IP Piracy & Developing Nations: A Recipe for Terrorism Funding

When events such as 9/11 hit the U.S., no one thought that terrorists funded these activities through intellectual property piracy. On the surface, intellectual property (IP) piracy and terrorism are two distant topics. However, these topics are not distant but closely connected, as terrorist groups thrive on IP piracy, especially in developing nations, which has led to successful terrorist funding opportunities. Because IP piracy evades normal detection and developing nations do not thoroughly understand it, terrorist groups gravitate towards IP piracy for funding, which presents a distinct global dilemma. Intellectual property rights and laws, namely criminal enforcement mechanisms, are essential in protecting developing nations against becoming a haven for terrorism, which IP piracy helps fund. With the institution of such rights and laws, this effort would balance combatting terrorism with the need to freely share ideas and promote the advancement of technology, science, society and the global economy. This discussion examines the highly controversial connections between IP, developing nations and terrorism and explores the inequities that exist for developing nations that make them magnets for terrorism groups.