Intellectual Property as a Tool for Environmental Sustainability
Author : A Venkateswara Rao
Abstract :
The intersection of intellectual property (IP) and environmental sustainability represents one of the most dynamic and contested frontiers in contemporary international law and policy. This article examines the multifaceted role of IP rights—spanning patents, trade secrets, traditional knowledge protections, trademarks, and geographical indications—as instruments for advancing, and in some respects impeding, global environmental sustainability goals. Drawing on international treaty frameworks, comparative jurisprudence, and empirical literature, the article traces the evolution of the IP-environment discourse from early conceptual debates to present-day operational mechanisms. It analyses the systemic challenges posed by the IP-climate nexus, including technology transfer barriers, North-South tensions, and the enduring tension between private exclusivity and the global commons. Emerging issues, including artificial intelligence (AI)-driven green innovation, blockchain-enabled biodiversity tracking, and post-pandemic IP sharing models, are examined as harbingers of a transformative era. The article concludes that a recalibrated IP architecture—one that embeds environmental conditionality and equity principles into its core framework—is imperative if IP is to serve as a genuine catalyst for planetary sustainability.
Keywords :
Intellectual property, Environmental sustainability, Green technology transfer, TRIPS agreement, Genetic resources and traditional knowledge.
