Koopman, Jerzy --- "Introduction" [2010] ELECD 332; in Grosheide, Willem (ed), "Intellectual Property and Human Rights" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Book Title: Intellectual Property and Human Rights

Editor(s): Grosheide, Willem

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848444478

Section: Chapter 5

Section Title: Introduction

Author(s): Koopman, Jerzy

Number of pages: 6

Extract:

5. Introduction
Jerzy Koopman*

1. INTRODUCTION
Intellectual property law regimes have increasingly proliferated during the past
decades. One of the results thereof is that they touch upon more and more
aspects of human life. It has become obvious that intellectual property law
regimes have a profound impact on all sorts of human activity across national,
disciplinary and cultural boundaries around the world. Intellectual property
increasingly affects cultural, scientific, technological, and commercial
exchanges and, thereby, steers and (re)directs courses of action in and among
those realms. Whereas economic, cultural, scientific and technological circum-
stances, preferences and governmental policies may press for such proliferation
­ may envision positive outcomes thereof ­ downsides begin to be observed as
well. These downsides may vary in kind and in effect, and may be brought about
by the workings of different intellectual property regimes as well. They may
concern topics as disparate as the deprivation of biological and cultural diver-
sity; the decline of accessibility of information; and a decrease in accessibility
of health care products and so forth. Looked at from an overall societal and legal
perspective, it may thus not be considered surprising that human rights come
into play. At the turn of the millennium, the UN Sub-Commission on Human
Rights even held that `[t]here are . . . conflicts between the intellectual property
rights regime . . . and international human rights law . . .'1 Hence, the emergence
of a so-called human rights paradox in intellectual property law ­ the theme of
the CIER conference of which this book ...