سینا محمدی

Abstract

Intellectual property law has evolved into a global framework, imposing certain legal standards on states’ participation and activities in international trade and the global economy through various treaties related to intellectual property rights. Different factors have played a role in the globalization of intellectual property rights. Despite criticisms, the theoretical nature and philosophical theories underlying intellectual property rights have been largely deemed desirable for the globalization process. Since the establishment of intellectual property rights, industrialists and merchants have sought to expand the scope, norms, and geographical coverage of intellectual property rights protection in line with the expansion of international trade and the advancement of industries and technologies. In the nineteenth century, with the prevalence of bilateral treaties related to intellectual property rights, the organization of international exhibitions in Europe, and efforts of private sector actors, international treaties were enacted to protect intellectual property rights with the initiative of colonial powers. Colonized countries, which had previously witnessed the tra  lantation of the intellectual property rights of colonialists onto their territories for colonial purposes, also became signatories to the treaties initiated by colonial powers. With the establishment of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and its role as a key global governance institution for intellectual property rights, the globalization of these rights accelerated and facilitated. Finally, at the end of the twentieth century, with the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement, a powerful alliance was created, especially by developed countries, to secure the interests of major multinational corporations that were the primary owners of intellectual property rights. As a result, the global intellectual property rights system practically emerged. In the mid-twentieth century, in light of human rights documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, the human rights approach to intellectual property rights was introduced, initiating the theoretical controversy regarding the global nature of intellectual property rights. The global intellectual property rights system has been criticized by developing countries on various issues such as health and access to medicine, economic development, technology transfer, and access to knowledge. It has become a serious point of disagreement between these developing countries and developed countries that not only find this system useful but also consider it necessary for all the mentioned purposes. These differences reached their peak after the approval of the TRIPS Agreement and continue to be a subject of international debates and disputes.

Keywords: Global Intellectual Property Rights System, Analytical History of Intellectual Property Rights, Economic Analysis of Intellectual Property Rights, Legal Tra  lantation, Postcolonial Analysis of Intellectual Property Rights, Critical Legal Studies.