The TRIPS Agreement as a Coercive Threat: Estimating the Effects of Trade Ties on IPR Protection Regimes

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-275
Author(s):  
Ryan Cardwell ◽  
Pascal L. Ghazalian
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
Empirical Model ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Trips Agreement ◽  
Significant Determinant ◽  
Economic Regions ◽  
Ipr Protection

Negotiators from developed countries pushed hard for the inclusion of the TRIPS Agreement in the WTO set of agreements because it was viewed as a potentially effective method of coercing developing countries to strengthen their protection of intellectual property rights (IPR). We investigate whether the threat of cross-agreement retaliation, which could be authorized in disputes regarding the TRIPS Agreement, is effective in changing countries’ IPR protection regimes. The results from a panel empirical model suggest that both the TRIPS Agreement and the strength of trade ties with developed countries are important determinants of IPR protection regimes, but the vulnerability to potential trade losses through cross-agreement retaliation is not a uniformly significant determinant across geo-economic regions. These results extend beyond the TRIPS Agreement and highlight the potential ineffectiveness of the WTO’s retaliation mechanism as a coercive threat.

Are Developing Countries Going Too Far on TRIPS? A Closer Look at the New Laws in India

2008 ◽  
Vol 34 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 395-421
Author(s):  
Radhika Bhattacharya
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
Generic Drugs ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Trips Agreement ◽  
World Health ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Health Organization

The goal of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement is to harmonize the intellectual property rights of World Trade Organization (WTO) member countries to a certain minimum standard. As a WTO member, the organization required India to enact legislation that enforces TRIPS by 2005. Part of India's motivation to pass its 2005 Patents Act stemmed from its obligations as a WTO member nation, as well as the government's desire to stimulate greater foreign investment, innovative research and economic growth.India's implementation of the TRIPS Agreement has generated a great deal of controversy. Disagreement exists about whether the Indian Patents Act overzealously protects intellectual property rights and whether the Patents Act goes beyond the spirit of the TRIPS Agreement. Many health officials and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are seriously concerned about what the Patents Act implies for people suffering from diseases in less developed countries. Nonprofit and some World Health Organization officials argue that the new law prevents India from producing and supplying generic drugs within its borders and to other developing countries.

Intellectual Property Rights and Export Sophistication

2016 ◽  
Vol 07 (03) ◽  
pp. 1650015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huiying Zhang ◽  
Xiaohui Yang
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Ipr Protection

Developing economies are aiming to upgrade the sophistication of their exports. Previous studies have explored the drivers of export sophistication. However, the intellectual property rights (IPR) protection has attracted little attention. This paper studies how IPR protection affects export sophistication. The empirical results show that in developing countries, foreign direct investment (FDI) and imports play a mediating role in the relationship between IPR protection and export sophistication; while for developed countries, the corresponding mediating effects rely on research and development (R&D) and FDI. In addition, when making a more accurate classification of developing countries' imports and inward FDI origin, we find that the mediating effect depends on South–South imports and North–South FDI.

Foreign Direct Investment, Intellectual Property Rights, and Productivity Growth

2014 ◽  
Vol 05 (03) ◽  
pp. 1440009
Author(s):  
Sasatra Sudsawasd ◽  
Santi Chaisrisawatsuk
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
Productivity Growth ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Outward Fdi ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ipr Protection

Using panel data for 57 countries over the period of 1995–2012, this paper investigates the impact of intellectual property rights (IPR) processes on productivity growth. The IPR processes are decomposed into three stages — innovation process, commercialization process, and protection process. The paper finds that better IPR protection is directly associated with productivity improvements only in developed economies. In addition, the contribution of IPR processes on growth through foreign direct investment (FDI) appears to be quite limited. Only inward FDI in developed countries which creates better innovative capability leads to higher growth. In connection with outward FDI, only the increase in IPR protection and commercialization are proven to improve productivity in the case of developing countries, particularly when the country acts as the investing country.

