During the last years developed countries succeeded in introducing intellectual property rights into the international agenda. Developing countries were unwilling to adopt policies to protect intellectual assets since price increases of patented products restrict their consumption to certain population groups.
In the case of intellectual property rights in the health industry, developed countries have understood that the level of protection reached at the WTO is insufficient and they have sought to harden the rules through bilateral agreements. This paper considers the benefit for developing countries to reach regional agreements between them and negotiate in block with developed countries. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.