Promoting a second-tier protection regime for innovation of small and medium-sized enterprises in South Asia

Intellectual Property law is a dynamic field; its ever-changing landscape challenges us to constantly revisit the existing laws and policies. Although ideological currents of a second-tier patent (STP) regime are sweeping through the South Asian region in recent years, the concept of utility model or petty patent remains a largely unexplored option in Sri Lanka and in other parts of the South Asian region. Against this backdrop, this book offers an alternative approach to incentivise minor and incremental innovations of SMEs. It also explores whether Sri Lanka and other developing economies in the South Asian region can benefit from such an STP regime if it is tailored to the specific characteristics of the innovation landscape of the country. Nishantha Sampath Punchi Hewage, LL. B. (Hons.), LLM in IP (MIPLC), is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. He is also an Attorney-at-Law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. He conducts research in the field of intellectual property (IP), innovation, competition, and human rights.