Intellectual property rights, foreign direct investment and competition issues in developing countries

The relationships between intellectual property rights and foreign direct i nvestment are subtle and complex, though potentially important as developin g countries strengthen their systems for protecting such rights. Then is em erging empirical evidence that both investment and licensing of sophisticat ed technologies depend positively on the strength of intellectual property rights. This may raise concerns about anti-competitive abuse of such rights in developing economies, pointing to the need for complementary regulation to promote dynamic competition.