Patent policy is supposed to incentivize innovation and commercialization of new goods in return for a period of exclusive use, which could support monopoly power. Competition policy is aimed partially at offsetting this power to safeguard the interests of consumers. This inherent tension has long been evident in rich and technologically advanced countries. However, few scholars have analyzed the relevant tradeoffs in developing economies, where innovation and
purchasing power are fundamentally different. Thomas Cheng's book is a comprehensive and novel treatment of these complex issues, combining deep legal scholarship with a sound understanding of economic incentives to craft a rich and nuanced approach to this vital, yet so far neglected, policy frontier.
This is a landmark volume, which should be read closely by all scholars in intellectual property, competition, and innovation economics.
Thomas Cheng is an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong. He has written extensively on competition law in developing countries and on the competition law of a number of Asian jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, China, and Japan. His research has appeared in respected specialist U.S. journals, including Chicago Journal of International Law, Berkeley Business Law Journal, Virginia Law & Business Review, and University of Pennsylvania Journal of
Business Law, and in leading competition law journals such as Journal of Antitrust Enforcement and World Competition. In 2020, he published Competition Law in Developing Countries, with Oxford University Press.