Introduction

A central concern among policymakers is to understand how the shift toward stronger protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) may affect access of developing countries to advanced proprietary technologies from firms in developed countries. Developing countries, including least-developed countries, place considerable hope in the power of foreign technology to improve the productivity and growth performances of their economies. Indeed, a key plank of the Doha Declaration calls on developed countries to find means of encouraging technology transfer to the least-developed nations, as specified in Article 66.2 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights at the World Trade Organization.

The extent to which international technology flows would increase as a result of strengthening IPRs depends importantly on the state of access to technological information. Such access is determined by a variety of factors. Impediments may come from many sources in the recipient country, including weak domestic absorption capacities, poor infrastructure, restrictions on inward technology, trade, and investment flows, and inadequate regulatory systems. In this context, strengthening intellectual property (IP) protection could play a positive and important role in mitigating the costs such factors raise for investors and thereby expanding technology flows. It should be evident from this brief description, however, that simply strengthening IPRs alone cannot suffice to improve access significantly. Rather, the intellectual property regime needs to be buttressed by appropriate infrastructure, governance, and competition systems in order to be effective.

One should note, however, that patents can block technology transfers under certain circumstances.