Intellectual Property Rights on ICT Diffusion in Developing Countries

Abstract

This study seeks to determine whether information communications technologies (ICT) diffusion in developing countries is affected by intellectual property right (IPR) regimes. Literature items that were: (1) published in the last decade, (2) openly accessible, and (3) cited at least ten times, were profiled to fulfil the purpose of this study. Negative impacts of IPR regimes ranked highest among all factors used in the profiled literature of this study. The IPR factors related to the Power of Innovators were most popular among IPR factors that leaned towards the positive impacts of IPR regime. However, ICT diffusion factors were the most popular among profiled studies that tilted towards mendable impacts of IPR regimes. Consequently, this study infers that ICT diffusion in developing countries is adversely affected by IPR regimes. Limitations of this study are rooted in the fact that most studies were not freely available and access fees were prohibitively unaffordable to researchers from developing countries. This study contributes towards an understanding of IPR regimes as part of important factors that inhibit ICT diffusion in developing countries.