Rising Economies in the International Patent Regime: From Rule-Breakers to Rule-Changers and Rule-Makers

New Political Economy, July 2017

31 Pages Posted: 13 Oct 2017

See all articles by Jean-Frederic Morin

Jean-Frederic Morin

Université Laval - Departement de Science Politique

Omar Serrano

University of Geneva

Mira Burri

University of Lucerne

Sara Bannerman

McMaster University Department of Communication Studies and Multimedia

Date Written: September 6, 2017

Abstract

Rising economies face a crucial dilemma when establishing their position on international patent law. Should they translate their increasing economic strength into political power to further developing countries' interests in lower levels of international patent protection? Or, anticipating a rising domestic interest in stronger international patent protection, should they adopt a position that favours maximal patent protection? Drawing on multiple case studies using a most-similar system design, we argue that rising economies, after having been coerced into adopting more stringent patent standards, tend to display ambivalent positions, trapped in bureaucratic politics and caught between conflicting domestic constituencies. We find that the recent proliferation of international institutions and the expansion of transnational networks have contributed to fragmentation and polarisation in domestic patent politics. As a result, today's emerging economies experience a more tortuous transformative process than did yesterday's. This finding is of particular relevance for scholars studying rising powers, as well as for those working on policy diffusion, regulatory regimes, transnational networks and regime complexes.

Keywords: Emerging Countries; Patent; Regime Complex; Transnational Network; Policy Diffusion; Intellectual Property

Suggested Citation

Morin, Jean-Frederic and Serrano, Omar and Burri, Mira and Bannerman, Sara, Rising Economies in the International Patent Regime: From Rule-Breakers to Rule-Changers and Rule-Makers (September 6, 2017). New Political Economy, July 2017, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3032903

Jean-Frederic Morin (Contact Author)

Université Laval - Departement de Science Politique ( email )

Ste-Foy, Quebec G1K 7P4
Canada

HOME PAGE: http://https://ulaval.academia.edu/JeanFredericMorin

Omar Serrano

University of Geneva ( email )

102 Bd Carl-Vogt
Genève, CH - 1205
Switzerland

Mira Burri

University of Lucerne ( email )

Frohburgstrasse 3
PO Box 4466
Lucerne, 6002
Switzerland

HOME PAGE: http://www.unilu.ch/mira-burri

Sara Bannerman

McMaster University Department of Communication Studies and Multimedia ( email )

1280 Main St. W.
Hamilton, Ontario
Canada

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