Innovation without patents : harnessing the creative spirit in a diverse world / edited by Uma Suthersanen, Graham Dutfield, Kit Boey Chow.

"Based on a report commissioned by the Singapore Property Academy."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Innovation and development / Graham Dutfield -- Innovation and the law of intellectual property / Uma Suthersanen and Graham Dutfield -- Utility models and other alternatives to patents / Uma Suthersanen and Graham Dutfield -- Policy considerations for governments governments / Uma Suthersanen and Graham Dutfield -- Singapore / Kit Boey Chow, Kah Mun Leo, Susanna Leong -- Australia / Andrew Christie and Sarah Moritz -- Japan and South Korea / Graham Dutfield -- China and Taiwan/ Kit Boey Chow, Kah Mun Leo, Susanna Leong with Jerry Hsiao -- The ASEAN states / Uma Suthersanen with Lim Heng Gee -- Utility models in Latin America / Manuel Marquez -- Conclusions and recommendations / Uma Suthersanen and Graham Dutfield.

"This book is concerned with the extent to which innovations should or should not be protected as intellectual property, and the implications this has upon the ability of local manufacturers to learn to innovate. A question the book considers is how far legal protection should extend to inventions that may only just, or indeed not quite, meet the conventional criteria for patentability, in terms of the level of inventiveness. Innovation without Patents offers a thoughtful and empirically rich analysis of the current system in a number of developed and developing countries in the Asia-Pacific. It asks whether such innovations should remain free from patenting, or whether alternative intellectual property regimes should be offered in such cases, and indeed whether the requirements change depending on a country's level of development. This discussion is capped by a number of proposed policy options. The theoretical and practical approaches to intellectual property rights, innovation and development policy formulation make Innovation without Patents accessible to academics, national and regional patent offices, national overseas development agencies, NGOs and patent attorneys"--Jacket.

Also issued online.