The Political Economy & Economic Rationales for IPRs

Course Description

Have you ever wondered why the system of intellectual property rights has grown to be so crucial to trade, business, and innovation? Are we assuming too much about the system of intellectual property rights?

The philosophy underpinning IPR systems presented in this course entails creating capitalist institutions that encourage specific behaviours among creators, producers, investors, and traders in the belief that this is the most efficient approach to achieving economic advancement and welfare objectives. We are actually discussing the Political Expediency Rationales, which are based on the notion of building economic incentives through ownership of ideas, which becomes the investors’ property (or intellectual property right).

In order to promote innovation, competition, effective resource allocation, and industrial development, you will learn about economic philosophers working in the field of political economy and “law and economics” approaches. The copyright system was considered a mechanism to foster the printing and broadcasting industries, and the patent system was seen as a key legal basis upon which the Industrial Revolution could emerge and flourish.

You will be introduced to the 21st-century debates discussing that the IPR system does not function as intended for many regions of the world, as the conversation on how to create the best effective IPR system in a globalising competitive environment continues today.