Intellectual Property Rights and Biotechnology: How to Improve the Present Patent System

30 Pages Posted: 20 Jun 2005

See all articles by Ignazio Musu

Ignazio Musu

Ca Foscari University of Venice - Dipartimento di Economia

Date Written: June 2005

Abstract

The paper discusses two types of problems related to assigning or denying intellectual property rights to agro-biotechnological innovations in the relation between developed and developing countries. First, protecting property rights on innovations creates incentives towards further research and innovation, which in some cases may be beneficial to society, in others not so. If the assigning of the right does not guarantee the potential beneficial use of the innovation, not assigning rights would not prevent its potentially dangerous utilization. Secondly, the power of exclusion of the holder of an intellectual property right limits access to the newly produced knowledge: this may discourage the process of producing new knowledge, harming developing countries. Moreover the property right holder may end up with excessive market power when commercializing the innovation, which is also harmful to developing countries. It is shown that these problems cannot be solved by denying protection to property rights on innovations, but by improving procedures for awarding these rights and accompanying them with appropriate liability rules and antitrust measures.

Keywords: Intellectual property rights, Biotechnology, Patent system

JEL Classification: O30, O33, O34

Suggested Citation

Musu, Ignazio, Intellectual Property Rights and Biotechnology: How to Improve the Present Patent System (June 2005). FEEM Working Paper No. 83.05, University Ca' Foscari of Venice, Dept. of Economics Research Paper Series No. 01/06, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=744444 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.744444

Ignazio Musu (Contact Author)

Ca Foscari University of Venice - Dipartimento di Economia ( email )

Cannaregio 873
Venice, 30121
Italy

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