NORTH CAROLINA JOURNAL OF LAW & TECHNOLOGY
13 N.C. J.L. & TECH. ON. 147 (2012)
INTRODUCTION
Laura N. Gasaway*
In early 2012 the North Carolina Journal of Law and
Technology and the North Carolina Journal of International Law
and Commercial Regulation held a joint symposium, “Anticipating
Dissention: When Legal Frameworks, U.S. Commerce and
Foreign Markets Intersect.” The symposium represents a historic
first collaboration between these two journals and resulted in an
absolutely splendid program that focused on businesses which
have an international component as well as those that are just now
beginning to realize that the global marketplace affects even local
business. The interrelationship of the internationalization of
business and the fact that much of this business is driven by
technology made this collaboration not only possible but
necessary. Speakers addressed new problems that have arisen in
the area and how governments, international organizations,
businesses and lawyers both identify and mitigate or eliminate the
problems. The keynote speech was delivered by Nicholas Didow,
Jr., who is Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of
North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School. Four panels
addressed important topics throughout the day; the panels were
entitled “International dispute Resolution,” “Disputes Arising from
Arbitration Awards Abroad,” “Tensions Produced by Trademark
Law Internationally” and “Direct Investment and Franchising in an
International Setting.”
This journal and the North Carolina Journal of International
Law and Commercial Regulation are each publishing some of the
papers from the symposium. The paper included in this issue is
from the panel “Disputes Arising from Arbitration Agreements.”
“Trips and Bits:
An Essay on Compulsory Licenses,
Expropriation and international Arbitration” is by Peter (Bo)
*
Paul B. Eaton Distinguished Professor of Law, University of North Carolina
School of Law.
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13 N.C. J.L. & TECH. ON. 147, 148
Introduction
Rutledge. Professor Rutledge is Professor of Law at the University
of Georgia, where he teaches courses relating to International
Litigation, International Arbitration, International Business
Transactions, and Civil Procedure. His article explores whether
arbitration is a viable alternative to handle disputes between the
private sector and indirect appropriation of patent rights by
government entities that issue compulsory licenses. The issue is
especially acute for countries in the developing world which may
use a compulsory license to solve a perceived public health or
other issue. While compulsory licenses favor the state, arbitration
under a bilateral investment treaty provides incentive to arbitrate.
Professor Rutledge posits that arbitration can play a crucial role in
resolving international disputes involving intellectual property
especially where the dispute is between an investor and a nationstate over the legality of a compulsory license and investors while
balancing the values that the intellectual property regimes are
designed to protect.
This article highlights the fact that intellectual property plays
an increasingly important role in the global economy, but with the
acceleration of this importance comes more and more disputes
between and among parties from different states and with
governments themselves. Valuable intellectual property, whether
protected by patent or trademark, may face complex challenges in
the international arena. Solutions to some of these problems may
require legislative changes. Others may be facilitated by reliance
on arbitration to solve problems.