The state of intellectual property rights (IPRs) in Latin America and its implications for innovation and growth

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-42
Author(s):  
Goretti Cabaleiro ◽  
Felipe Salce
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
The State ◽  
Ipr Protection

This article reviews the primary implications of having strong intellectual property rights (IPRs) for innovation in the context of the situation in Latin America. Specifically, the article reviews the relationships, as found in the literature, between strong IPR protection and important economic and innovation-related variables both for developed and developing countries. Beyond its focus on Latin America, the paper also provides evidence and explains the situation of the different IPR regimes; describes the existing regional and global legislation and initiatives; and looks into the debate regarding the effect of IPRs in developing countries.

The Impact of Globalization on Agricultural Biotechnology in Iran: A Model for Regional Intellectual Property Rights

2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-53
Author(s):  
Peter Phillips ◽  
Morteza Haghiri
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Research And Development ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Increasing Demand ◽  
Biotechnology Sector ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe increasing population of developing countries, which creates an increasing demand for food, is severely challenging traditional agricultural practices. Recent scientific developments have introduced biotechnology techniques to agriculture. To increase the benefits from implementing biotechnology, countries need both to continuously invest in research and development in their biotechnology sector and to implement a series of complementary policies. Establishing and enforcing the intellectual property rights of plant breeders are among of these policies. The successful institution of plant breeders' rights is influenced by market institutions and the legal system, which together comprise the environmental structure of the economy. Since property rights are not well established in most developing and developed countries, individual research and innovations cannot be protected from intellectual property piracy. As a result, there is little incentive to continue investment in research and development in biotechnology in those markets. This paper proposes a model of regional intellectual property rights for developing countries where individual intellectual property rights are not enforceable.

Intellectual property rights protection and export quality

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huiying Zhang ◽  
Xiaohui Yang
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
High Technology ◽  
Intellectual Property Protection ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Export Quality ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ipr Protection

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the impact of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection on its ability to enhance domestic export quality. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides a testable framework to explain the impact of IPR protection on export quality. Research and development (R&D) spending and foreign direct investment (FDI) are positively correlated with a country’s export quality. Furthermore, intellectual property protection can induce more FDI and R&D spending. Therefore, the authors expect that there may be an indirect relationship between intellectual property protection and export quality (Figure 1). Findings The empirical results suggest that the influence paths of IPR protection on export quality are different between developed and developing countries. FDI plays a mediating role in the relationship between IPR protection and export quality in developing countries, while this mediating effect in developed countries is dependent on R&D and FDI. In addition, this impact is statistically significant in high-technology industries. Especially, IPR protection plays an extraordinary important role in enhancing the export quality of differentiated high-technology products. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature in several ways. First, this is the first empirical analysis focusing on the influence path of IPR protection on export quality. The authors find that the hypothesis is supported by the positive and significant interaction coefficients of IPR protection with FDI and R&D. Second, the authors explore that the influence path of IPR protection on export quality may vary with the level of economic development. Third, this paper examines the effect of IPR protection on export quality in different industries.

scholarly journals Intellectual Property Rights and Economic Growth: The Case of Middle Income Developing Countries

2007 ◽  
Vol 46 (4II) ◽  
pp. 711-722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pervez Zamurrad Janjua ◽  
Ghulam Samad
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Average Growth ◽  
Increase In Productivity ◽  
External Sector

Intellectual property (IP) refers to the creation of mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, name, and images used in commerce. Intellectual property rights (IPRs) have been widely recognised as a growth enhancing factor for the global economies as a whole. IPRs regime can influence the growth process through domestic and external sector of an economy. This study is primarily concerned with the effects of IPRs regime through external sector. Through different channels IPRs can promote economic growth in the recipient countries. The most important is technology transfer and its positive spillovers. Therefore, IPRs exert economic growth, which requires increase in productivity, increase in productivity requires increase in technological innovation and it requires the efficient protection of IPRs Rapp and Rozek (1990). The IPRs can influence the average growth more effectively in the open economies as compare to the close one Gould and Gruben (1996). Latter on Thompson and Rushing (1999) extended the model and included total factor productivity (TFP) in their growth model, which shows that IPRs have an insignificant impact on TFP for developed and developing countries but a positive and significant impact for the developed countries. To sustain economic growth it requires secured property rights system.

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