Patent Protection, Southern Innovation and Welfare in a North–South Trade Model

Abstract

In a North–South trade model, we analyse the implications of southern patent protection on southern innovation, profits and welfare. Southern patent protection may make the northern firm worse off and the southern firm better off by increasing the southern firm's incentive for innovation and affecting the nature of competition in the world market. The impact of southern patent protection on a country's welfare and on world welfare depends on the cost of southern innovation and the degree of product substitutability. We provide important insights into the outcomes of international negotiations regarding patent enforcement in the southern countries.