Intellectual property (IP) has become an important
item on the trade agenda of negotiations at the multilateral,
regional, and bilateral levels. These negotiations are having
a strong impact on the design and implementation of public policies
and strategies of many national Governments in many fields including
health, agriculture, environment, education, research and development,
and technology transfer.
After failure of the WTO Cancun Ministerial,
political analysts have divergent perceptions of what could
happen in current IPRs negotiations. One of those perceptions
considers that WTO's Cancun Ministerial will have an inevitable
negative impact on prospects for an over-ambitious agenda or
near-term results in the FTAA process and other regional negotiations.
Another view indicates that recent declarations of interest
by developing various countries in advancing negotiations bilaterally
with major trade partners are exerting some pressure towards
the renewal of multilateral discussions and consolidation regional
processes as a the preferred frameworks for achieving "privileged
economic/political relationships".
In these regional/bilateral processes many developing
countries are concerned about the so-called TRIPS-plus agreements.
These types of agreements tent to introduce commitments beyond
those already included or consolidated in the minimum standards
of the TRIPS Agreement. One of processes where TRIPS plus commitments
could be developed is the negotiation of the Free Trade Area
of the Americas (FTAA). Two draft chapters on IPRs were disclosed
to the public in the Quebec and Quito Ministerial respectively.
A challenge that policymakers in developing
countries presently face -whether in international negotiations
or in the design of national laws- is how to adapt existing
IPRs mechanisms to promote local innovation and to identify
new alternatives that could better address their development
needs. Several such mechanisms have been identified in academic
literature and new ones are starting to arise in national legislations.
Existing alternatives include the use of utility models or petty
patents, industrial design law, trade secrets, and trademarks
and geographical indications. Some of the emerging options include
hybrid exclusive rights, new sui generis systems in food and
agriculture, compensatory liability regimes, preservation of
scientific/technological data for follow-on research, and low
cost collective management of rights for small-scale innovators
and creators. This latest generation of mechanisms have basically
been discussed by academia, and policy makers and influencers
seem to be increasingly interested in them.
General objectives
The main objectives of this dialogue are the
following:
1. Review the state of affairs and exchange
views on the results of the WTO Cancun Ministerial and its impact
on regional and bilateral negotiations on intellectual property
and development policies;
2. Identifying key political and policy issues, processes and
fora for promoting coherence in international policy-making
on IPRs and for shaping development-centered IPR regimes.
3. Explore options and new alternatives to promote pro competitive
approaches on IPRs as to achieve sustainable development goals.
The dialogue
The dialogue seeks to promote an open exchange
of views regarding coherence in international, regional and
bilateral processes and pro-competitive approaches on IPRs.
Discussion will build on several of the lessons learned from
the Bellagio Series on IPRs and development organized by the
UNCTAD/ICTSD Project on Intellectual Property and Sustainable
development. The dialogue involves experts including governments,
IGOs, NGOs, academia, and research institutions.
This dialogue will be divided in two sessions. The first session
will introduce the latest development in the IP field and ways
and means to find coherence among various processes at the multilateral,
regional and bilateral level. The second session will give general
overview on existing and alternative pro competitive approaches
on IPRs that are supportive of sustainable development goals.
In each session one keynote speaker will make
general presentations on the issues at stake and four "commentators"
will be invited to complement the each of those presentations.
The presentations will be targeted to focus on providing an
update of the policy state of play; targeted analysis on coherence;
forthcoming opportunities; and, options. After each presentation,
dialogue among participants will be open. The dialogue will
end with a concluding discussion on prospective action and developments
at the domestic, regional and multilateral levels.
Annotated agenda
9h00 - 9h15 Introduction to the dialogue,
review of objectives and presentation of participants
Chair: Pedro ROFFE, Director of the UNCTAD-ICTSD
Project on IPRs and Sustainable Development
Objectives:
- Welcome to participants;
- Introduce the objectives and methodology
of the dialogue
- Review outcomes and recommendations stemming
from the Bellagio Series on IPRs and Development.
9h15 - 11h00 Session One: "Recent International
Developments in the Area of Intellectual Property Rights"
Facilitator: David VIVAS-EUGUI, Programme Manager,
Intellectual Property, Technology and Services, ICTSD
Overview presentation by:
Carlos CORREA, Director, Maestría en
Política y Gestión de la Ciencia y la Tecnología
Centro de Estudios Avanzados, Universidad de Buenos Aires.
Brief reaction from:
Alma ARAIZA, General Director Adjunta, Instituto
Mexicano de la Propiedad Intelectual
Monica ROSELL, Legal Adviser, Andean Community
Secretariat
Objective:
Review the state of affairs and exchange views
on the results of the WTO Cancun Ministerial and its impact
on regional and bilateral negotiations on intellectual property
and development policies.
Key questions:
- Bearing in mind the Doha mandates on sustainable
development and the development-centred nature of its agreed
agenda, as well as the Doha process and developments at
Cancun, to which intellectual property issues should developing
countries pay particular attention?
- In the post Cancun phase of WTO negotiations,
which are the emerging and primary policy issues for developing
countries?
- Which are the implications of recent developments
on so-called "TRIPs plus" provisions and standards
at WIPO, the FTAA process and bilateral agreements/negotiations?
Open Discussion
11h00-11h15 Coffee Break
11h15-13h00
"Working Towards Coherence
in IPRs Issues" (first part)
Open dialogue facilitated by: Pedro Roffe, UNCTAD-ICTSD
Inputs from:
Manon RESS, Research Associate, Consumer Project
on Technology (CPTech): The
lack of coherence in international agreements that relate to
access to information (click)
13h00-14h00 Lunch
14h15-15h30 Session two: "Managing the
Challenge of a Globalized Intellectual Property Regime"
Facilitator: David VIVAS-EUGUI, ICTSD
Overview
presentation (click) by:
Assad OMER, Economic Affairs Officer, UNCTAD
and Pedro ROFFE, UNCTAD-ICTSD
Brief reaction from:
Elza MOREIRA MARCELINO DE CASTRO, Head of the
Intellectual Property Division and National Coordinator for
the FTAA Negotiating Group on Intellectual Property Rights,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brazil
Federico CUELLO, Former WTO Ambassador, Dominican
Republic: Comments
to Reichman’s “Managing
the Challenge of a Globalized International IPR Regime”
(click)
Robert WEISSMAN, Co-Director, Essential Action
Objectives:
Explore options and new alternatives to promote
pro competitive approaches on IPRs as to achieve sustainable
development goals.
Key questions:
- What could developing countries do to better
manage their development strategies in an increasingly complex
and globalised IPR regime?
- What challenges will developing countries
face when building their own decision-making processes to
respond to the various international IP negotiations?
- Which pro competitive IPRs system options
and alternatives have been identified by literature and
national legislations and practice?
- Have existing options and alternative mechanisms
proved to be effective or economically feasible?
Open Discussion
15h30-15h45 Coffee Break
15h45-17h15 "Working Towards Coherence
in IPRs Issues" (part two)
Open dialogue facilitated by: Pedro Roffe, UNCTAD-ICTSD
Inputs from:
Marianne SCHAPER, Officer, Sustainable Development
and Human Settlements Division, Economic Commission for Latin
America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Chile
17h15-18h00 Concluding discussion on prospective
action and developments at the domestic, regional and multilateral
levels
Facilitator: Pedro ROFFE, Director of the UNCTAD-ICTSD
Project on IPRs and Sustainable Development
