Can International Patent Protection Help a Developing Country Grow?

International patent protection was a key issue at the multilateral trade talks sponsored by the World Trade Organization in Cancun in September 2003. Indeed, since the organization was founded almost ten years ago, the international protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) has been a bone of contention between developing and industrialized countries.At that time, developing countries did agree to adopt some minimum protection by 2006. But since then, they have continued to argue that the international protection of IPR entails high costs to their economies. For example, a patent system is costly to set up and enforce. In addition, only a few exceptions permit the use of patented technology for public health reasons without paying the innovators. International patents also limit the developing countries’ ability to copy expensive technologies that they claim are essential to their economies.