Trips and Human Rights: The Case of India

Abstract

The Twenty-first century has seen a rapid growth of two regimes: the intellectual property rights regime and the human rights regime. On one hand, growth of multinational corporations has led to a stronger and stricter intellectual property rights regime. On the other hand, human rights have gained primacy in public as well as political debates. Developing countries have a_rgued that intellectual property rights and Human Rights often come into conflict, particularly when implementing their international obligations under TRIPS. Nevertheless, developing countries are forced to provide better intellectual property protection. There is a need to give heed to the voices of the developing countries. This article seeks to understand and bring clarity to this debate. It suggests that intellectual property should be seen through human rights lens and analyzes various approaches.