TOWARDS DEVELOPMENT-ORIENTED IP POLICY: SETTING AN AGENDA FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS

29th October – 1st November 2002

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The Bellagio Series on Development and Intellectual Property Policy
A group of specialists, government experts and members of international and non-governmental organizations, met in their personal capacity, from 30 October to 2 November 2002, in the context of the Bellagio Series on Development and Intellectual Property Policy sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation.

Participants at the Dialogue were unanimous in recognizing that intellectual property (IP) has never been more economically and politically important or controversial than it is today. Patents, copyrights, trademarks, industrial designs, integrated circuits and geographical indications are frequently mentioned in discussions and debates on such diverse topics as public health, agriculture, education, trade, industrial policy, traditional knowledge, biodiversity, biotechnology, the Internet, the entertainment and media industries, and increasingly the widening gap between the income levels of the developed countries and the developing, and especially least-developed, countries. An understanding of IP is indispensable to informed policy making in all areas of human development.

The Dialogue consisted of strategic discussions to identify concrete recommendations that could contribute to the formulation of development-oriented IP policies. The recommendations were directed not only to the Council for TRIPS and the Doha Development Agenda but other important national, bilateral and regional initiatives and processes relating to IP and development. The four themes covered were (i) the future of IPRs in the multilateral trading system; (ii) meeting the challenge of new treaty development and harmonization; (iii) promoting effective national policy formulation; and (iv) integrating IP policies in development strategies.

In view of the importance of the meeting the organizers have considered useful to make available all the relevant material of the Dialogue including the background papers and the informal report of the meeting. One outcome of the Dialogue was the launching of the Frati Initiative with the view of initiating a process of follow-up and monitoring to the ideas and suggestions made during the Dialogue.

AGENDA

Each day consisted of strategic discussions to identify concrete recommendations that can contribute to the formulation of development-oriented intellectual property (IP) policies. These recommendations was directed not only to the Council for TRIPS and the Doha Development Agenda but other important national, bilateral and regional initiatives and processes relating to IP and development. Each session had a moderator responsible for identifying key issues, thereby contributing to the identification of possible new initiatives. Participants met together in plenary sessions, but also broke up into smaller intersecting groups in order to maximise the use of the limited time available.

The first day focused on the general setting. The following two and half days took up in detail each of the following three segments of the programme: (a) Developing a pro-active negotiating agenda; (b) Enhancing the role of intellectual property rights (IPRs) as tools for national development; and (c) Towards a development-oriented IPR agenda.
Tuesday 29 October: Arrival of participants

19.00: Welcome Session-Dinner.

Introduction to the Frati and its philosophy; the Rockefeller series; the ICTSD-UNCTAD initiative; and, the participants.

21.00: Consultations on programme

Wednesday 30 October: The general setting

Morning Session: 9.00-12.30

Moderator: Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz (Colombia), ICTSD

Introductory remarks by organizers: objectives and purpose

Session one: The future of IPRs in the multilateral trading system: Responding to Council for TRIPS activities, the Doha Development Agenda, and the evolving WTO jurisprudence on TRIPS.

Lead discussant: Frederick Abbott (USA), Florida State University

Session two : Meeting the challenge of new treaty development and harmonisation: Dealing with developments at WIPO, and regional and bilateral initiatives.

Lead discussant: Ruth Okediji (Nigeria), University of Oklahoma

Mid-day Session: 13.00 - 14.30

The three focus tracks and other outcomes: i) Substantive agenda: Pedro Roffe; Amr Ramadan; Betty Berendson; Gothami Indikadehena; Weerawit Weeraworawit, Elza de Castro, Graham Dutfield ii) Startegic means: Jorge Caillaux; Rashid Kaukab; Ruth Mayne; Athul Kaushik; Silvia Salazar; iii) Promotion, facilitation and review mechanism: Brewster Grace; Grethel Aguilar; Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz; iv) Packaging the outcomes: Geoff Tansey; v) Keeping coherence: Carolyn Deere; Christophe Bellmann.

