Article
Human Development as a Core Objective of Global Intellectual Property
Kentucky Law Journal
(2016)
Abstract
Global intellectual property obligations shape domestic laws and policies. More
than twenty years since the first multilateral trade-based intellectual property
agreement, critics contend that global intellectual property law prioritizes intellectual
property rights over other interests, and profits over people. Faced with international
intellectual-property obligations, nations have been forced to justify laws and policies
designed to promote human development in areas such as health and education as
exceptions to intellectual property protection. This is the result of legal
interpretations that treat the objectives of intellectual property protection and human
development as inconsistent with one another. Drawing on the objectives of trade
law and intellectual property law, this Article argues that human development is a
central objective of trade-based intellectual property law and should be duly
recognized as such. It is therefore unnecessary to protect human development as an
“exception” to a norm of protection.
Keywords
- Intellectual Property,
- International Intellectual Property,
- Human Development,
- Human Rights,
- Trade
Disciplines
Publication Date
2016
Citation Information
Janewa Osei Tutu. "Human Development as a Core Objective of Global Intellectual Property" Kentucky Law Journal Vol. 105 Iss. 1 (2016) p. 1 - 47 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/joseitutu/6/