Many countries of the world, including India, have achieved self-sufficiency in knowledge intensive sectors by allowing for a loosely defined intellectual property rights (IPR) regime. The implementation of TRIPS worldwide represents a step in the opposite direction and its impact on the production and innovative capacity of developing countries in knowledge intensive sectors is not at all clear. Taking India as representative of a technologically advanced developing country, and the biotech based segment of the pharmaceutical industry as an example of an emerging knowledge intensive sector, we examine the possible impact of TRIPS on the incentives and ability to innovate. The conclusion is that TRIPS is not likely to have a significant impact on incentives for innovation creation in the biotech segment.
