The Political Economy of Patents: A Historical Perspective

The signing of the agreement on Trade Related Aspects to Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) as part of the package of agreements establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO) that took effect on 1 January 1995 heralded the beginning of a new global governance regime for intellectual property rights unprecedented in the history of mankind. Patents are a key and central part of this regime. They play a central role in the ability of individuals and economic agents within and across societies to use and disseminate knowledge, particularly in sensitive areas for human survival like the production of food and medicine.;This thesis explores the political economy dynamics that surrounded the rise of the TRIPS agreement focusing on the patent system in particular as a central piece in this exercise. Its methodology combines a historical approach to the subject with a conceptual framework on international norm dynamics and political change to analyze those political economy dynamics.;The analysis raises serious questions about the serious challenges the new global governance regime for intellectual property rights, particularly with regards to patents, pose to development prospects of developing countries. The unbalanced nature of the new regime and the clear mismatch between the propagated dominant mainstream views in support of it and the realities of the push for globalization and free trade raises many question marks about the sustainability of such a regime.