by Harini Varadarajan
Repository Citation
Harini Varadarajan OIL AND GAS PATENTS: DO MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS IMPEDE THE GROWTH OF TECHNOLOGY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES? Spring 2023 Int’l J. L. Ethics Tech. 1 (2023).
Available at: 10.55574/QCJA3263
Author Information: Harini Varadarajan, University of Edinburgh.
Abstract: 82% of the world’s proven oil reserves are in the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries which are predominantly developing countries. The international oil corporations (IOCs) otherwise known as the O&G (Oil and Gas) multinational corporations (MNCs) of the advanced nations develop the technology for extracting the hydrocarbons from the reserves and assist the developing oil-rich states in doing so. In exchange for the technology, developed nations have obtained access to the O&G resources that they lack. Because the technology required to extract oil is highly sophisticated and requires substantial research and development (R&D), the MNCs have secured them using patents. However, some of the strategic patenting practices and supplementary offensive methods employed by the MNCs of technologically superior countries over the past century have been criticised as being anticompetitive. Though these methods were employed to secure their own investments, they have inadvertently hindered technological development of some developing oil-rich nations and created a large technology gap between the Global North and South which I will present through the course of this paper. I conclude that oil-rich nations that lacked capital and technological infrastructure due to weak governmental support for Research & Development have been the ones to suffer in contrast to those oil-rich nations whose governments were committed to technology and advancement. Therefore, to overcome the technology gap, I urge host countries to have the political will and take proactive measures to develop their own technology. Reformation of International Intellectual Property Laws must also be considered if developed nations are indeed committed to helping the developing countries succeed, as encouraging innovation in all countries is indeed the very foundation of IP Law.
Keywords: Patents, Anti-Competitive, Anti-Trust, Oil and Gas, International Intellectual Property Law, Developing Countries, Multinational Corporations, Innovation, Technology
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Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Persistent link: https://www.ijlet.org/2023-1-85-112
DOI: 10.55574/QCJA3263
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