Afternoon Session: 14.30-18.00

Moderator: Pedro Roffe (Chile), UNCTAD-ICTSD

Session three: Promoting effective national policy formulation:
Meeting the challenge of formulating effective pro-development national-level policies in the light of bilateral, regional and multilateral processes in the field of intellectual property.

Lead discussant: Carlos Correa (Argentina), University of Buenos Aires

Session four: Integrating IPR policies in development strategies:
Converting international IPR rules into tools for national economic development - agenda setting, negotiating strategies, international governance issues, and strategic alliances.

Lead discussant: John Barton (USA), Stanford University

19.30: Reflections - Dinner, Brewster Grace (USA), QUNO, The role of “process” in multilateral cooperation and rule-making in the Geneva policy and institutional environment

21.00: Consultations on process and outcomes

Thursday 31 October: Promoting a pro-active development international agenda and enhancing the role of IPRs as tools for national development

First Morning Session: 8.30-10.30

The challenges of the multilateral trading system

Moderator: Carlos Correa

Which issues should developing countries pay special attention to in the preparations for the forthcoming Mexico Ministerial Conference?
Which lessons can developing countries draw from negotiations at the Council for TRIPS (e.g. on article 27.3.b) and from the evolving WTO -TRIPS jurisprudence?
How should developing countries strategise to most effectively deal with the TRIPS review process?
How to bridge the gap between demands for higher standards in the light of the insufficient or complete lack of data and evidence to support those demands?

Lead discussant: Frederick Abbott
Discussants: Betty Berendson; Elza de Castro; Rashid Kaukab; Ruth Mayne.

Second Morning Session: 11.00-13.30

The challenges of harmonization

Moderator: John Barton

How to develop a pro-active agenda in dealing with the harmonization of IPRs standards?
How to deal constructively with the WIPO Patent Agenda?
Should developing countries envisage broad or sector-wise alliances with like-minded countries including with developed countries when dealing with regional and bilateral new initiatives?
Which are the new emerging issues and challenges for developing countries in the new IP treaty-making agenda? Internet, data protection, biotechnology, etc?
How much leverage can developing countries exert in terms of raising new issues or in opposing agendas not compatible with their development needs?

Lead discussant: Ruth Okediji
Discussants: Gothami Indikadehena; Silvia Salazar; Geoff Tansey; Weerawit Weeraworawit.

Session at Noon: 13.30 - 15.00

Scenarios on possible outcomes and follow up, Jorge Caillaux

First Afternoon Session: 15.00-17.00

Enhancing coherence

Moderator: Frederick Abbott

Which are the obstacles for the formulation of coherent national and regional strategies on IPRs? How can these be overcome?
How to better assess the implementation capacity building needs and priorities of developing countries?
Are those needs limited to the revision of laws and to the modernization of IPR offices?
Are high levels of IPR protection and enforcement commensurate with major public policy objectives, such as protecting and supporting public health, nutrition and education?
How can developing countries deal with human, institutional and financial constraints in meeting the challenges of formulating pro-development IPR rules?
How can they ensure the coherence, sustainability and effectiveness of their policies?

Lead discussant: Carlos Correa
Discussants: Grethel Aguilar; Faizel Ismail; Atul Kaushik.

Second Afternoon Session: 17.00-19.00

Rethinking the role of IPRs in development

Moderator: Ruth Okediji

How to make IPRs compatible with socio-economic and technological development?
How to promote technological innovation?
How to enhance the transfer and dissemination of technology to developing countries?
Are there means of conditioning the acceptance of higher standards of protection with meeting transfer of technology demands?
How to deal with the specific circumstances of the LDCs?
How to reconcile IPR protection with competition policies?
Is there a case for differential treatment?
Which is the right forum for advancing the reform of IPRs?
What are the best ways of adopting pro-active and pro-development policies and ensuring appropriate follow up?

Lead discussant: John Barton
Discussants: Jorge Caillaux; Toufiqur Rahman; Amr Ramadan.

