Intellectual property for economic development: issues and policy implications

Protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) serves a dual role in economic development.

While it promotes innovation by providing legal protection of inventions, it may retard catch-up and learning by restricting the diffusion of innovations.

Does stronger IPR protection in a developing country encourage technology development in or technology transfer to that country?

This book addresses the issue, covering diverse forms of IPRs, diverse actors in innovation, and diverse cases from Asia and Latin America.