The Globalization of Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation in Services

I review the various interrelationships between innovation in service industries and the need for intellectual property rights (IPR) protection. A number of service sectors engage in significant innovation, particularly in information technologies, the internet, digital entertainment, and financial services, suggesting that IPR are of increasing importance in those areas. Other service sectors have not made much use of IPR to date but emerging patterns of innovation indicates that doing so will become a more central element of commercial strategy. A review of available survey evidence supports these views. I discuss how fundamental principles of IPR may be applied to various services and note certain gaps in policy regimes that should be filled in order to meet the needs of these sectors.