Open AccessIntellectual Property, Traditional Resources Rights, and Natural Law: A Clash of Cultures
Author(s) -
John N. Gathegi
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
international review of information ethics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2563-5638
DOI - 10.29173/irie20
Subject(s) - intellectual property , framing (construction) , political science , traditional knowledge , politics , natural resource , context (archaeology) , law , law and economics , developing country , international trade , sociology , economic growth , business , economics , geography , ecology , archaeology , indigenous , biology
Western nations, through international treaties and bodies such as the World Trade Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, and economic and political pressures on many governments, are to a large degree succeeding in strengthening protection of intellectual property rights as they are understood mainly within the western context. Framing the debate within Locke‘s theory of natural law, the paper discusses the extent to which this strengthening of intellectual property rights is appropriate for developing countries, especially within the African context.