Editor in Chief : SARAH WILLIAMSCONTENTSRESOURCES
PRESS RELEASEDeveloping countries lost a golden chance at the WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong by focussing on the removal of agricultural subsidies in developed countries. They should demand the removal of TRIPS from the WTO if they wish to escape from the vicious cycle of poverty and backwardness.
The TRIPS agreement protects the rights of inventors and requires consumers to pay more for patented products. However, this is justified because it encourages investment in research, which ultimately leads to people's welfare. The reality is different. A Commission on Intellectual Property Rights was set up by the British government, which submitted its report in 2002. The report points out 20-year patents as provided under the present TRIPS agreement are hindering the development of new technologies.
The experience of countries with shorter patents is better. To quote: ''An approach common to Germany and the East Asian countries, was the introduction of easily obtained utility models (or petty patents), which combined a lower standard of inventiveness, with registration rather than examination, and a shorter protection period. When introduced in Germany, in 1891, these provided for three years of protection (renewable for a further three years) and by the 1930s, twice as many utility patents as examined patents were granted. Studies of Japan's patent system in the period 1960-1993 have suggested that utility models were more important than patents in stimulating productivity growth. There is also some evidence relating innovation in ...
