The aim of the dialogue is to present the findings of recent research on piracy and intellectual property (IP) enforcement in a number of developing countries and consider their possible implications for international discussions on IP enforcement.

The enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRs) has gained prominence in recent years in the global trade and IP agenda. A number of initiatives at the global, regional and bilateral level aiming at the strengthening of IPRs enforcement carry far-reaching implications for the regulation of the knowledge economy.

However, many of these initiatives - and the discourse underpinning them - are mostly confined to a legalistic and repressive approach. The meeting of the WIPO Advisory Committee on Enforcement (ACE) offers an opportunity to address piracy and IP enforcement from a broader social and economic perspective taking into consideration recommendation 45 of the WIPO Development Agenda, which underlines the need "to approach intellectual property enforcement in the context of broader societal interests and especially development oriented concerns," in accordance with Article 7 of the TRIPS Agreement.

At the same time, the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is undertaking an important project - the Media Piracy Project- to investigate music, film, and software piracy in a number of developing economies. The project is built around studies of piracy and IP enforcement efforts in India, Brazil, South Africa, Russia, Mexico, and Bolivia, and framed by a wider examination of IP policymaking and enforcement at the international level. Six institutions and twenty-five researchers have been involved in the 2-year research project. Some preliminary results of these studies will be presented at the Dialogue.
The Dialogue aims to foster a constructive debate on IP enforcement by providing new perspectives on its economic and sociological dimensions in a development context and consider lessons which could be useful for international discussions and efforts in this area.

The Dialogue aims to foster a constructive debate on IP enforcement by providing new perspectives on its economic and sociological dimensions in a development context and consider lessons which could be useful for international discussions and efforts in this area.