A Global Political Economy of Intellectual Property Rights The New Enclosures?

Citation

Sterling, C. (2002), "A Global Political Economy of Intellectual Property Rights The New Enclosures?", info, Vol. 4 No. 5, pp. 65-65. https://doi.org/10.1108/info.2002.4.5.65.6

The author is “interested in the power that stems from the ownership and control of particular innovations and technologies, established through the institutions of intellectual property”. He takes a critical theoretical stance that argues – as his subtitle suggests – that the balance has tilted too far in favor of the owners rather than the public interest. A senior lecturer in international political economy at the University of the West of England, May discusses the development of intellectual property, the trade‐related aspects of intellectual property (TRIPS) agreement of 1994 as a watershed, sites of resistance to intellectual property rights, sites of consolidation, and seeking a balance between commons and individuals. May notes, however, that in the course of writing this book his resistance to intellectual property rights became less strident – that while a public domain is vital and must be maintained and nurtured, an overall system of intellectual property rights is equally important. He suggests, for example, possible international anti‐trust approaches to break the strangle‐hold of multinational firms with massive intellectual property holdings.