The Impacts of TRIPS on Patenting in Latin America: the Different Performance of Residents and Non Residents?

VALERIA ARZA, ANDRÉS LÓPEZ

Seminario; WIPO Seminar Series on ?The Economics of intellectual property?,; 2013

WIPO

Empirical studies on the impacts of TRIPS are not very abundant. This is the more troubling considering that it is probably the case that stronger IPR regimes may lead to very different outcomes according to the level of technological and economic development of each country. This paper aims at contributing to the empirical literature on TRIPS impacts focusing in the case of Latin American countries (LAC). We focus on the arguments regarding the effects of TRIPS on patenting and will aim at answering two questions: i) did TRIPS-driven modifications in patent laws in LAC (or, more in general, stronger IPR regimes) have a positive impact on patenting in those countries?; ii) have those modifications had different impacts on patenting by residents and non-residents?