The impact of intellectual property legislation on economic development in Latvia, Estonia, and Finland: a comparative analysis

Abstract

The focus of this master thesis is the analysis of current intellectual property legislation as regards the protection of copyright and patent rights on the national level in three European Union member states (Latvia, Estonia, Finland) to determine the extent of legal protections offered as well as whether there is a correlation between national legislation and the economic development in the three member states. This is achieved through the comparative analysis of the relevant national legislation and case-law of Latvia, Estonia, and Finland related to patents and copyright as well as relevant economic data provided by Eurostat and the World Intellectual Property Organization. The research reveals that there is no direct correlation between patent legislation and economic growth but there may exist one between copyright legislation and growth of copyright-reliant industries.