Intellectual Property Rights And Global Capitalism The Political Economy Of The Trips Agreement

This is an examination of the origins and impact of the agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) negotiated during the Uruguay Round of GATT talks. The principal theme is that the TRIPS agreement is not in the best interests of the poorer countries, and that its imposition on them by the richer countries has more to do with the exercise of political and economic power than with the positive economic benefits the agreement's supporters claim it can deliver. To support this assertion the book critically examines the economic evidence regarding the impact of intellectual property rights on such important variables as export performance, foreign investment, and economic growth. The author provides a political economic analysis of why the poorer countries acceded to the TRIPS agreement, illustrated with case studies of two important industries where the struggle over intellectual property is especially strong: pharmaceutical and agricultural biotechnology sectors. Designed for use in advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in international political economy and international relations theory, the book offer a radical view of the process of globalization.

It has become a commonplace that there has been an information revolution, transforming both society and the economy. In 1995 the Trade Related Intellectual Property (TRIPs) agreement aimed to harmonise protection for property in knowledge throughout the global system. This book considers the contemporary disputes about the ownership of knowledge resources - as in the cases of genetically modified foods, the music industry or the internet - and the problematic nature of the TRIPs agreement. In this highly topical book, Christopher May reveals that, because of such problems, at present the balance in intellectual property rights between public good and private reward is more often than not weighted towards the latter.

With the launch of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, its Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) emerged as a symbol of coercion in international economic relations. In the decade that followed, intellectual property became one of the most contentious topics of global policy debate. This book is the first full-length study of the politics surrounding what developing countries did to implement TRIPS and why. Based on a review of the evidence from 1995 to 2007, this book emphasises that developing countries exhibited considerable variation in their approach to TRIPS implementation. In particular, developing countries took varying degrees of advantage of the legal safeguards and options-commonly known as TRIPS 'flexibilities'-that the Agreement provides. To explain this variation, this book argues that TRIPS implementation must be understood as a complex political game played out among developing country governments and a range of stakeholders-developed countries, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), intergovernmental organisations (IGOs), and industry groups. The contested nature of the TRIPS bargain spurred competing efforts to revise the terms of TRIPS and to influence global IP regulation more broadly. The intensity of the implementation game was amplified by an awareness among the various stakeholders that the IP reforms developing countries pursued would influence these ongoing international negotiations. The book attributes the variation in TRIPS implementation to the interplay between these global IP debates, international power pressures, and political dynamics within developing countries. The book includes historical analysis, compilations of evidence, and analysis supported by examples from across the developing world. The Implementation Game will be of interest both to scholars of international relations, law, and international political economy as well as to policymakers, commentators, and activists engaged in debates on the global governance of intellectual property.

Analysis of the power of multinational corporations in moulding international law on intellectual property rights.

'This book is a substantial contribution to the discussion on trade-related intellectual property rights. It provides a clear, step-by-step, in-depth analysis of the TRIPS agreement, particularly as it relates to the European pharmaceutical industry. Politics, law and economics are judiciously blended. Meir Pugatch's work should be read not just by academic experts and students in the field, but also by trade policy and IPR practitioners interested in an accessible, policy-relevant treatment of the issues at hand.' - Razeen Sally, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK This book investigates the realm of intellectual property rights (IPRs) within the context of international political economy. In particular, it examines the extent to which powerful interest groups, such as pharmaceutical multinational companies, influence the political dynamism underlying the field of IPRs. Meir Perez Pugatch argues that a pure economic approach does not provide a sufficient or satisfactory explanation for the creation of intellectual property rights, most notably patents. The author instead suggests that a dynamic approach, based on the international political economy of interest groups and systemic outcomes, provides a better starting point for explaining how the international intellectual property agenda is determined.

Covering the World Intellectual Property Organization, this volume introduces a much ignored element of the contemporary structure of global governance to scholars of international political economy. Christopher May discusses: how the World Intellectual Property Organization works, its antecedents and history the debates about the role and justification of intellectual property the role of WIPO within contemporary global politics the key elements of its relations with the World Trade Organization the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. The analysis then examines the recent political economy of the organization and argues that far from being the neutral or technical agency that it often presents itself as, the WIPO is highly politicized and acts to socialize policy makers and civil servants into a specific view of intellectual property. However, the recent proposal to establish a Development Agenda at the WIPO is an important development, and the book concludes by examining the problems which have promoted this agenda, suggesting that these reforms of the WIPO should be welcomed. The World Intellectual Property Organization is a clear and accessible volume that will confirm the WIPO as one of the global institutions which any student of global governance must understand.

This book considers the contemporary disputes about the ownership of knowledge resources - as in the cases of genetically modified foods, the music industry or the Internet - and the problematic nature of the Trade Related Intellectual Property (TRIPs) agreement.