science and technology, and changing international IPR regimes, relate to the missions of the federal government?

The chapters in this section address these issues. In Chapter 8, John Armstrong discusses in detail the trends in global science and technology and what they mean for intellectual property systems. He identifies and describes three trends: (1) science will continue to provide an increasing number of discoveries; (2) research topics will continue to proliferate and the conduct of research will become globalized; and (3) short, quick steps to product application will be at a premium. From these trends he discerns two general principles: (1) in the face of continuing scientific and technological change, the best course of action will be to rely on flexible adaptation of existing, basic IPR concepts; and (2) since research, development, and invention are increasingly global, IPR systems should also be globalized.

In Chapter 9, three discussants describe the implications of the trends in IPRs for organizations in different economic sectors. John Preston describes the nature of his university's interest in intellectual property and how that drives the use of IPRs in licensing.

Bruce Merrifield addresses implications for the government sector. He discusses the opportunities and challenges that exist for using advanced technology to expand economies and improve the quality of life around the world. He argues that the federal government has an important role to play in providing incentives and that intellectual property protection is required for the entrepreneurial function to thrive.

George McKinney III discusses the gap between historical/theoretical models of IPRs and the real world in which U.S. corporations must operate. He raises several issues that he believes illustrate improvements that are needed in the IPR system.

In Chapter 10, representatives from companies in different industries and different countries describe the implications of recent changes in science, technology, and IPRs for corporate strategy. Otto Stamm attests to the importance of strong patent protection for continued development of new drugs. In the face of increasing development costs, government cost controls, and imitative products, he predicts that the pharmaceutical industry will be increasingly unable to afford a globally oriented marketing strategy for new products unless worldwide protection of pharmaceuticals is achieved.

Michiyuki Uenohara addresses the issue of the higher license fees being charged by some U.S. companies in those industries. He criticizes the higher fees on the basis that they obstruct advancement of the public welfare by contributing to higher product costs. He argues that it is time to restore the original purpose of intellectual property law, which he views as "to legally protect the inventor's right in order to promote the application of such valuable intellectual creations for the benefit of the public welfare."

Antonio Medina Mora Icaza discusses the implications of recent changes