This joint WTO-WIPO publication has been produced at a time when economic policymakers and analysts are placing ever greater emphasis on the generation and management of knowledge and innovation, and on mechanisms to ensure that the public derives the expected social and economic benefits from innovation and the spread of knowledge.

The fields of competition policy and IP are both undergoing unprecedented dynamism, in the face of rapid economic and technological change, leading to a wide range of policy responses by governments across the globe. This dynamism is most apparent where these two fields intersect: the relationship between the promotion of welfare-enhancing competition and the balanced protection of IP rights in the contemporary economy.  

Co-published with Cambridge University Press, this volume responds to the active engagement, policy development and practical implementation of measures to bolster a positive linkage between IP and competition in jurisdictions around the world, including in the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and other major developing and transition economies, and in developed jurisdictions. It complements and underpins the WTO's continuing capacity-building programmes in this field.

Edited by current and former senior experts from both organisations, and drawing on a rich vein of international scholarship, the publication surveys current developments and policy issues from an inclusive and diverse international and comparative perspective, including:

• analyses of key doctrinal and policy issues by leading academics and practitioners from around the globe;
• a focus on sectors of particular policy concern, such as public health, content industries, the digital divide and agriculture; and
• a cutting-edge survey of related developments across both developed economies and a broad set of emerging and developing economies, including the BRICS countries.

The book launch is available on the WTO's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVj13WTuEP0d