Peter K. Yu on Asian Philosophy and Intellectual Property

Peter K. Yu, Texas A&M University School of Law, is publishing Intellectual Property, Asian Philosophy and the Yin-Yang School in volume 7 of the WIPO Journal (2015). Here is the abstract.

Written for a special issue on intellectual property philosophy, this article begins by providing a brief discussion of the many different schools of Asian philosophy, including those in China and India. Although Confucianism has garnered considerable attention in intellectual property literature, the nexus between Asian philosophy and the notion of intellectual property rights remains largely understudied. Thus, instead of revisiting the debate on intellectual property and Confucianism, this article aims to introduce to the Western audience Yin-Yang, one of the six dominant ancient schools of Chinese philosophy. It argues that this school’s focus on contexts, relationships and adaptiveness and its high tolerance for contradictions have made it particularly well-equipped to address the ongoing intellectual property challenges concerning both emerging economies and the digital environment.

Download the article from SSRN at the link.