All too often, forests are reduced to a single figure: the amount of CO₂ they store. However, a new review in Science, to which the Net Zero Lab contributed, shows that forests do much more than that. They help mitigate climate change by cooling the local environment, regulating water cycles, and improving human health and well-being. The effects vary depending on the environmental context, with important implications for forest management and climate adaptation strategies.
Artificial intelligence is increasingly determining the prices we are offered when shopping online. Klaus Wiedemann, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute, has examined what this means, which laws protect us, and where further regulation is needed.
Artificial intelligence can generate texts, images, and music in seconds that would take humans hours or days to create – and at a fraction of the cost. In a recent paper, Josef Drexl shows that traditional copyright law falls short in this area and argues for a radical paradigm shift.
Dietmar Harhoff now serves a a member of the newly formed VDI Innovationsrat (The Association of German Engineers’ Innovation Council) for Germany. The Innovation Council, which was established in the run-up to the Hannover Messe, is part of the VDI initiative „Zukunft Deutschland 2050“ (Future Germany 2050), which is developing a long-term strategy to ensure Germany’s competitiveness as a location for technology.
At the invitation of Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the Strategy Group for Technology and Innovation (Strategiekreis Technologie und Innovation) held its second meeting of the 21st legislative period. The Strategy Group continued its deliberations on the two topics established at theInaugural Meeting on 6 November 2025:“Artificial Intelligence” and “Innovations in the Defense Sector.” In addition, options for strengthening the German innovation system were examined.
Founded on 1 March 1966, the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Patent, Copyright and Competition Law was originally established to pursue fundamental legal research on intellectual property law. The Instituteʼs work has informed legislative developments at the national, European, and international levels, and it continues to promote evidence-based discourse among academia, policymakers, industry, and society.
Pauer, Nada InaEuroparechtliche Grenzen der Verbandsautonomie im Lichte jüngster Entwicklungen NZKart - Neue Zeitschrift für Kartellrecht 14, 3 (2026), 106 - 111.
Contributions to collected editions
Heger, AlexanderEconomic Fairness in Sports Governance: Revised Federation Autonomy Following European Superleague in: European Yearbook of International Economic Law, Bd. 2025, Springer, Berlin; Heidelberg 2026, 1 - 26 (gemeinsam mit Nada Ina Pauer, Michael Primbs).
Research Papers
Ullrich, HannsDas Einheitliche Patentgericht am Beginn seiner eigenständigen Rechtsprechung: Vielfältige Einheitlichkeit (Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition Discussion Paper, No. 29), 2026, 47 S.
Wang, Lucy Xiaolu; Chan, Nathan W. (2026). Cannabis Legalization Spurs Innovation, but Not Always in Ways That Benefit Patients or Public Health The Conversation 2026.
Discussion Papers
Liu, Xia; Wang, Lucy Xiaolu; Yu, Xinmiao; Harhoff, Dietmar (2026). Patent Management and Licensing in China: New Evidence from Field Surveys.
Articles in Refereed Journals
Rose, Michael; Juríková, Katarína; Pelepets, Marina; Slivko, Olga; Yereshko, Julia (2026). Shelter in Scholarship: Evidence from a Global Survey of Hosts for Displaced Ukrainian Scientists Research Policy, 55 (3).
