Analysis On The Protection Of Intellectual Preperty In International Agricultural Technology Transfer From The Perspective Of International Ploitical Economy

The development of agriculture is the foundation for the advancement of an economy; food security comes before any other activity of a nation. The primary source of agricultural development and food security is the improvement of agricultural productivity. The key for improving agricultural productivity is agricultural technology. In this globalized and informationized world, the access to agricultural technology comes from not only national R&D, but also from other countries through various channels. The access to agricultural technology in another country requires agricultural technology transfer across borders, which is preconditioned by the protection of intellectual property.Issues of intellectual property involved in international agricultural technology transfer is not only the issue of law. It is more about the conflicts and confrontations of political and economic interests between exporters and importers. Currently, agricultural technology is often transferred from a developed country with enormous technological power to a developing country with low agricultural productivity. The global intellectual property regime advocated and established by developed countries has successfully separated developing countries from advanced technology. Thus the economic interests of developed countries are secured, while the dependency and compliance of developing countries are guaranteed.Current study on intellectual property is concentrated in the study of law. While there are some studies analyzing the political and economic elements of intellectual property, the ones focused on agricultural intellectual property are rare. This paper tries to analyze agricultural intellectual property from the perspective of International Political Economy. The political and economic issues intertwined with the intellectual property regime will be examined on the basis of Hegemonic Stability Theory, and some lessons for agricultural development in the developing world will be drawn.Hegemonic Stability Theory argues for a stabilizer in the international regime. The role of the stabilizer is usually played by a hegemon, whose economic and political power finds no rivalry. To stabilize the international regime and maintain its hegemonic position, the hegemon creates the rules by establishing a range of international institutions. While drawing great benefits from the international regime dominated by itself, the hegemon has to pay high costs to maintain the system and provide public goods to its allies and to the international community. As the marginal gains from increasing pays diminishes, the ability of the hegemon to maintain the system decreases. At the same time,"free-rider" countries become stronger in terms of their economic and political power. The change in the balance of power requires a corresponding adjustment of the international regime. Facing threats to its hegemonic position, the hegemon provides less public goods in order to decrease the cost of maintaining the international regime.Originating from West civilization, contemporary institution of intellectual property has been an integral part of the hegemonic system dominated by the West. The concept and institution of intellectual property have disseminated from the West to other parts of the world through colonizing, trading and human mobility. After WWII, intellectual property became an instrument for the US to establish and consolidate its hegemonic position. With advanced technology, the US provided technological assistance to its allies without much concern about intellectual property protection. However, after encountering a range of political and economic difficulties in the1970s, a disjuncture grew between the US commitments as a hegemon and its ability to fulfil its role. Establishing institutions to protect intellectual property became an effective tool for the US to reduce its cost of maintaining the hegemonic system. Through advocating and pushing for the protection of intellectual property, the US has drawn substantial economic benefits and has weakened the potential threat from free-riders.Based on the theory above, this article examines the political and economic elements in agricultural technology transfer between China and the US. China has started to cooperate with the US in agriculture since its Reform and Opening-up in late1970s. The access to Chinese agricultural market has become even easier after China’s accession to WTO, producing a surge in China-US agricultural technology cooperation. On the one hand, the US demands tighter rules over intellectual property protection. On the other hand, agricultural corporations from the US dominate agricultural intellectual property in China, taking advantage of the relative backwardness of China’s agricultural technology and China’s deficiency in the knowledge of intellectual protection. The US not only obtains considerable economic benefits, but also gains political leverage, strengthening its capacity to maintain its hegemonic position while weakening potential threats. The China-US case reflects the role of intellectual property institution in the international regime dominated by the West.The first chapter presents the definition, the history and current state of intellectual property. It then moves on to explain agricultural intellectual property and agricultural technology transfer, and then analyzes the relationship between the two elements. The second chapter examines the agricultural technology transfer between China and the United States, and makes some preliminary analysis on the political and economic issues involved. The third chapter introduces hegemonic stability theory in IPE, and uses this theory to explain the political and economic interests in international agricultural technology transfer. The paper concludes with some lessons for developing countries.