The first reason is that it is both just and appropriate that the person putting in the work and effort into an intellectual creation has some benefit as a result of this endeavor. The second reason is that by giving protection to intellectual property many such endeavors are encouraged and industries based on such work can grow, as people see that such work brings financial return.
An example of this later point is given by the case of the world pharmaceutical industry. An investment of many years, and R&D expenses (lab time for creation, testing, government or agency approval procedures) running into the hundreds of millions of pounds sterling (or yen, rands, lira, dollars) may be necessary before any new medicine reaches the market. Without the IP rights to exclude competitors from also making such a new medicine, the pharmaceutical company creating such a new compound would have no incentive to spend the time and efforts outlined above to develop their drugs.
Without patent protection, such a company would face economic losses originating from the "free-riding" of their competitors. Without trademark protection, this company, again, could not build "brand loyalty" that, hopefully, would last beyond the years of protection granted by patents.
Without the protections given within IP laws and treaties, such pharmaceutical firms simply would not commit an effort to experiment, in searching for new health products. As you can see from this brief example, without the protections outlined above, the world might well be literally less healthy than it is. Intellectual property rights may also help to extend protection to such things as the unwritten and unrecorded cultural expression of many developing countries, generally known as folklore. With such protection they may be exploited to the benefit of the country and cultures of origin.
The reason for States to enact national legislation, and to join as signatories to either (or both) regional or international treaties governing intellectual property rights include:
• to provide incentive towards various creative endeavors of the mind by offering protections;
• to give such creators official recognition;
• to create repositories of vital information;
• to facilitate the growth of both domestic industry or culture, and international trade, through the treaties offering multi-lateral protection.
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