Can TRIPs Deter Innovation? The Anticommons and Public Goods in Agricultural Research

Abstract

"The paper begins by outlining the concept of an anticommons property regime and then presents the notion that knowledge is a local (quasi) public good. It with this conceptual foundation that the policy issue of an anticommons property regime in agricultural research is discussed. While the latter discussion in quite speculative, it focuses on three policy problems: access and consolidation within the industry, transaction costs and uncertainty, and orphan crops/regions and research capacity."