Borrowing from Jurisprudence and Law and Economics, this paper seeks to establish that the existing intellectual property rights regime under TRIPS stipulates inefficient and overly stringent forms of protection. It has been suggested that an ideal regime must not afford a homogeneous protection. Distinction must be drawn, for instance, between want-based and need-based (life saving) products. It has been submitted that a weak IPR regime in need-based products is a reasonable restriction upon the individual rights of the innovator to ensure emergence of competitive markets and fair pricing, albeit justifications may be found for stronger protection for want based goods.