Intellectual Property Governance: The Emergence of a New and Contested Global Regime

Abstract

Neither the architects that set out to build a new post-Second World War order, nor the scholars that took upon themselves to observe it, could have foreseen the nature, shape and complexity of the global governance edifice a mere 60 years later. Nor could they have done so, for human affairs in general and global affairs in particular are complex and always changing, in both intended and unintended directions. While disagreements on the magnitude of recent changes in global governance exist, there is considerable consensus that its nature has changed in some real and important ways in recent decades. Indeed, the emergence of the term global governance after the end of the Cold War exemplifies the need for a concept better capable of capturing the changed nature of the current word order or, rather, disorder. The most discussed changes relate to the nature and sources of power, it being understood to have dissipated or migrated, wholly or in part, from state governments to international organization, regional and local bodies and an abundant array of private actors. In addition, the growing density of networks which connect these new and old actors and structures together is seen as a key characteristic of global governance, as is the increasing number of issues faced by, and rules emerging from, them.