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Im Zuge der entstehenden Informationsgesellschaft spielen patentrechtliche Regulierungen eine wichtige Rolle bei der Gewichtung von Innovationsanreizen durch Exklusivrechte und der Verbreitung technologisch relevanten Wissens. Hierbei haben die USA und Europa in Bezug auf die Patentierbarkeit von Computerprogrammen unterschiedliche Entwicklungspfade eingeschlagen. Während Software in den USA durchweg unter dem Patentschutz subsumiert wird, sind in Europa Computerprogramme dem Grundsatz nach von der Patentierung ausgenommen. Im Rahmen dieses Buches werden die divergierenden Regulierungsansätze durch die je unterschiedlichen institutionellen Strukturen erklärt, innerhalb derer über die Patentierbarkeit von Computerprogrammen entschieden wird.

The article investigates the impact of REDD+ programs on indigenous livelihoods. Referring to Ferdinand Tönnies' distinction, it argues that the involvement of indigenous groups with REDD+ fosters a transition from locally oriented, self-sustaining "communities" towards individualistic and market-oriented "societies" that are integrated into the global REDD+ architecture. Although international REDD+ initiatives attempt to integrate indigenous perspectives with the help of consultative procedures, the necessary conditions for a context-sensitive transformation remain unfulfilled, as long as indigenous groups do not obtain secure property titles for their lands. The inherent contradictions of the prevailing REDD+ approach create social tensions and dilemmas both for the participating indigenous groups and the initiators of these projects. Based on semi-structured interviews and participant observations, these dynamics are illustrated by the interplay between indigenous groups, public officials, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and international REDD+ financers in Mato Grosso (Brazil).

During the course of bio-prospecting and biodiversity conservation projects, scientists, researchers from the life-science industry, and environmental protection groups attempt to access indigenous and traditional communities' knowledge of the local biodiversity. They confront these groups with the idea that their knowledge can be commercialized. Although the affected communities partly adapt to this view, they insist on their right to decide autonomously and by their own laws whether they are willing to share their knowledge. External actors, however, often reject the right of indigenous self- determination. The evolving conflicts do not only take place on a local level – varying domestic regulatory approaches also shape them. At the same time, a multitude of international organizations also address the issue of access to traditional knowledge, and their activities in turn shape interactions on a domestic and local level. In this paper, the complex interactions that are associated with the access to traditional knowledge shall be regarded as a multi-level process of adaptation and resistance. Empirically, this paper focuses on traditional knowledge policies in India and Brazil. The analysis of the interplay between local, national, and international traditional knowledge regulations in both countries shall serve to explore some possible avenues for further research on processes of adaption and resistance. ; Im Rahmen von Bioprospektionen und Projekten zum Erhalt der Biodiversität versuchen Wissenschaftler, Forscher aus Unternehmen des Life Sciences Bereichs und Umweltschutzgruppen, Zugang zum Wissen indigener und traditioneller Bevölkerungsgruppen über die natürliche Artenvielfalt zu erhalten. Sie konfrontieren diese Gruppen dabei mit der Vorstellung, dass ihr Wissen einer kommerziellen Verwertung zugeführt werden kann. Obwohl die hiervon betroffenen Gruppen sich dieser Sichtweise nicht vollends verschließen, bestehen sie darauf, selbst und entsprechend ihres Gewohnheitsrechts darüber zu entscheiden, ob sie ihr ...

Both in the United States and the European Union, patent policy instruments in information and communication technologies are contested. Although current reform proposals would lead to a uniform patent eligibility for computer programs in both economic spheres, such an outcome is rather unlikely. In a theoretic perspective, contrasting policies in one of the most important technology sectors challenge the expectation of converging regulative regimes. In a view to reveal the structural causes for the persisting divergence, it is argued that incompatible underlying paradigms, differentiated patterns of power structure, and unsynchronized institutional arrangements may resist even strong pressures to harmonize regulative practices. The interaction between these elements will be addressed and discussed as a perspective to define restraints on the scope of convergence theories.

This article explores the paradoxical behaviour of Brazil in relation to its national and international approaches to the regulations of access to genetic resources and benefits sharing with indigenous and other traditional communities. Brazil was one of the leaders in the international negotiations that led to the UN Nagoya Protocol but only ratified it 11 years later, after remarkable transformations of its internal biodiversity laws. We suggest that the seemingly contradictory behaviour has been shaped by the country's internal political and ideological changes. This transformation goes hand in hand with substantial changes in state–society relations, particularly with regard to the balance of coalitions' power between indigenous groups and industrial and agrarian elites. The article builds on the literature on state transformations and relies on the Advocacy Coalition Framework to show the importance of considering the impact of national-level politics on the fate of international agreements.

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) are strongly criticized by political ecology scholars. Predominantly, their critique is rooted in notions of distributive justice, as they focus on the negative impact (e.g. land rights distribution) of PES for indigenous and other local communities. Many liberal supporters of PES do not deny that these problems are real. However, they put more emphasis on procedural justice and claim that PES may trigger an institutionalization of more inclusive dialogic procedures. As of yet, both strands of literature underestimate the impact of the postcolonial conditions in which many Pes projects are situated. This is where our article steps in. We investigate initial PES politics in Mato Grosso do Sul, a Brazilian province dominated by ongoing settler colonialism. Our research results indicate that the implementation of inclusive procedures in PES projects may partially mitigate the consequences of ongoing settler colonialism but that this more frequently fails because of its being embedded into the structures of a colonially shaped political economy. Although PES occasionally empower indigenous actors to confront local elites more effectively and strengthen the rights of indigenous women, the resulting transformations within the communities themselves are likely to weaken their political self-organization.