 Intellectual property rights and tradeKeith E. Maskus Chapter 21 in Elgar Encyclopedia of International Trade, 2026, pp 101-106 from Edward Elgar Publishing Abstract: Intellectual property rights (IPRs), such as patents, trademarks, and copyrights, are measures designed to encourage the development and commercialization of new goods, technologies, and creative works. IPRs are provided at the national level and the scope and enforcement of IPRs vary across countries. Thus, they influence the volume and pattern of international trade and investment. For example, weak patent rights in one country may deter a foreign firm from exporting to that location. This entry reviews the history of international policies aimed at managing this problem, including early treaties, the TRIPS Agreement of the World Trade Organization, and recent preferential trade agreements. It then discusses major theoretical propositions about the interaction among IPRs, trade, and investment. The final section discusses primary empirical findings, which show that high-technology trade and investment respond positively to IPR reforms in emerging economies, achieving greater technology transfers. This does not hold for the poorest nations. Keywords: Intellectual property rights; International trade; Technology transfer; Innovation; TRIPS Agreement; Preferential trade agreements (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:23076_22 Ordering information: This item can be ordered from Access Statistics for this chapter More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing |
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