Professor Duncan Matthews spoke on 'Market Regulation as the New IP' at the Boundaries of Intellectual Property in Life Sciences - International Conference on 15-16 March 2013 at the University of Basel, Switzerland.
'The conference focused on 'Boundaries of Intellectual Property in Life Sciences'. In the area of life sciences the boundaries of IP are hard-fought: On the one side IP rights tend to be increased, pushing further the limits of protection. On the other side there are counteractive movements, tending to restrict IP and to bar the further broadening of protection. The increase is not only about new patentable matters but also about other market entry barriers, like regulatory law (market exclusivity, data exclusivity) or the Convention on Biodiversity. This “new kind of IP” raises the question of its justification. Restrictions are not only set from within the IP law – by the scope of protection or exceptions and limitations – but more and more from without – especially by competition law.'