Socially responsible intellectual property: a solution?

Abstract

This article reviews the extent to which the present global IP system contains an inherent imbalance between the rights of IP owning corporations and IP users, and the public benefit. It also studies the potential relevance of human rights in redressing any imbalance within existing institutional and legal fora. The article focuses on the relevance of corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) related concepts, particularly in conjunction with legal human rights based arguments, to redress any imbalance by tempering the global conduct of IP owning corporations; how this new approach could be enforced, if at all, and the resulting lessons for IP and its future.