Investor-State Dispute Settlement as a Constraint on Intellectual Property Lawmaking

Investor-State Dispute Settlement as a Constraint on Intellectual Property Lawmaking

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Description

This paper addresses the question whether the tribunals that entertain investor-state disputes under bilateral and regional investment agreements contribute to the development of intellectual property law. It answers the question in the negative, arguing that to the extent these tribunals “make” law, the laws they make constrain the evolution of intellectual property-related lawmaking. Vulnerability to investor suits chills domestic efforts to deal with cumulative innovation; to balance the proprietary interests of innovators with the needs of the public to access the fruits of innovation; and to react effectively to changes in technology and to crises, such as pandemics, that require rapid readjustments in rights over information. After discussing the problems with investor-state dispute settlement under current investment agreements, the paper considers whether newer instruments, which are intended to be more protective of sovereignty, in fact give states the freedom they require to keep intellectual property responsive to society’s needs.

Source Publication

Intellectual Property as a Complex Adaptive System: The Role of IP in the Innovation Society

Source Editors/Authors

Anselm Kamperman Sanders and Anke Moerland

Publication Date

2021

Investor-State Dispute Settlement as a Constraint on Intellectual Property Lawmaking

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