Developing countries must learn to internationally negotiate for IPR regimes that consider the urgent need to narrow the knowledge gap while maintaining incentives for knowledge producers to invest in research. The matter of protecting developing nations' patents in the developed nations should be a key issue in the negotiation table. So are indigenous or traditional knowledge that may be susceptible to piracy. These concerns must be balanced with the recognition that despite initial enforcement pains, a well-functioning IPR regime provides a conductive environment for foreign direct investments and for the transfer of technology.
