ICTSD is organizing a side event on "New trends in technology transfer: Implications for a WIPO Development Agenda." It will be held on Wednesday, 21 February 2007 from 13h15 to 14h45 in Room B, WIPO Building, Geneva.

Professor John Barton, George E. Osborne Professor of Law, Emeritus at Stanford University and former Chair of the independent UK Commission on Intellectual Property Rights will present his views on recent trends in technology transfer and identify links with the current discussion on a WIPO Development Agenda.

He will discuss how today's technological flows are quite different than three decades ago. The factors that affected technology transfer in the 1970's have changed dramatically due to globalization and technological upgrade. These new technological factors include the following: a) the emergence of new technologically sophisticated players in the developing world; b) free trade has spread including capital and technological goods and services; c) economies of scale now favor production facilities that serve more than one nation; d) technology does not only travel with firms but also with people (researchers, specialists, students and service providers); and, e) publicly funded programmes are responsible for the generation of basic science and product development.

With this backdrop, ICTSD is organizing a side event with an aim to:

o Exploring how technology is transferred today to and from developing countries;
o Identifying new channels and barriers that affect such transfer;
o Highlighting policy approaches that might be of assistance in increasing flows and overcoming barriers; and
o Facilitating exchange between different stakeholders on the implications of new trends in technology transfer.