Intellectual Property and Human Rights: A Taxonomy of Their Interactions

Abstract

The present work offers a taxonomy that organizes the interactions between human rights and intellectual property. Three main patterns of interaction occur between the two sets of rights: “Recognition” takes place when the law elevates intellectual property to the ranking of human rights, “conflict” when intellectual property and human rights interfere with each other and “cooperation” when they operate synergistically. While these three broad categories are known to commentators, the research further divides them into several subcategories. Each of them shows unique characteristics and features, which are validated through empirical data. This leads to a taxonomy with multiple levels of complexity which better conceptualizes the multiple interactions between intellectual property and human rights, and expands our understanding of the relationship between the two systems.