Thinking strategically about intellectual property rights

Abstract

The paper divides the evolution of protection for intellectual property into three periods; the territorial, international and global periods. The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) represents the beginning of the global period. Its consequences are briefly discussed. Developing countries, the paper suggests, have little to gain from TRIPS. This raises the question of what they should do. The second and main part of the paper discusses the following seven strategies: non-compliance; the loophole strategy; the soft law strategy; the strategy of counter-proposal; the economic transparency strategy; the independent umpire strategy; and the hard law strategy.