In response to requests to support countries’ efforts toward capacity-building in the area of intellectual property and public health, the WHO Regional Office for Africa and the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia have conducted a course entitled “Towards an Intellectual Property Regime that Protects Public Health”. This course was held on 22-27 June 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa and on 6-10 July 2009 in Bangalore, India. This volume contains a selection of the papers used in these courses. Its publication is intended to facilitate the conducting of further courses on the implications of intellectual property rights on access to medicines. However, it can also be used as a reference for readers who, having already acquired an understanding of the basic concepts in this field, would like to gain a deeper understanding of the issues. The compilation, like the course on which it is based, aims to support efforts to build capacity in the application and management of intellectual property in a manner oriented toward the public health needs and priorities of developing countries, as mandated by the Global Strategy and Plan of Action on public health, innovation and intellectual property, adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2008. These papers explore the principal issues in intellectual property as it relates to public health. They are comprehensive, though not exhaustive, as the field is a constantly evolving one. They do attempt to address various perspectives of interest to readers concerned with public health.