online)
- Fair Use
(in US copyright law) the doctrine that brief excerpts of copyright material may, under certain circumstances, be quoted verbatim for purposes such as criticism, news reporting, teaching, and research, without the need for permission from or payment to the copyright holder
(Source: Oxford Dictionaries Online)
- Digital Rights Management (DRM)
Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies attempt to control what you can and can't do with the media and hardware you've purchased.
(Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation)
Useful Resources
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations.
WIPO Intellectual Property Handbook: Policy, Law and Use
Comprehensive handbook on IP
Intellectual Property Statistics page
For data on IP, patents, trademarks, etc. and free full-text publications on World Intellectual Property Indicators, systems and reviews.
IP Services page
For information and applications on international patent protection, as well as trademark and design registration, dispute resolution, international classifications and state emblems
WIPO rss feeds
To stay abreast of new developments
Public Health, innovation and intellectual property rights Report. April 2006
Available in English, Francais, Espanol, Russian, Chinese, Arabic
Also check the Frequently Asked Questions page
CIPIH Case Studies
Especially:
"Health Innovation Systems in Developing Countries: Towards a Global Strategy for Capacity Building" by John Mugabe
"Intellectual Property Issues: Public-private partnerships (PPPs)" by Jon Merz, Penn University
"Intellectual Property Rights and Technology Transfer: Enabling Access For Developing Countries" by Anthony D. So, Arti K. Rai, Robert M. Cook-Deegan, Duke University
"Pharmaceutical Tariffs: What is their effect on prices, protection of local industry and revenue generation?" by Müge Olcay, Secretariat for the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation and Public Health, and Richard Laing, World Health Organization
"Using IP Agreements to promote the objectives of Public Private Partnerships in developing affordable products for developing countries" by Warren Kaplan, Boston University
CIPIH Workshop Presentations: Intellectual Property
How does the IP system affect R&D and access and how might national patent systems need to change?
Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Kauffman Foundation and prepared by and for policy-makers, leaders of public and private sector research, tech transfer professionals, licensing executives, and scientists, this online handbook and guide offer information and strategies for utilizing intellectual property and the public domain.
You can also access directly a site guide for:
Policymakers
Senior Administrators
Tech Transfer Managers
Research Scientists
ipHandbook Blog
For posts on IP management issues
Case Studies for Health and Medicine
Cases focusing on health from the handbook
Created in 1978 by a group of authors and publishers, CCC is an international licensing expert organization that licenses the rights to millions of books, journals, newspapers, websites, ebooks, images, blogs and more.
A Practical Guide to Copyright Compliance for Business Professionals
Produced by CCC, this guide provides helpful information such as the legal issues that surround the photocopying, e-mailing and Web-posting of text materials, and on copyright law compliance. Of note: an online test on copyright knowledge and a “Copyright 101” with information on fair use, public domain and a quick reference chart.
Also: Tools and Guidelines for academic institutions, businesses and copyright holders
which includes sample guidelines and teaching materials
A comprehensive list of blogs of note on copyright and digital content
A very comprehensive and easy-to-use resource, especially:
Copyright FAQs
Fair Use
The Public Domain
Introduction to the Permissions Process
Website Permissions
Academic and Educational Permissions
Releases
Copyright Research
Extensive list of web resources
- Harvard University Library, Office for Scholarly Communication
Sample Addendum to Publication Agreement
- Electronic Frontier Foundation
EFF is a donor-funded nonprofit which "blends the expertise of lawyers, policy analysts, activists, and technologists to advocate for consumers and the general public's digital rights.
Digital Rights Management: A failure in the developed world, a danger to the developing world. March 2005
This paper discusses the failure of DRM in the developed world, where it has been in wide deployment for a decade with no benefit to artists and with substantial cost to the public and to due process, free speech and other civil society fundamentals. Also particularly relevant here:
Prepared by The RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization, for the UK Intellectual Property Office and the UK Department for International Development, this report presents the results of studies examining the effects of strengthening Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in developing countries. It reviews the results of the recent grey and scholarly literature on the positive and negative effects of stronger IPRs in developing countries, with a focus on five areas: FDI, trade, innovation, public health, genetic resources and traditional knowledge. The report also suggests future research directions.
Of note: Chapter 5: Intellectual property and public health; Chapter 6: Intellectual property, genetic resources and traditional knowledge
Creative Commons is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to making it easier for people to share and build upon the work of others, consistent with the rules of copyright and provides free licenses and legal tools to mark work.
- Union Européenne
Droit d’auteur dans l’économie de la connaissance
Also take a look at their resources page for Member IP database and publications
- Global Health Education Consortium
Teaching Module of interest: TRIPS Protecting Patents or Patients. April 2008
Especially the Frequently Asked Questions Page
Published August 27, 2010.