19.30: Reflections - Dinner, Faizel Ismail (Permanente Representative to WTO, South Africa), Policy formulation at the national level and integration into the global economy

21.00: Consultations on process and outcomes

Friday 1 November: Scrutinizing the elements of a pro-active agenda

Plenary Morning Session: 9.00 - 10.00

Agreeing on the identified elements for an agenda:drawn from the general discussions and work in the focus tracks.

Morning Cycle: 10.00 - 11.30

Public health; Genetic resources and traditional knowledge; Transfer of technology; Rebalancing the TRIPs Agreement: Intersecting groups

Afternoon Cycle: 15.00 - 18.30

Harmonization of patent and copyright systems; Unilateralism (Special 301) and TRIPS plus in bilateral-regional agreements; Non-violation and competition policy; Questioning the WIPO policy environment: Intersecting groups

19.30: Dinner at Villa Serbelloni

Evening Session: 21.30, Priority issue areas and needed actions

Saturday 2 November: Towards a development-oriented IPR agenda

Concluding Session: 8.30-12.00

Agreeing on the elements of an agenda, the needed actions and a follow-up mechanism

12.30 Departure from Bellagio

Participants

ARGENTINA

Carlos CORREA
Director, Maestría en Política y Gestión de la Ciencia y Tecnología,
Centro de Estudios Avanzados de la Universidad de Buenos Aires.

AUSTRALIA

Carolyn DEERE
Assistant Director, Global Inclusion, The Rockefeller Foundation, New-York.

BANGLADESH

Taufiqur RAHMAN
Third Secretary, Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN, Geneva.

BRAZIL

Elza DE CASTRO
First Secretary, Ministerio das Rel. Exteriores, Brasilia.

CHILE

Pedro ROFFE
Project Director, ICTSD-UNCTAD Project on IPRs and Development.

COLOMBIA

Ricardo MELENDEZ-ORTIZ
ICTSD Executive Director.

COSTA RICA

Grethel AGUILAR
IUCN Commission on Environmental Law, Bonn, Germany.

Silvia SALAZAR
Legal Adviser on Intellectual Property, University of Costa Rica, Santo Domingo de Heredia.

EGYPT

Amr RAMADAN
Counsellor, Permanente Mission of Egypt to the WTO, Geneva.

INDIA

Athul KAUSHIK
Deputy Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India, New Delhi.

NIGERIA/USA

Ruth OKEDIJI
Edith Gaylord Harper Presidential Professor of Law, University of Oklahoma College of Law, USA.

PAKISTAN

Rashid KAUKAB
Senior Consultant - South Centre, Joint South Centre - CIEL Programme on IPRs, Geneva.

PERU

Betty BERENDSON
Ministra Consejera, Permanent Mission of Peru to the WTO, Geneva.

Jorge CAILLAUX
Presidente, Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental (SPDA), Lima.

SOUTH AFRICA

Faizel ISMAIL
Permanente Representative to the WTO, Embassy of South Africa, Geneva.

SRI LANKA

Gothami INDIKADAHENA
Counsellor (Economic & Commercial), Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN, Geneva.

THAILAND

Weerawit WEERAWORAWIT
Minister Counsellor, Ministry of Commerce, Bangkok.

UK

Ruth MAYNE
Policy Advisor, OXFAM.

Geoff TANSEY
Writer and consultant, West Yorkshire.

USA

Frederick ABBOTT
Professor, Edward Ball Eminent Scholar Chair in International Law,
Florida State University College of Law, Tallahassee, FL.

John BARTON
George E. Osborne Professor of Law, Stanford University, California.

Brewster GRACE
Representative, Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO), Quaker House, Geneva.

ICTSD/UNCTD Project Core Team

Christophe BELLMANN
Director of Policy Dialogues & Partnerships, ICTSD, Switzerland.

Marie CHAMAY
Intellectual Property Programme Associate, ICTSD, Switzerland.

Graham DUTFIELD
Senior Research Associate, Academic Director ICTSD-UNCTAD Project on IPRs, UK.