Brevet et politiques de développement : regards sur l’exploitation locale des droits

For a long time, the theory of contract has been advanced to explain patent right. This philosophical foundation highlights the idea of a balance between the rights of the inventor and those of the society. Patent protection corresponds not only to the idea of justice in favor of the creator, but more of a thought of social interest, insofar as the right conferred benefits the industrial progress of the countries. Yet, the standardization of the substantive rules of patent beyond all barriers has as a consequence their inadaptability to the local realities, particularly in developing countries. On the one hand, patent holders in these countries are mostly nationals of industrialized countries. On the other, the implementation of the current patent system is not favorable to the technology transfer and thus to the development of developing countries. In this context, the objective of this study is to show how and why the local working of patent can contribute to the development of countries in the South. This approach is justified by the fact that under the rising tide of bilateral agreements containing clauses of intellectual property, it is difficult to envisage (realistic) solutions out of the international framework. In this perspective, it is a matter of delivering arguments upon which developing countries could rely to make the local use of patent a leverage for their socio-economic development.