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Justifications for copyrights, patents, & trade secrets are examined. The arguments that natural property results from the fruits of intellectual labor, & that such rights are deserved as a reward for this labor are found to be inadequate, as are arguments based on sovereignty, security, & privacy. The strongest argument for intellectual property -- that it provides the best possible mechanism for insuring the availability & widespread dissemination of intellectual works & their resulting products -- depends on unresolved empirical questions & thus is inconclusive. Intellectual property institutions are not as easily justified as is thought. AA

In perpetuating and exacerbating restricted access to essential medicines, current trade-related intellectual property rules on medicines may violate core human rights to health and medicines. In this light, there should be serious questions about their necessity, and their justification should be critically assessed from the perspective of human rights standards. These standards require that international trade rules on medicines be justified to the fullest extent possible, and permitted only to the extent to which they can be justified. In this article I explore the impact of trade rules on medicines access, and the growing force of the human right to health. I argue that the limited justification for strong patents in poor countries suggests the need for significant reform of trade-related intellectual property rights. I argue further that human rights standards may offer both normative and practical tools for achieving this reform and challenging trade rules on medicines at various levels. Adapted from the source document.

Considers whether the traditional rights accorded tangible property apply also to intellectual property, asserting that philosophical, legal, economic, & political bases for protecting these kinds of property differ significantly enough that equating the two forms of property is problematic. References. Adapted from the source document.

THE URUGUAY ROUND OF GATT, FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS, AND TRADE DISPUTES HAVE EXPOSED VARIOUS NON-TARIFF TRADE RESTRICTIONS WHICH ARE LIKELY TO BECOME MORE IMPORTANT INFLUENCES ON COMMODITY FLOWS AND THE DIFFERENTIATION OF RURAL SPACE. GLOBALIZATION OF LEGISLATION AFFECTING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AND INTELLECTUAL PRPOERTY IS ALSO OCCURRING OUTSIDE GATT. TWO MAIN PROCESSES ARE APPARENT. FIRST, UNDER FREE TRADE AGREEMENT NATIONS ARE QUESTIONING THE COMMERCIAL LEGISLATION GOVERNING PRODUCTION OF THEIR PARTNERS. SECONDLY, FOR SPECIFIC COMMODITIES, GROUPS OF PRODUCERS AND COUNTRIES ARE BRINGING LITIGATION AGAINST OTHER TRADING PARTNERS OVER THE USE OF PLACE-NAMES BY SUCCESSFULLY CLAIMING THAT THEY ARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. THE PAPER USES THE INTERNATIONAL IMPACTS OF THE EC RULES FOR THE NAMING AND LABELLING OF WINES TO EXPLORE THE WIDER PROCESSES. AGGRESSIVE LITIGATION BY FRENCH COMPANIES AND GROUPS OF PRODUCERS IS GRADUALLY ELIMINATING THE USE OF FRENCH AND EC NAMES BY OTHER COUNTRIES. CONTEMPORANEOUSLY, OTHER NATIONS ARE ADOPTING APPELLATION SYSTEMS THAT IMITATE THE EC IN ORDER TO BE ASSURED OF ACCESS TO THE EC MARKETS AFTER 1992. BOTH PROCESSES ARE PART OF THE GLOBALIZATION OF PRODUCTION UNDER CAPITALISM BUT THEIR EFFECTS MAY BE CONTRADICTORY. INCREASED SIMILARITY IN THE COMMERCIAL LEGISLATION OF COUNTRIES WILL ENHANCE THE ADVANTAGE OF THE MOST COMPETITIVE REGIONS AND NATIONS LEADING TO GREATER REGIONAL SPECIALIZATION IN RURAL PRODUCTION. A GLOBALIZATION OF PRINCIPLES FOR THE NPY: 1993

The traditional Onge people of the Indian Nicobar & Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal possess important indigenous knowledge & thus are attracting the intense interest of northern multinational corporations & associated wealth elites. Indigenous knowledge spans medicine, biology, & ecology & holds great wealth-maximizing potential. There is a strong public purpose interest in greater community access to indigenous knowledge-derived products, especially pharmaceuticals. The public purpose goals are best achieved by policies which preserve Onge social organization, & which protect the group's rights by insuring that key decisions about the disposition of its indigenous knowledge are left in its control. A critical factor in policy design is the Onge reservoir of social capital including customary law features. 15 References. Adapted from the source document.