An American Intangible Empire of Intellectual Property Rights and its Dilemmas

The United States of America has a long tradition of pursuing a commercial empire to avoid the possible fate of decline or dissolution facing every traditional empire. Since the early 1980s, domestic intellectual property regime had been fortified in the US to promote innovations and high-tech industry. Meanwhile, international intellectual property system had been globalized by establishment of the WTO and enforcement of the TRIPS in 1995 which could safeguard the technical and the corresponding commercial advantages of the US on world markets. An intangible empire of intellectual property rights had been constructed by the US for maximization of its interests. The distinctly American empire also has its intrinsic dilemmas. Internationally it could limit development of economy and social welfare of developing countries, and domestically it may incur patent trolls as such that may ruin rationale of the patent regime, and both may cause alienation of intellectual property regime that may further risk or demolish the intangible empire itself. Reasonable measures shall be taken to control the over-stretched intangible empire of intellectual property rights and to avoid its possible negative effects upon public interest both domestically and internationally.