The Global Governance of Knowledge

Peter Drahos is a Professor at the Regulatory Institutions Network in the Australian National University and holds a Chair in Intellectual Property at Queen Mary, London University.

• 1. Patent offices and the global governance of knowledge; 2. Labyrinths and catacombs: patent office procedure; 3. The rise of patent offices; 4. The sun and its planets – the European Patent Office and National Offices; 5. The USPTO and JPO; 6. The age of trilaterals and the spirit of co-operation; 7. The jewel in the crown – India's Patent Office; 8. The dragon and the tiger: China and South Korea; 9. Joining the patent office conga line: Brazil; 10. Islands and regions in the patent stream; 11. Reclaiming the patent social contract; 12. Patent administration sovereignty – nodal solutions for small countries, developing countries.

'Professor Peter Drahos, one of the most influential scholars in the area of intellectual property rights, explores in this book a subject largely ignored by the existing literature. His interdisciplinary study unveils how patent offices actually work in about 20 countries, and how they contribute to make up the global patent system. Based on a solid theoretical framework and on a vast and rigorous empirical research, Drahos makes an outstanding contribution to the understanding of international governance and regulation in this area of crucial importance for developed and developing countries alike.' Carlos M. Correa, Director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies on Industrial Property and Economics Law, at the University of Buenos Aires