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Intellectual property has historically been a self-contained policy at the international level. With the introduction of the TRIPs Agreement in 1994 and developments since the conclusion of the TRIPs Agreement, the relationship between intellectual property policy and other areas of public policy has become much more complex and interactive. This shift reflects the centrality of intellectual property in the knowledge economy, the rapid development of enabling technologies, notably the Internet and biotechnology, and the advent of the networked society. The consequences of this shift are manifold and herald the increased sophistication and complexity that may be expected of intellectual property regimes in the knowledge economy.

The relationship between patent policy and other areas of public policy has become much more complex and interactive in recent years and the work programs of an increasing number of international organizations include intellectual property components. This paper presents the views of the Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization in charge of patents and global intellectual property issues about the determinants and consequences of this shift in the international public policy of the patent system, in particular its effect on the future multilateral development of ...