Intellectual Property and Economic Development: What Technical Assistance to redress the Balance in Favour of Developing Nations?
What Technical Assistance to Redress the Balance in Favour of Developing Nations?
by Michel Kostecki, University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland)
FOREWORD by Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz (Executive Director, ICTSD)
The present study addresses the issue of technical assistance in intellectual property for promoting economic development. It is a further contribution of the ICTSD Programme on Intellectual Property Rights and Sustainable Development to a better understanding of the proper role of intellectual property in a knowledge-based economy.
In modern societies, identifying, registering and protecting intellectual property rights (IPRs) has become one of the key drivers of business competitiveness in international trade. Intellectual property is today’s competitive instrument in global markets but exploiting and protecting it has become complex and difficult. As developing countries continue implementing intellectual property-related treaties at the multilateral, regional and bilateral level, appropriate capacity building will be crucial if these countries are to effectively use intellectual property tools in pursuit of their sustainable development goals.
While some, particularly in developing country intellectual property offices, highly value the technical co-operation provided by institutions such as the WTO, WIPO or bilateral donors, a number of experts and organizations have raised concerns about whether this assistance has always been appropriately tailored to the circumstances of the developing countries concerned. In particular, it has been argued that the advice provided does not always fully take into account all the possible options and flexibilities to accommodate public policy objectives. These criticisms relate primarily to the fact that the main providers of technical assistance focus mainly on the promotion of the interest of intellectual property holders, and do not integrate broader development concerns.
This second ICTSD study on technical assistance in intellectual property demonstrates from a managerial perspective that this issue is one of the most strategic - but also the most controversial - aspects for achieving a pro-sustainable development intellectual property system. It suggests that more emphasis should be put on ‘win-win’ forms of assistance — helping developing country firms to effectively benefit from intellectual property protection — rather than simply aiming to prevent infringement of intellectual property rights (IPRs) (a ‘win-lose’ solution). It concludes with a series of suggestions for donors, providers and beneficiaries of technical assistance to improve the quality and nature of their respective services in the field of intellectual property.
The premise of ICTSD’s work in this field, as that of its joint project with UNCTAD, that IPRs have never been more economically and politically important or controversial than they are 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, food security, education, trade, industrial policy, traditional knowledge, biodiversity, biotechnology, the Internet, the entertainment and media industries. In a knowledge-based economy, there is no doubt that a better understanding of IPRs is indispensable to informed policy making in virtually all areas of human development.
Empirical evidence on the role of intellectual property protection in promoting innovation and growth in general remains limited and inconclusive. Conflicting views also persist on the impacts of IPRs on a country’s development prospects. Some argue that in a modern economy, the minimum standards laid down in TRIPS will bring benefits to developing countries by creating the incentive structure necessary for knowledge generation and diffusion, technology transfer and private investment flows. Others counter that intellectual property, especially some of its elements, such as the patenting regime, will adversely affect the pursuit of sustainable development strategies by raising the prices of essential drugs to levels that are too high for the poor to afford; limiting the availability of educational materials for developing country school and university students; legitimising the piracy of traditional knowledge; and undermining the self-reliance of resource-poor farmers.
It is urgent, therefore, to ask the question: how can developing countries use IP tools to advance their development strategy? What are the key concerns surrounding the issues of IPR for developing countries? What are the specific difficulties they face in intellectual property negotiations? Is intellectual property directly relevant to sustainable development and to the achievement of agreed international development goals? Do developing countries, especially the least developed among them, have the capacity to formulate their negotiating positions and become well-informed negotiating partners? It is to address some of these questions that the ICTSD Programme on Intellectual Property and Sustainable Development was launched in July 2000. One central objective has been to facilitate the emergence of a critical mass of well-informed stakeholders in developing countries - including decision makers, negotiators but also representatives from the private sector and civil society - who will be able to define their own sustainable human development objectives in the field of IPRs and effectively advance them at the national and international levels.
We hope you will find this study a useful contribution to the debate on IPRs and sustainable development, and particularly with regard to the conceptual framework for technical assistance to developing countries at varying levels of development and their correspondingly different needs in the field of intellectual property.