Patents revisited: Their function in developing countries

Abstract

The patent system in developing countries has a predominantly negative effect and is devoid of significant benefits for these countries; virtually all owned by large foreign corporations, patents are used as a vehicle for achieving monopoly privileges which militate against conditions conducive to foreign investment, and hinder the flow of technology to developing countries while restricting their technological advance through imitation and adaptation. For developing countries to license patents is therefore tantamount to granting import permits under restrictive conditions.