Can intellectual property diplomacy be more than war by other means?

Through the TRIPS Agreement, imitation as a development strategy has been ruled out and developing countries are left with two alternatives: To either buy expensive foreign technology, promote the transfer of technology or to develop their own technology. Any other approach to use technological innovation as an engine of growth has been made void through the TRIPS Agreement. Thus, the TRIPS Agreement, which has been in force since 1995, has not only been the most important multilateral instrument for the internationalization of intellectual property law, but also a tool for the Globalization of technology. By studying the dynamics of the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement Deere it is found that many developing countries adopted more stringent intellectual property laws than necessary. This book review documents the political dynamics that led to such outcomes and departs from an understanding that more stringent intellectual property laws prevent development because domestic innovators are not sufficiently protected from international competition. It therefore seems stunning that during the implementation phase of the TRIPS Agreement many developing nations have not acted in the best of their own interest, but adopted intellectual property regimes that serve more the interests of the developed world than of their own people.