In recent years intellectual property rights (IPR) took on major
significance as an element of global trade regulation. The
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS) at the World Trade Organization (WTO) obliges member
countries to protect patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade
secrets. This mandate has great impact in developing nations, which
had generally weaker IPR standards prior to TRIPS and subsequent
agreements. This emerging international regime for protecting IPR
raises thorny questions about how the new rules of the game might
affect fundamental economic processes, including innovation, trade
and economic development.
The governments of many developing countries see the new regime as
excessively protectionist and an impediment to their development
prospects. They perceive potential problems with abusive monopoly
practices, high costs for new medicines, and limited access to
scientific and educational materials. Indeed, it is ironic that
during a time of significant global liberalization of trade and
investment barriers, the IPR system may be raising restrictions on
access to the very technology flows that could substantiate the
gains from greater trading opportunities.
However, expansion of the global IPR regime also bears potential
for economic gains. It is possible that the new system will
encourage additional investments in R&D and innovation. The
ongoing internationalization of commercial R&D could be
accelerated. Such investments might increasingly meet the medical,
agricultural, and educational needs of people in poor countries.
The regime could also improve the mechanisms under which new
information goods are transferredacross borders, expanding the
possibilities for fruitful diffusion of technologies.
The implications of these reforms will be far-reaching, complex and
hard to predict. It is possible, for example, that stronger patents
will simply redistribute incomes across nations, generating
significant winners and losers without much overall innovation
gains. It is also possible that R&D investments could become
more concentrated among the developed and newly industrialized
economies but bypass the poorer locations. Ultimately, all such
questions need close theoretical and empirical scrutiny.
In this volume several economists who are closely involved in such
analysis offer comprehensive and analytical literature surveys of
the central questions regarding the linkages between intellectual
property protection, international trade and investment, and
economic growth. The authors range widely over their particular
areas of inquiry. At the international level the contributions
cover such questions as policy coordination in IPR, dispute
resolution, markets for technology and technology transfer,
international innovation, parallel trade, and economic development.
On the regulatory side there are thoughtful reviews of the legal
foundations of IPR, knowledge creation and the public domain,
networks and standards, competition policy, access to essential
medicines, and agricultural research.
The contributions are aimed primarily at economists, who will find
ambitious and up-to-date treatments of the most central areas of
IPR and globalization. The chapters analyze recent literature,
discuss shortcomings and key findings, and indicate where
additional research is urgently needed. However, scholarsof other
disciplines, particularly in law, political science, and
international relations, will find much of interest as well. The
literature reviews also constitute a valuable resource for students
in all these fields who wish to learn more about the economics of
international IPR.
*Brings together fresh insights from top economists.
*Considers various aspects of IPRs in the global economy from
analytical and empirical perspectives.
*Areas covered include information technology, trade, investment,
agriculture, medicine, firm behavior, and development.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
