The Economic Impact of Intellectual Property Systems on Industrial Development in Sudan

Abstract

The main theme of this study is the Intellectual Property System. The basic objective of the study is to study the economic impact of the IPRs on the industrial development, with special reference to pharmaceutical sector in Sudan. The study hypothesizes that: Intellectual and industrial property rights, free industrial design, creativity and productivity from the shackles of geographical barriers under the new trend of globalization. Intellectual and industrial property rights are not conducive to the new tendencies of high technology. Intellectual and industrial property rights are suitable instruments for the economic growth. Intellectual and industrial property rights can be used, under proper systems of registration, as a tool for transfer of technology. The descriptive, analytic and comparative approach has been used in this study so as to collect, describe and qualitatively analyze the data, which has been collected from primary and secondary sources. The methods used have enabled the researcher to reach very interesting results. This indicates that: Sudanese pharmaceutical firms are indifferent about filling of patent applications. In fact a number of domestic applications are almost not registered and this refers to lack of R and D activities due to scarcity of fund and infrastructure. Sudanese inventors in general fail to market their patents and consequently, they are kept in the Registrar Office as a dormant technology without licensing either compulsorily or voluntarily.

The study concludes by suggesting certain policy recommendations and measures calling for Institutional structural adjustment of IP to be integrated at all levels of the economy to enhance the potential to yield the industrial development and to consider IP as a value added product. The study also calls for allocating more resources to R and D.