Innovation, Technical Change, and Patents in the Development Process: A Long-Term View1

Abstract

The historical evidence on the long term influences of patent rights on economic development supports our argument that recent changes in the international patent regime are arguably a step in the wrong direction, and makes a strong case for halting—and even backing off from—the global convergence of standards of patent protection toward those prevailing in the advanced economies. This chapter identifies the laxity or sheer absence of patent protection as a common feature of nearly all instances of successful catching up. There is no evidence to suggest that weak domestic patent protection has been an important constraint on a country’s development prospects. The consequences of recent changes in the global regime of patent protection are likely to be especially visible in the areas of pharmaceuticals and chemicals, where the difference between pre- and post-TRIPS regimes is most significant.

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