This book explores how dissimilar patent systems remain distinctive despite international efforts towards harmonization. The dominant historical account describ

Introduction -- Defining the public interest in the US and European patent systems -- Confronting the questions of life-form patentability -- Commodification, a

Rules regulating access to knowledge are no longer the exclusive province of lawyers and policymakers and instead command the attention of anthropologists, econ

Tracing global histories of patenting, this book reveals the resilient diversity of patent systems, challenging the universality of 'intellectual property'.

The United States is entering an era when, more than ever, the sharing of resources and information might be critical to scientific progress. Every dollar saved