ABSTRACT

Property rights are vital in a capitalist system; without them, markets cannot function. But in the eyes of many stakeholders the measures to regulate patents and other intellectual property rights (IPRs) adopted in recent decades constitute an excessively protective regime. They are the result of competition pressures that follow from globalisation, and of strategic behaviour by corporate actors seeking to capture public policy. Political institutions respond rather positively to business’s demands. But politicians also face challenges from societal contestations of pro-protection policies.