4. Knowledge-based economy and intellectual property

4.1 The role of knowledge

The third millennium is marked by globalization and a new world economic system that virtually represents a "third industrial revolution". It's a system in which the economy is no longer based primarily on natural resources, labor and capital (resources which are inherently scarce and finite), but on knowledge, information, innovation and creativity (which are in theory unlimited). Thus, in this new global system, the economic growth, wealth and power of a country or company depend on its intellectual and technological performance, or more broadly on knowledge, which can be defined as the search for better ways of doing something. According to OECD statistics, half of the GDP of rich countries is linked to the knowledge economy: education, telecommunications,...