"Too often the interests of the “producer” dominate in the evolution of IP policy, and that of the ultimate consumer is neither heard nor heeded. So policy tends to be determined more by the interests of the commercial users of the system, than by an impartial conception of the greater public good. In IPR discussions between developed and developing countries, a similar imbalance exists. The trade ministries of developed nations are mainly influenced by producer interests who see the benefit to them of stronger IP protection in their export markets, while the consumer nations, mainly the developing countries, are less able to identify and represent their own interests against those of the developed nations. Thus we recognise that the rules and practices of intellectual property, and how they evolve, are the product of political economy. Developing countries - and in particular poor consumers of products which may be protected by IP rights - negotiate from a position of relative weakness. There is a fundamental asymmetry in relationships between developed and developing countries, based ultimately on their relative economic strength.
The negotiations on TRIPS in the Uruguay Round are but one example. Developing countries accepted TRIPS not because at the time the adoption of intellectual property protection was high on their list of priorities, but partly because they thought the overall package offered, including the reduction of trade protectionism in developed countries, would be beneficial. Now many of them feel that the commitments made by developed countries to liberalise agriculture and textiles and reduce tariffs, have not been honoured, while they have to live with the burdens of the TRIPS agreement. The agreement on a new “development” WTO Round at Doha last year recognises that this bargain, between developed and developing countries, needs to be made explicit and meaningful. The difficulty for developing countries in this context is that they are “second comers” in a world that has been shaped by the “first comers”. And because of that, it is a very different world from that in which the “first comers” developed. It is a cliché to say that we live in an age of globalisation, when the world economy is becoming more integrated. It is an article of faith in the international community that integration on appropriate terms into the world economy is a necessary condition for development. The question from our point of view is what are the appropriate terms for that integration in the field of IPRs. Just as the now-developed countries moulded their IP regimes to suit their particular economic, social and technological circumstances, so developing countries should in principle now be able to do the same." (Overview, page 7-8)