Terri Janke and Robynne Quiggin survey the major indigenous intellectual and cultural property issues and canvass some of the instruments and interventions which could be considered in respect of these issues.

Shigeki Kamiyama, Jerry Sheehan and Catalina Martinez examine recent evidence and review macroeconomic statistics related to the development of technology markets. They survey approaches to the valuation of patents and the policy initiatives undertaken by OECD countries to foster patent valuation and exploitation.

The author discusses the merits of open source software and the counter-arguments of corporate interests, and concludes that Australia should be wary of extending its intellectual property law.

The Australia-US Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) covers a number of issues and this paper by David Richardson deals with Chapter 17 on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). It first examines AUSFTA's attempts to entrench or enhance Australia's already strong IPRs. The general economic arguments are examined as well as the Australian and US interests in stronger...

Recent comments by Australian negotiators indicate that the US is seeking changes to Australia's intellectual property laws, particularly as they relate to pharmaceuticals. Such changes have the capacity to undermine the effectiveness of the pharmaceutical benefits scheme and lead to higher costs in Australia. Buddhima Lokuge, Thomas Alured Faunce and Richard Denniss analyse the likely...