Person Career
Defending intellectual property
IPN Opinion article
\"Unfortunately, the outcome of Doha suggests that inventors in developing countries may only find true intellectual property protection in the first world. The costs and effort this inevitably entails would act as a serious disincentive to innovation, and those who did innovate would have little reason to cater to their own market under the threat of state sanctioned piracy.\"
Picking holes in environmentalists' case
IPN Opinion article
ACID rain, global warming, polluted rivers, species loss, deforestation, falling sperm counts and desertification everywhere, the world seems to be going to hell in a hand basket.
Only radical changes in our lives and major population reductions can halt the decline. Or that's what mainstream green groups tell us. But former Greenpeace member and Danish academic Bjorn Lomborg says that's nonsense. In fact, the environment is doing much better than ever before.
Lomborg's words, compiled in a major book, The Skeptical Environmentalist, will be sweet music to the ears of US President George Bush. Bush has been pilloried by most European political leaders for withdrawing the US from the Kyoto climate treaty, but unlike most of the ecoalarmist ministers in Europe, he has the backing of Lomborg's data.
India's Glorious Technological Future
IPN Opinion article
The past few years have seen explosive growth in India's IT industry. At the same time, other knowledge-based industries, such as pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, have languished. The main reason for this is the deficiency in India's intellectual property laws. Reform of these laws could place India at the forefront of the important emerging field of bioinformatics.
Compulsory licensing no solution to health problems in poor countries, say experts from India, Argentina, Canada and South Africa.
IPN Opinion article
In a collection of papers published today, a group of experts from around the world contradict the claim that compulsory licensing of 'essential' medicines will benefit the world's poor. They point out that patents and other forms of intellectual property are an essential component in economic development. Interfering with intellectual property by compulsory licensing or price controls will undermine investments and cause more harm than good. They call instead for stronger protection of intellectual property globally.
A statistician with a mission
IPN Opinion article
"'There is very little rocket science in this book', states Professor Bj¯rn Lomborg, author of The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World. Maybe not - but its publication in the UK has caused something of an explosion."
Angling for Britain's Fishermen
IPN Opinion article
Whalers, game hunters, laboratory scientists and even their bankers, have all felt the brunt of animal-rights campaigns. Now it's the turn of your average weekend fisherman. Driving around Britain this week one can see posters of a dog with a hook through its lip adorning billboards. The caption reads: "If you wouldn't do this to a dog, why do it to a fish?" It sounds innocent enough, but this may all end up in tears.
These posters are part of a $45 million campaign by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to outlaw fishing in Britain. It is misguided folly that could lead to an increase in attacks on fishermen. PETA will not miss the anglers if they quit in fear, but the fish surely will.
Save the Whales
IPN Opinion article
The Norwegian or Japanese whaler slicing open a dead whale sees a useful commodity, while the owner of a whale-watching business in Seattle or Virginia Beach needs a living and preferably docile creature in order to sell their service. The Greenpeace activist values each living whale without regard to any direct economic use. Unfortunately, these ways of valuing whales conflict.
Until recently, the International Whaling Commission\'s moratorium on commercial whaling muted the dispute. But the institution is now at a critical juncture, created in part by its own success at restoring many whale populations.
Zimbabwe's policies not helping the malaria fight
IPN Opinion article
The fight against malaria needs concerted efforts from governments, the World Health Organisation, research institutes and the private sector. The disease is the biggest killer in Africa and policies are needed that encourage investment in ways of combating it and that create stable and prosperous economies. The Zimbabwean government's policies do far more harm than good and affect those far beyond the country's borders.
A Tiger Slumbers in Maine's Woods
IPN Opinion article
Shlaes argues that "is no excuse for the US state's economic stagnation. Its policymakers should take a leaf from Ireland's book"
The Business of Protesting
IPN Opinion article
Antiglobalization protests have become a big business that involves millions of dollars, trans-national organizations and a global agenda. Don't be too surprised. Even Greenpeace -- a global enterprise with offices in London, Buenos Aires, Washington and Tokyo -- has a chief financial officer these days. Indeed, the antiglobalization movement seems like corporate dystopia, a mirror image of the business world complete with trade associations, venture capitalists, management recruiting and marketing campaigns. Instead of selling T-shirts or toothpaste, the agitators are selling limits on cross-border trade.
