Intellectual property rights have been high on the policy agenda in recent years.

Intellectual property occupies a central position in the biotechnology innovation system, the expected source of new medicines, foods and bio-energy.

Technological solutions are imperative in meeting the challenges of climate change. A critical factor in greenhouse gas emissions, technology is also fundamental to enhancing existing abilities and lowering the costs of reducing these emissions.

This paper aims to assist the international community in its efforts to curb the misappropriation of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge through IPRs. It outlines how an international legal regime may assist the enforcement of decisions made under national access and benefit-sharing regulations by providing for the recognition of such decisions in foreign jurisdictions.

The Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) Policy for Kerala puts forth the concept of 'knowledge commons' and 'commons licence' for traditional knowledge. The policy says that all traditional knowledge, including traditional medicine, must belong to the domain of "knowledge commons" and not to public domain. The system should be introduced through legal arrangements. While community or family custodians will have rights to knowledge that belonged to them, the rest of the traditional knowledge will belong to Kerala State.

This volume is the result of a trade and climate change seminar held in Copenhagen in June 2008. Following the structure of that seminar, it explores six themes that link trade and investment to climate change, for each asking where trade policy might be of service to climate change objectives.