Bridging the valley of death: a socio-legal theoretical exposition

This thesis has investigated the ‘valley of death’ problem in social innovation contexts. The ‘valley of death’ means innovation failures. It manifests when public values for useful science, technology, artistic creations, goods and services aren’t duly considered in the innovation decision-making processes. 

The thesis demonstrates how intellectual property (IP) law may form useful means to address the ‘valley of death’ problem in social innovation contexts. The thesis attaches importance to the capacities of intellectual property law to promote human centred approaches to social innovation as the means to address 'the valley of death' problem.

In essence, the thesis bolsters ‘humanised’ and ‘human development’ approaches to intellectual property law in the cause of successful social innovation.