A Global Political Economy of Intellectual Property Rights It has become a commonplace that there has been an information revolution, transforming both society and the economy Increasingly, knowledge and information are seen as important resources; ownership of which confers competitive advantage In 1995 the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreement aimed to harmonise protection for property in knowledge throughout the global system This book questions whether the current arrangements are either just or sustainable This volume considers the political construction of intellectual property, and how it is linked to the economics of knowledge and information in the contemporary global political economy A Global Political Economy of Intellectual Property Rights examines contemporary disputes about the ownership of knowledge resources – as in the cases of genetically modified foods, the music industry or the internet – and the problematic nature of the TRIPs agreement This book argues that there are solutions in the form of political moves to establish the social availability of information, and in reattaching property to the innovating individual In this highly topical book, Christopher May reveals that, because of problems with the TRIPs agreement, at present the balance in international property rights between public good and private reward is, more often than not, weighted towards the latter Christopher May is Senior Lecturer in International Political Economy at the University of the West of England Routledge/RIPE studies in global political economy Series Editors: Otto Holman, Marianne Marchand (Research Centre for International Political Economy, University of Amsterdam) and Henk Overbeek (Free University, Amsterdam) This series, published in association with the Review of International Political Economy, provides a forum for current debates in international political economy The series aims to cover all the central topics in IPE and to present innovative analyses of emerging topics The titles in the series seek to transcend a state-centred discourse and focus on three broad themes: • the nature of the forces driving globalisation forward • resistance to globalisation • the transformation of the world order The series comprises two strands: Routledge/RIPE Studies in Global Political Economy is a forum for innovative new research intended for a high-level specialist readership, and the titles will be available in hardback only Titles include: Globalization and Governance Edited by Aseem Prakash and Jeffrey A Hart Nation-States and Money The past, present and future of national currencies Edited by Emily Gilbert and Eric Helleiner A Global Political Economy of Intellectual Property Rights The new enclosures? Christopher May The RIPE Series in Global Political Economy aims to address the needs of students and teachers, and the titles will be published in hardback and paperback Titles include Transnational Classes and International Relations Kees van der Pijl Gender and Global Restructuring: Sightings, sites and resistances Edited by Marianne H Marchand and Anne Sisson Runyan A Global Political Economy of Intellectual Property Rights The new enclosures? Christopher May London and New York First published 2000 by Routledge Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group Transferred to Digital Printing 2005 © 2000 Christopher May Typeset in Baskerville by Keystroke, Jacaranda Lodge, Wolverhampton All rights reserved No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data May, Christopher, 1960– A global political economy of intellectual property rights : the new enclosures?/ Christopher May p cm — (The RIPE series in global political economy) Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 0–415–22904–9 (HB) Intellectual property Intellectual property—Economic aspects Critical theory I Title II Series K1401.M39 2000 346.04v8—dc21 99–057173 For Hilary This page intentionally left blank Contents Series editors’ preface Acknowledgements ix xi Introduction The emerging information society Property in knowledge Property, intellectual property, political economy 11 The argument in outline 14 On institutions and property 16 Property as an institution 18 Justificatory schemata of property 22 Institutions as structures of knowledge 29 A model of change in the global political economy 39 A critique of intellectual property rights 42 Developing intellectual property 45 Characterising property 45 From property to intellectual property 47 Of authors and markets 50 Leasehold as a model for intellectual property? 54 Trade secrets, contracts and tacit knowledge 57 A set agenda 59 Disposing of intellectual property? 61 The thin line between public and private 65 TRIPs as a watershed An outline of the TRIPs agreement 68 The importance of the agreement 72 67 viii Contents Likely implications of the TRIPs agreement 76 The emergence of TRIPs 80 The triumph of the knowledge structure 85 Sites of resistance: patenting nature, technology and skills? 91 General and immanent critiques of IPRs 92 Some problems with intellectual property 98 Intellectual property – but not for me? 125 Sites of consolidation: legitimate authorship? 127 Key knowledge industries 128 Piracy, piracy everywhere 150 And real individuals? 157 Between commons and individuals 162 The global information society 164 Re-enlarging social utility 167 Re-balancing individuals’ rights 172 A change is going to come 178 Notes References Index 182 185 196 Series editors’ preface By now it is common sense to speak of an ‘information society’ in which control over knowledge has replaced control over matter as the ultimate source of power The commodification of information and knowledge, although not entirely new, has only recently accelerated so strongly as to reach a qualitative threshold This crucial aspect of the process of global restructuring has put the need to unravel the essence of ‘intellectual property’ and to expose the power relations in the knowledge structure on the top of the agenda of critical theory In A Global Political Economy of Intellectual Property Rights: The New Enclosures? Christopher May responds to this challenge taking the analytical framework of Susan Strange’s States and Markets as the point of departure he develops a major critique of the construction and institutionalisation of knowledge as ‘property’ May meticulously traces the legal construction of ‘intellectual property’, culminating in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT ) Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights ( TRIPs) coming out of the Uruguay Round The Uruguay Round saw the emergence of intellectual property and its protection as a major international trade issue During the negotiations resulting in the TRIPs agreement, developed and developing states defended different positions, indicating that two different perspectives were at stake: developed states were primarily concerned with protecting the rights belonging to owners (‘sanctity of property’) whereas the developing countries wanted to link IPRs to their developmental strategies and priorities This site of contestation reflects the fact that in the global economy of today economic prosperity stems not so much from natural resources or the production of industrial goods, but rather from the production of new ideas and new products Indeed, the differences between rich and poor countries in terms of science, technology and knowledge are perhaps more important today than differences in income According to Jeffrey Sachs, developed states own approximately 99 per cent of the stock of patents registered in the USA and Europe In the end, May argues, the TRIPs agreement privileged the position of developed countries and will, at least in the short to medium term, further increase the wealth gap between those who own IPRs and those who wish to use them ... intellectual property and to expose the power relations in the knowledge structure on the top of the agenda of critical theory In A Global Political Economy of Intellectual Property Rights: The New Enclosures? ... schemata of property 22 Institutions as structures of knowledge 29 A model of change in the global political economy 39 A critique of intellectual property rights 42 Developing intellectual property. .. to the economics of knowledge and information in the contemporary global political economy A Global Political Economy of Intellectual Property Rights examines contemporary disputes about the