Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Assistant Profesor Intellectual Property Department of Tarbiat Modaes University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Most theorists of IP law have attempted to justify intellectual property rights in preserving one particular value as a super value. The dominant view is that international IP law aims to maximize economic efficiency through incentivizing creation and reducing searching cost. This view regarded as a major hurdle against recent demand of developing countries to extend IP law system to Traditional Knowledge, Folklore and Genetic Resources. The protection of these matters could not be justified based upon economic considerations. In fact, it is based upon other values such as justice and fairness. The solution to overcome this hurdle is to believe in Value Pluralism at least at international level. Due to the diversity of the subject matters of IP law, as well as differences in beliefs and values of the host societies and failure of one single theory to justify all aspects of IP law, it is hard to reduce IP law system to one specific value. Instead, there are several values inside the system in which all of them have the same degree of importance and depending on each case, they could be super value. Therefore, it is necessary to find super value case by case and articulate any area of IP law in accordance with that Super value. Judges are also required to interpret the law on the protection of that specific superior value. After explaining the concept of pluralism of values and value monism, this article argues in support of pluralism of value in the field of intellectual property rights .In order to choose a super value in each case, two criteria will be provided.

Highlights

-

Keywords

English Sources
Bessen, Samantha, European Human Rights Pluralism, Notion and Justification, in:Transnational Law Rethinking European Law and Legal Thinking,(  UK, Cambridge University Press, 2014).
 Blankfein-Tabachnick, David H, «Does Intellectual Property Law Have Foundations? A Review of Robert Merges’s Justifying Intellectual Property”, 45 Conn. L. Rev. 995(2014).
 Colston, Catherine, and Kirsty Middleton. Modern intellectual property law.         ( Psychology Press, 2005).
 Coombe, Rosemary J. »The recognition of indigenous peoples' and community traditional knowledge in international law». Thomas L. Rev. 14: 275. (2001).
  Correa, Carlos M., Intellectual property rights, the WTO and developing countries: the TRIPS agreement and policy options. (Zed books, 2000).
 Deborah E. Bouchoux, Esq.: Intellectual property: The Law of Trademarks, Copyrights, Patents and Trade Secrets, (Delmar Cengage Learning, 2013).
 Dinwoodie, Graeme B. and Mark D. Janis, eds., Trademark law and theory: A handbook of contemporary research. (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2008).
 Dreyfuss, Rochelle C. and Katherine J. Strandburg, eds. The law and theory of trade secrecy: a handbook of contemporary research. (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)
 Dyzenhaus, David, Hard Cases in Wicked Legal Systems: Pathologies of Legality,( Oxford Publishing, 2010)
 Gangjee, Dev S. ed, Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and Geographical Indications. (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016)
 Gervais, Daniel., »Traditional Knowledge & (and) Intellectual Property: A TRIPS-Compatible Approach.» Mich. St. L. Rev.: 137 (2005)
 Gregory S. Alexander, Pluralism and Property", Cornell Law Faculty Publications. Paper 452, (2011).
http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/facpub/452
Gribnau, Hans, », Legal Certainty: A Matter of Principle «(January 8, 2013). Retroactivity of Tax Legislation, Tilburg Law School Research Paper No. 12/2014       (2013). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2447386
IP Commission. , »Integrating intellectual property rights and development policy. «(2002).
Joel, Robbins,, ” Monism, pluralism, and the structure of value relations, A Dumontian contribution to the contemporary study of value”, HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory 3 (1), ( 2013).
Justin Hughes,, ” The Philosophy of Intellectual Property”, Georgetown University Law Center and Georgetown Law Journal, 77 Geo. L.J. 287,( 1988).
Lemley, Mark A. »Ex ante versus ex post justifications for intellectual property.« The University of Chicago law review, 129-149, (2004).
 Lemley, Mark. A ), ” The surprising virtues of treating trade secrets as IP rights”, in: Dreyfuss RC, Strandburg KJ, editors. “The law and theory of trade secrecy: a handbook of contemporary research”. (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011).
Maciej Zejda, , “Trademark Licensing in Keyword Advertising”, 7, JIPITEC 18, para 1,( 2016).
Mauro, Francesco, and Preston D. Hardison., "Traditional knowledge of indigenous and local communities: international debate and policy initiatives." Ecological applications 10, no. 5, 1263-1269. (2000).
 McGurk, Michael R. and Jia W. Lu. , "Intersection of Patents and Trade Secrets." Hastings Sci. & Tech. LJ 7, (2015).
Munzer, Stephen R. and Kal Raustiala. , "The uneasy case for intellectual property rights in traditional knowledge."(2009).
McManis, Charles R. »Intellectual property, genetic resources and traditional knowledge protection: thinking globally, acting locally«. Cardozo J. Int'l & Comp. L. 11: 547. (2003).
Merges, Robert P: Justifying intellectual property, (Harvard University Press, 2011.)
O’Neill, John, Alan Holland and Andrew Light, Environmental Values", (Rutledge, 2008)
Papadopoulou, Frantzeska. "Opening Pandora's Box: Exploring Flexibilities and Alternatives for Protecting Traditional Knowledge and Genetic Resources Under the Intellectual Property Framework." PhD diss. Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis. (2014).
Peukert, Alexander, "Individual, Multiple and Collective Ownership of Intellectual Property Rights-Which Impact on Exclusivity?”(2010).
Posner, Richard A. Wealth Maximization and Tort Law: A Philosophical Inquiry’, in David G. Owen (ed.), Philosophical Foundations of Tort Law.(1995).
Resnik, David B, ,.“A Pluralistic Account of Intellectual Property", Journal of Business Ethics 46: 319–335, (2003).
Roa‐Rodríguez, Carolina, and Thom Van Dooren. "Shifting common spaces of plant genetic resources in the international regulation of property." The Journal of World Intellectual Property 11, no. 3: 176-202. (2008).
Sakulin, Wolfgang. , “Trademark protection and freedom of expression: an inquiry into the conflict between trademark rights and freedom of expression under European law”. Vol. 22. Kluwer Law International, (2011).
Sandbery, Russell, Religion and Legal Pluralism, (England and USA, Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2015).
Tallis, Heather, and Jane Lubchenco, "A call for inclusive conservation." Nature 515, no. 7525: 27, (2014).
 Taubman, Antony, Hannu Wager, and Jayashree Watal, eds.” A handbook on the WTO TRIPS agreement”, ( Cambridge University Press, 2012).
Trakman, Leon, , ” Pluralism in Contract Law”,  Buffalo law review 58(5),              (2009).
 Unctad-Ictsd, et al. Resource book on TRIPS and development. (Cambridge University Press, 2005).
Wood, Allen, W), Kantian Ethics, (Cambridge University Press,2008).