Access to Knowledge and Development

Abstract Knowledge goods, as public goods, possess two prominent qualities of being non-rival in consumption and non-excludable in use. This chapter evaluates knowledge as a global public good and impediments to its creation and diffusion. It takes a theoretical approach to the concept, structure, and attributes of knowledge goods. Access to knowledge is a core component of ‘development’; however, the current global copyright regime does not generate a sufficient range of policy choices to advance the ‘development’ objectives of developing countries. The international IP ‘top-down approach’ has better served the interests of developed economies but has failed to fulfil the social welfare goals of developing countries, especially in terms of human development interests. The Access to Knowledge movement, being pluralistic in nature, advances numerous arguments, including distributive justice, social justice, equality of opportunities, and economic efficiency. Approaching the existing international copyright framework from a critical angle relates to the question of ‘access from above or below’. To this end, this chapter draws an analogy between ‘access’ and ‘development’.