Text III. THE PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

    Intellectual property refers to property, such as computer software, a screen play, a music score, or the chemical formula for a new drug that is the product of intellectual activity. It is possible to establish rights over intellectual property through patent, copyrights, and trademarks. A patent grants the inventor of a new product or process exclusive rights to the manufacturer, use or sale of that invention. Copyrights are the exclusive legal rights authors, composers, playwrights, artists, and publishers to publish and dispose of their work as they see fit. Trademarks are designs and names, often officially registered, by which merchants or manufacturers designate and differentiate their products (e.g., Christian Dior clothes, McDonald’s restaurants).

    The philosophy behind intellectual property laws is to reward the originator of a new invention, book, musical record, clothes design, restaurant chain, and the like, for his or her idea and effort. As such, they are a very important stimulus to innovation and creative work. They provide an incentive for people to search for novel ways of doing things and they reward creativity. Consider innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. A patent will grant the inventor of a new drug a 17-year monopoly for production of that drug. This gives pharmaceutical firms an incentive to undertake the expensive, difficult, and time consuming basic research required to generate new drugs (on average it costs $100 million in R&D and takes 12 years to get a new drug on the market). Without the guarantees provided by patents, it is unlikely that companies would commit themselves to extensive basic research.

    Protection of intellectual property rights differs greatly from country to country. While many countries have stringent intellectual property regulations on their books, the enforcement of these regulations has often been lax. This has tended to be the case even among some countries that have signed important international agreement to protect intellectual property, such as the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, which 96 countries are party to. We enforcement encourages the piracy of intellectual property. China and Thailand have recently been among the worst offenders in Asia. For example, in China local bookstores commonly maintain a section that is off limits to foreigners – it ostensibly is reserved for sensitive political literature but more often display illegally copied textbooks. Pirated computer software is also widely available in China. Similarly, the street of Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, are lined with stands selling pirated copies of Rolex watches, Levi blue jeans, videotapes, and computer software.

    International businesses have a number of possible responses to violations. Firms can lobby their respective governments to push for international agreements to ensure that intellectual property rights are protected in law and that the law is enforced, and international laws are currently being strengthened. The most recent world trade agreement, which was signed in 1994 by 117 countries, for the first time extends the scope of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) to cover intellectual property. Under the new agreement, as of 1995, a council of the newly created World Trade Organization (WTO) will oversee the enforcement of much stricter intellectual property regulations. These regulations oblige WTO members to grant and enforce patents lasting at least 20 years and copyrights lasting 50 years. Rich countries must comply with the rules within a year. Poor countries, in which such protection has generally been much weaker, have 5 years’ grace, and the very poorest have 10 years.

 

Vocabulary notes

an incentive – побуждение, заинтересованность

to reward creativity – вознаграждать творчество

enforcement – введение в действие

ostensibly – мнимо

to comply with – соответствовать

grace - благосклонность

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