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Currently, the impact of TRIPS implementation on the S&T policies of countries, especially in LDCs is hotly debatable. On one hand, strong protection of IPRs in general has argued to bring about increased flows of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and technology transfer to LDCs, and these changes in IPRs would also stimulate local innovation. While on the other hand, many argue that strong international IPR architecture, spearheaded the TRIPS Agreement, in LDCs such as Ethiopia not only blocks the transfer and dissemination of technologies, but also have an adverse impact on the national technological capability and ultimately on the overall science and technology development endeavours. The aim of this dissertation is therefore, to assess the overall impact of implementing strong TRIPS obligation on Ethiopian S&T Policy taking the core national technological capability enhancing schemes of the policy as the focus of the analysis.

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Tesfay Kumenit teaches law at the University of Gondar in Ethiopia. He has earned his LLB Degree in 2005 from Mekelle University and LLM in law in Development in 2011 from University of Warwick. His research interests include development discourses, International Political Economy, Globalization and Global Governance, and Global Justice.

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