ABSTRACT
Sherwood and others have argued in favor of a uniform intellectual property rights (IPR) system for the entire world. In order to have an enforceable IPR system, one must also have an appropriate judiciary and a bureaucracy that administers the system fairly and efficiently. The fundamental question is not whether a country ought to have IPR protection for its inventions but the type of protection needed to safeguard its property and if the protection is strong enough to eliminate exploitation of its resources by bigger and richer countries. Countries with weak intellectual property systems lack the infrastructure necessary for building a strong technological base and are hindered from developing a strong team of technical personnel who can lead the country or train younger people. In contrast to K. Burch’s optimistic liberal interpretation, economist and social scientist Noam Chomsky stated that hidden human cost and monopoly by the developed nations with great clout and resources would lead to disaster.
