Shubha Ghosh – The Implementation of Exhaustion Policies

Tower Center Fellow, Professor Shubha Ghosh published following study in the ICTSD Programme on Innovation, Technology and Intellectual Property, Issue Paper 40. Click here to download the paper.

The concept of “exhaustion”, is the point at which an IPRs holder’s control over the good or service ceases. It is the subject of increased attention by policymakers and courts in different countries, particularly those that are designing intellectual property laws.

ghoshThis paper examines the exhaustion doctrine from a comparative perspective by presenting different regional and national experiences (the United States, the European Union, Brazil, China and India). In this regard, the paper finds that exhaustion regimes differ depending on the type of IPR (copyright, patents and trademarks) as well as across jurisdictions and industries.

It concludes that if properly tailored to specific contexts, the exhaustion doctrine can contribute towards promoting innovation, social well-being and development, in conjunction with other relevant measures and policy instruments.