IPRs are claimed to provide a vital stimulus for trade, investment, innovation and technology transfer for development. However, this paper argues that for many developing countries, the costs of implementing IPR regimes outweigh the benefits and may even undermine development in the long term.Main findings include: IPRs do little to stimulate investment where there is no likely lucrative market for the end product; they are not effective in stimulating investment in subsistence crops and traits relevant to poor farmers or food security patents may restrict farmers’ conventional rights to save and exchange seeds IPRs tend to impede public sector research that could address these needs. The following policy responses need to be considered urgently:greater scrutiny of the developmental effects of IPRs, particularly the linkages with poverty and food security attention needs to be paid to the impacts of strong IPRs on public good research, especially the tendency for patent rights to inhibit the exchange of knowledge and technology and divert scarce resources away from front-line research proposals for reform of the TRIPs regime, currently under consideration, should preserve the rights of WTO members to tailor their IPR regimes according to their particular circumstances, especially with regard to the special needs of poor farmers multilateral and bilateral donors, international and philanthropic organisations should provide effective support to developing countries.
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