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This paper provides an historical survey of the evolution of rice technology in China, from the traditional farming system to genetically modified rice today. Using sociotechnological analytical framework, it analyses rice technology as a socio-technical ensemble - a complex interaction of material and social elements, and discusses the specificity of technology development and its socio-technical outcomes. It points to two imperatives in rice variety development: wholesale transporting agricultural technology and social mechanism to developing countries are likely lead to negative consequences; indigenous innovation including deploying GM technology for seed varietal development and capturing/cultivating local knowledge will provide better solutions.

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This paper examines the dilemmas faced by developing countries (DCs) in determining their response to the global harmonisation of intellectual property (IP) protection. It focuses on two key questions: will a weak IP regime in DCs deter inward investment/technology transfer and hamper technology development?; and can DCs build up their technology capabilities and thereby overcome the projected negative impacts of global IP harmonisation by a strategy of delaying compliance with the international IP regime? This paper reviews these debates and dilemmas, applying an analytical framework based on technology studies. It uses a case study of the software industry in China to advance the argument that the effects of an IP regime are extremely complex, depending on particular industrial, technological and social factors. The key question is not whether to enforce the global IP regime; rather, policymaking needs to be informed by a more detailed approach. Imposition of the global IP regime may not be effective and may not per se promote innovation.