ABSTRACT
For a long time, patent regulation has been regarded as an arcane domain reserved for the deliberations of highly specialized regulators. Despite enhanced cooperation under the umbrella of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), international patent law did not challenge the principle of territoriality by which national executive authorities granted temporary monopolies on innovative processes and products (Drahos and Braithwaite, 2002: 28) Over the last few years, however, the political
perception has radically changed. At the dawn of the information society, intellectual property assets and most notably patents are assumed as most crucial instruments for ‘turning knowledge into money’ (Chatzimarkakis, 2007). That is why European and the US heads of state have solemnly agreed on a common approach towards patent regulation in order to foster ‘an open, competitive and innovative transatlantic economy’ (US-EU summit, 2008). Subordinated negotiators have been instructed to ‘diminish unnecessary regulatory divergences’ (US-EU summit, 2008).
