Intellectual Property Rights And Human Rights Conflict And Coordination

Along globalization of world economy and development of modern technologies, the global protection of intellectual property rights and human rights has formed, one of the direct consequences of which is producing conflicts between intellectual property rights and human rights. Especially the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade– related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) makes a direct impact on human rights. There are actual or potential conflicts between the implementation of the TRIPs and realization of economic, social and cultural rights; such issues have generated growing concerns and actions to reconcile the two have taken place globally, regionally and locally.This thesis is divided into five parts, first of which is the introduction of the background, sense, content and objective of the thesis, as well as the current studies conducted domestically and internationally.Part two explores the concepts of intellectual property rights and human rights individually. It asserts that, human rights are rights derived from one's natural attribute and social attribute. Human rights are associated with individuals and, in some cases, social groups. Like any rights, the essences of human rights are benefits and morality. Human rights, as a birthright, also exist in the forms of legal rights and tangible rights. Intellectual property, on the other hand, is distinct from the conventional ownership rights; it is a comprehensive civil rights that incorporates both property right and personal right.Part three includes an in-depth analysis of the relationship between intellectual property and human rights from the historical, regulatory and value perspectives. Historically, by taking author/creator's intellectual property as human rights and incorporating it into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, it enables mankind to better enjoy the benefits of cultural and technological development; from the regulatory standpoint, intellectual property and human rights are related but distinct from each other in aspects of subject, principle, form and protection methods; from the value point of view, the ethical foundation of intellectual property is"human based"and human rights should and can refine the value of the intellectual property system. Part four analyzes in detail the forms of intellectual property– human rights conflict, as well as their cause and substance. The conflict between the two falls into three categories: patent right vs. health right, intellectual property vs. historical wealth, and intellectual property vs. freedom of information. The direct cause of the conflict is the draft and international implementation of TRIPs; its essence is the battle of intellectual property rights holder vs. the general public and developed countries vs. developing countries over tangible benefits.Part five proposes three principles in harmonizing intellectual property– human rights conflict: the human rights first principle, the balanced benefits principle, and the instrumentalism principle. This chapter also describes and evaluates international, regional and local practices in reconciling the conflict between the two. Last but not the least; the chapter includes a profound reflection of the existing problems with contemporary intellectual property protection system. It also provides recommendations in terms of the intellectual property strategies that our country should consider implementing under the global economy condition. The objective of an intellectual property system should be to achieve the balance between public good and personal good, with the ultimate goal of realizing total development and advancement of the entire human society. As a developing country, China must choose and establish a proper level of intellectual property protection that suits its situation, while fully utilizing the selective and restrictive clauses of international protocols. We need to determine what to protect and how to protect them, with the bottom line of ensuring the protection of our country's intellectual property rights. China should guide itself with the balanced benefits principle and further improve its intellectual property legislations, especially legal clauses that regulate the abuse of intellectual property. It should closely follow the latest trends in the international development of intellectual property rights and actively participate in related communications and cooperation.