Reforming U.S. Patent Policy: Getting the Incentives Right

The United States has used bilateral trade agreements to push small developing countries to accept IPR obligations that go far beyond the global requirements set out by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in its Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Some of these obligations are inconsistent with development needs and cause resentment of overall U.S. trade policy without much promise of spurring more innovation. This report provides suggestions to alleviate these problems.