The Justification for IPR Protection

“Intellectual property (IP)” refers to inventions, devices, new varieties of designs and other properties that are produced through “mental or creative labour” by human beings, and the law regulating intellectual property is “highly politicised.” “Intellectual property rights (IPR)” is a catch-all term used to describe the legal status and protection that allows people to own intellectual properties – the intangible products of their creativity and innovation imbedded in physical objects – in the form that they own physical properties. According to the official interpretation of World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), IPR comprises those legal rights, by which the products of intellectual activity over a range of endeavours are defined. For the purposes of the TRIPs Agreement, IPR refers to copyright and related rights, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs, patents, integrated circuit layout-designs, protection of undisclosed information and anti-competitive practices in contractual licenses.

The way in which IPR is comprehended in any society is shaped by its legal, economic, political and cultural dimensions. Scholars from different backgrounds have often debated the validity and legitimacy of IPR from different perspectives.9 In this chapter, the author attempts to review IPR from its economic, legal and political perspective and justify the correlation between IPR and economic growth and transfer of technology, identify legal flexibility to implement international IPR standards, and examine the political implications of the existing IPR regime, particularly under TRIP Agreement.