Intellectual Property: An Analysis of Patenting on a Global Scale

Presenter

Takamori James Decker

Campus

UMass Amherst

Sponsor

Deepika Marya, Honors College, UMass Amherst

Schedule

Session 3, 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM [Schedule by Time][Poster Grid for Time/Location]

Location

Poster Board A8, Campus Center Auditorium, Row 1 (A1-A20) [Poster Location Map]

Abstract

In this world where capitalism is the dominant economic system, the pursuit of profits has superseded all else. For this, corporations worldwide have engaged in an endless cycle of the privatization of public services and used patents and litigation to preserve their competitive dominance. This is not a novel idea, just a modern interpretation of control of resources. While there are infinitely many ways of protecting profit, patents are a callback to the monopolies of the Gilded Age. Like any action that preserves the wealth of corporations, it also preserves inequalities in society. The fact that this system is global allows for the reinforcement of patents worldwide, and the prioritization of developed countries’ rights as opposed to the needs of developing countries. This has culminated in control of necessary medical treatments, highlighted by the lives lost and altered by the Covid-19 pandemic. While patents are likely here to stay for now, it is also true that it is a system that requires extensive change.

Part of the seminar “Debating Globalization” with Professor Deepika Marya.

Keywords

Patenting, Intellectual Property Rights, Globalization

Research Area

Globalization and Development

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