In the modern knowledge economy the goods and services 'exported' by developed nations are often intangible designs (such as 'medicinal formulae', 'trademarks', 'software', or entertainment content). The value of this
Intellectual property (IP) is largely derived from the legal protection it enjoys from copying. Many advocates for the poor claim that the reason
IP-rights are strongly protected in International trade is the economic power the developed world uses to protect the interests of their IP producers during trade negotiations. This is an especially emotive argument when applied in areas like
AIDS medicine; WTO-signatory nations renounce the right to produce generic copies of life-saving pills, the only treatment widely affordable in developing nations.