The Effect of Intellectual Property Standards on the Catch-Up Process Of Emerging Market Economies

The catch-up process of emerging market economies is dependent on multiple factors, such as local governmental regulations but also global industry developments. We investigate how intellectual property (IP) protection standards affect this catch-up process. The alignment of these standards with the country’s level of innovation capabilities set the framework for the study. We use patent data from the United States Patent Office and compare the catch-up process of Brazil, India and Turkey based on the countries implementation of TRIPS regulations. We find that countries with a gradual implementation of IP protection standards gain a higher level of innovation capabilities compared to countries that immediately ratify the standards. These countries require more time to catch-up to global standards as a misalignment of IP protection and innovation capabilities is evident.