Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/27232 
Year of Publication: 
2007
Series/Report no.: 
DIW Discussion Papers No. 707
Publisher: 
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW), Berlin
Abstract: 
The role patents play for innovation is not clear, but patenting activity has increased in the last decades. This article reviews the empirical evidence on traditional and novel roles of patents to assess their impacts on innovation in developing countries. It shows that patents are not likely to support innovation in developing countries, even though their non-traditional functions fulfill important roles. This questions the relevance of domestic patent systems, and indicates the need to reassess the costs and benefits of the patent system, the use of patents as innovation indicators, and the need for more research on developing countries.
Subjects: 
Intellectual property rights
developing countries
innovation.
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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