Strategy of the intellectual property development for the period of ...

economic value lying in the intellectual property which can be materialized andappropriated only if that property is used economically, regardless whether it is legallyprotected or not.In this strategy, the focus lies on legally protected intellectual property because thatconcept is specific and supported by the particular legal and institutional arrangements.However, the economic concept of intellectual property is important for the Strategy,because it draws attention to the fact that intellectual property in its narrow legal sense isnot a tool of economic development if it is not utilized in economy. In other words, nointellectual property right has legal value in itself, on the basis of the fact that it islegitimate, or granted by a decision of a government body. The thing that transformsintellectual property right into economic value is its productive utilization. In the sameway, the circumstances that a certain intellectual property asset is not protected by anyform of intellectual property rights is not an obstacle in its economic use and what ismore it is not necessarily an obstacle to the realization and appropriation of profit. Whatis more, in certain situations it can be a strategic advantage for the business subject toresort to the actual protection of the certain intellectual property asset in the form of atrade secret, then resort to legal protection in the form of patent or some other industrialproperty right.Having this in mind, it can be stated that the intellectual property right has several basicfunctions: the first function is to stimulate the “production” of creations by givingpossibility for a legal monopoly on economic exploitation of new intellectual creationssuch as inventions, plant varieties, topographies of integrated circuits and copyright andin such a way contribution is given to the technical and cultural progress of a society. Thesecond function is to reduce the information gap between the subjects which provide andthe subjects which demand certain goods and services on the market by securing theexclusive right for the utilization of distinctive signs (trademarks, geographicalindications of origin and industrial designs), which reduces the transaction costs,stimulate investment into the quality of goods and services and contributes to theefficiency of the market. The third function consists in the facilitation of the transactionof rights for the use of intellectual property assets because there is a legal ground for thesuccession of rights inter vivo (by means of a contract and ex lege), as well as mortiscausae. The forth function is the logical outcome of this one: it is the facilitation of theeconomic implementation of the protected intellectual property assets. However, in thecases when the holder of right has no capacity or interest to utilize directly a certainintellectual property asset which is a subject matter of an appropriate right of intellectualproperty, he can cede or transfer that right to the subject which has the capacity and theinterest in that. In such a way, more intellectual property assets find their way to practicalimplementation than would have been the case if they had not been the object ofprotection by a certain intellectual property law.In the countries in transition, such as the Republic of Serbia, the intellectual propertyright has one additional characteristic function, which, from the point of view of currenteconomic policy, sometimes gets before everything else. It is a question of a function ofattracting foreign direct investments. In the conditions of global economy, the capital6