Are Developed and Developing Countries in a Legal Stalemate over the WTO TRIPs Agreement? - A Study on Whether the TRIPs Agreement Impedes the Transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies to Developing Countries -

Despite the intended support of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights for the dissemination and transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies to developing countries, Agreement has been criticized by developing countries for actually impeding the access and transfer of such technologies. Environmentally Sound technologies have a vital role for mitigation and adaptation of climate change impacts, and developing countries are the most vulnerable among other countries to the strong impacts of climatic changes due to their low technological capacity and geographical locations. However, most of these technologies remain in developed countries and their transfer needs to be improved. To improve the transfer, developing countries have sought modification of the Agreement, primarily through the removal of intellectual property protection for Environmentally Sound Technologies. This article critically enquires into whether the Agreement actually impedes the transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies into developing countries. In doing so, it reviews the relevant Agreement provisions on the transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies, examines their impacts through empirical studies, and discusses prospects for the improved transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies. In contrast to the arguments of developing countries, this article’s examination of empirical evidence finds that domestic regulations, policies, and market structures are a more significant barrier to the transfer of Environmentally Sound Technologies than intellectual property protection regime per se.