I think this is well worth circulating to the larger GKD "community".
Note this is from a World Bank sponsored Think Tank on Intellectual
Property.
regs
Mike Gurstein
_______________________
Date: Tue, 28 Apr 98 09:27:04 EDT
From: niranjan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [IPRSTECH:6]
C Niranjan Rao
ICRIER, New Delhi
Greetings!
As a response to the introductory remarks of Mr. Fink for the first
week of the Think Tank, I am sending the following comment.
Are IPRs relevant for low-income countries?
I will consider only patents. The history and literature dealing with
the experience of developing countries with the patent system reveal
that the patent system was marginal to their interests. Noting that
the major objectives of patents are generating technology, there are
two issues involved. Whether the patent system encouraged inventions
by the domestic inventors, and whether it encouraged technology
transfer?
The patent system originated in developed countries. Its relevance for
developing countries was not tested independently. Many developing
countries had patent laws during their colonial period. They were
'strong' patent laws but did not seem to have either generated domestic
inventions or encouraged technology transfer. Once these countries
regained independence they started revising their patent laws.
The fact that the literature deals only marginally with domestic
technology generation and the patent system may reflect the reality
that it is not very relevant to the kind of technological change that
occurs in the developing countries.
The principle of national treatment has taken away a very important
policy instrument from the hands of developing countries to experiment
with the possibility of giving higher level of protection for domestic
inventions. If the protection available to domestic and foreign
inventors is the same it automatically benefits the foreign inventor.
That is the situation developing countries faced and face even today.
They are overwhelmed by foreign patents. Coupled with this many
developing countries faced abuses of patents, especially non-working,
high prices etc. What would the reaction of developing countries be?
They 'reduced' their patent protection. This effected their domestic
inventors too. They also made efforts in international fora to
'reduce' protection afforded by these international treaties. They did
not succeed.
What was their experience with patent system and technology transfer?
It has been well recorded in literature that very few of the foreign
patents were worked in developing countries. Can one attribute all
this non-working of patents to efficiency arguments alone. There may
be other reasons. The reduction of patent protection took the form of
keeping some technologies out of the patent system, giving only process
patents to chemical inventions (including pharmaceuticals), reducing
the duration of patents and compulsory licensing.
Compulsory licensing is not equivalent to revocation of patents. It
works only if there is a party interested in working the patent,
approaches the patentee for a voluntary licenses and does not succeed
and willing to take the risk of working without the know how associated
with the patent and willing to pay a royalty. According to the patent
laws of many countries the applicant for a compulsory license has to
show that the grounds on which a compulsory license can be granted
exist.
Thanks.
--
C.NIRANJAN RAO
INDIAN COUNCIL FOR RESEARCH ON
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS
4TH FLOOR, EAST COURT
INDIA HABITAT CENTRE
LODI ROAD
NEW DELHI 110003
INDIA
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Fax : 91-11-4620180
Phone: 4692070, 4645218-20, 4616329
