The Effect of Intellectual Property Rights on Export: A Case Study on G15 Countries

Different levels of knowledge and technology, is one of the factors influencing development gap between countries. Hardware technology consists of machinery and equipment, in the other hand, software technology is arising from intellectual secretions of human which is supported by intellectual property rights. Supporting of inventions in the framework of intellectual property plays a decisive role in the country's commercial development, because new ideas, whose ownership is preserved, will establish or strengthen competitive advantage. In this paper, we study the effect of intellectual property rights protection on exports of Group 15 countries between 1995-2007. For this purpose, the index of patent programs is used as an indicator of intellectual property rights protection. The effect of intellectual property rights protection on exports has been examined both directly and through other variables such as Gross domestic product (GDP), foreign direct investment and research and development expenditure. The results indicate that broader supporting for intellectual property rights in terms of mutual needs of members ofthe group 15, will provide fertile ground for increased investment in research and development and in addition to attract foreign direct investment, increase competitiveness and thereby increase high-tech exports.