Private Law Theory

ABSTRACT
This paper critically examines the global Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) regime through a Marxist lens, arguing that contemporary systems of IP – especially patent laws – perpetuate capitalist monopolies, hinder innovation, and deepen global inequalities. As society transitions from industrial to cognitive capitalism, the commodification of knowledge and immaterial labor under restrictive IP laws creates structural constraints on creativity, collaboration, and equitable development. The paper challenges the mainstream narrative that strong IP protections spur innovation, drawing on empirical data and case studies to demonstrate how such regimes often produce the opposite effect: stifling cumulative innovation, facilitating ‘patent thickets’, and enabling corporate concentration of power. It also highlights the exploitative dynamics of global IP law, especially under the TRIPS Agreement, which institutionalizes neocolonial imbalances by favoring the Global North while marginalizing the Global South. Through the concept of biopiracy, the paper critiques the appropriation of indigenous knowledge under Western legal frameworks. Proposing alternatives grounded in Marxist and decolonial theories, the author advocates for sector-specific reforms in pharmaceuticals and software, including public-led drug development, open-source licensing, and knowledge commons frameworks. Ultimately, the paper calls for a reconceptualization of IP that prioritizes human development, social equity, and democratic access over private accumulation and market domination.

Yeshwant Krishna P S, Rethinking Intellectual Property Rights Regime: A Marxist Approach (May 15, 2025).