Intellectual Property, Climate Change and Technology

This groundbreaking book identifies and challenges the lack of intersection between intellectual property law and climate change law at national level. It argues that intellectual property confers private rights on the results of innovation and creativity, while climate change law and policy exists more in the public sphere without engagement with intellectual property, with no space for the conflict between this private power and public goal to be investigated in litigation.

This thought-provoking book will be of great interest to scholars working in the fields of IP, climate change law, human rights, and planning and sustainable development, challenging the assumption that some problems are dealt with only through consideration of certain areas of the law. Proposing new processes for policy and law making in order to remove barriers between these fields, Intellectual Property, Climate Change and Technology will also be a valuable resource for members of parliament and policy makers.

Exploring the potential for alignment as well as conflict between IP and climate change Intellectual Property, Climate Change and Technology encourages a coherent and integrated approach to decision making across the IP, climate change and technology landscape. This groundbreaking book identifies and challenges the lack of intersection between intellectual property law and climate change law at national level.

'The relationship between technology protected as intellectual property and its uses to address global climate change is far from simple. In this book Professor Brown draws on her in-depth knowledge of intellectual property law and international climate change policy issues to unpack those complexities and present a detailed analysis of how the two areas could more productively interact. Researchers and policymakers will benefit from reading this thought provoking book.'
--Susy Frankel, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

'Abbe Brown's professional background, spanning practice and academia, makes her exceptionally well placed to consider workable solutions to climate change challenges. Spanning IP, competition and human rights and bringing in new approaches to statutory interpretation, Brown seeks to break down barriers and encourage judges and policy makers to take new approaches to these pressing problems. Finding practical solutions is core to Professor Brown's intellectual enquiry and she does not disappoint, adding important insights as to how significant progress could be made.'
--Charlotte Waelde, Coventry University, UK

'At the core of this book is this question: What is law's role in the package of solutions to mitigate climate change? That package will involve the invention and deployment of new technologies. Intellectual property will play a crucial role: it is meant to create incentives for innovation but it can also create barriers to the use of new technologies. The book offers the reader a comprehensive view of the law - and specifically IP law - in building a pathway to a low-carbon future.'
--Daniel Gervais, Vanderbilt University, US