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• Parts:
  • Contents/summary
  • Chapter 1 – Introduction
  • Chapter 2 – Background
  • Chapter 3 – Development Analysis of the Innovation and IP Chapter in the EC-CARIFORUM EPA
  • Chapter 4 – Other EPA Provisions with Implications for Development-Oriented Innovation and IP Policies in the CARIFORUM Countries
  • Chapter 5 – IP in the EC-CARIFORUM EPA: Lessons for the African and Pacific Regions
  • Chapter 6 – Final Remarks
  • Endmatter

This first publication in the IQsensato Studies series analyses the innovation and intellectual property (IP) provisions in the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Community (EC) and its Member States and 15 Caribbean countries grouped together as CARIFORUM.

In particular, the study considers if, and in which ways, the obligations assumed by CARIFORUM countries extend the obligations assumed by these countries under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in a manner that compromises their ability to address their development needs, a situation commonly referred to as TRIPS-plus.

It also analyses the potential impact of these obligations and other relevant provisions in the Innovation and IP Chapter on the economic and social development prospects of CARIFORUM countries. This is particularly with respect to innovation for development, access to medicines, food security and biological diversity; the cost and implications of implementing the said obligations; and the lessons learnt for other ACP regions. This includes replicability of the innovation and IP provisions in the EC-CARIFORUM EPA for these other regions.

The overall conclusion of the study and the lesson for African and Pacific countries is that additional obligations on IP issues in EPAs should be viewed with utmost caution. Even in cases where the issue areas covered have the potential to bring development benefits, the obligations assumed may, on balance, be too onerous and costly for these countries to implement.

23 August 2009: Heather Budge-Reid

Link to the online version of the book (pdf chapters).

Some books are meant to be things of beauty and this is one of them, but it is also an accessible, interesting, stimulating and useful read that covers the breadth and depth of the subject with an ease that is often missing. Particularly beautifully designed and produced, for the student of health or human rights it’s all here. For those who think they know it all, this is one of the best reminders of the main streams and tributaries of a complex subject area - which for many of us is politically and ethically obvious but can sometimes be difficult to argue in the marketplace.

At last, a book on health and human rights that has the accessibility of a reference book and the urgency of a manifesto. The book has some great writers in it and they have been edited and commissioned well. From Sachs on malaria to Hunt on health systems and the right to the highest attainable standard of health, through Hauser on women in war, Musungu on trade and health institution responses, Piot on lessons from AIDS, the list of leaders in their fields goes on.

Each section is short, clear, tightly focused and informative and thought-provoking. In a few pages, the writers sum up the key points and challenges for the issue or bring it to life with a case study. There are short lists of memorable points, so for someone new to the subject (or, like me, wanting to make sure I’ve got all the arguments straight) it’s a gift.

The book, with its explicit title, starts with the assumption that there is a right to health and it is about realising the right and not a theoretical discussion about the right itself. Ideas that don’t agree with this assumption are addressed in each chapter. Quite correctly, the debate in this book is about the challenges of realisation.

I know I can’t force everyone who works in health (nurses in Cameroon, doctors in Nepal, directors of Christian hospitals, industry leaders, journalists and ministers of health across the globe) to read this, but if I could, I am sure it would make a difference. If the reader needs to know about health in the future, see the chapters on “Bioethics and Genomics” and “Drug Resistant Tuberculosis”; for health systems, see “Enforcing the Right to Health: Innovative Lessons from Domestic Courts”; it’s all there. Every aspect of health has a human rights facet and this book illuminates the essence of them all.

I admit that I love books. The typeface, the design, the layout, the binding; everything is near-perfect for this book. But it’s hardback, it’s heavy and it’s thumb-deep at over 500 pages. It doesn’t slip into your briefcase and it’ll break your nose if you try to read it on the beach - carrying it to the desk is effort enough! I do have a serious point here - a lot of thought and money has gone into the production of this book, but if it were split into two or three paperback volumes, I am sure that a lot more people would read it and benefit from its very accessibly written content.

It’s brilliant that it’s all available online as individual chapters in pdf files (this should be standard!) It’s good to see video of the international symposium and the  feature at IP-Watch raises some interesting questions on the role of WHO.

25 July 2009: Heather Budge-Reid

Link to the online version of the book (HTML).

This is a book that essentially calls for radical change in WIPO. There is a clear call for more debate and mediation and less adoption of particular approaches. To some, this will make the book sound like a trouble-maker of a book, to others, a really exciting read. Actually, it’s neither. It is a serious, academic and somewhat heavily written effort to understand where WIPO came from and how it got where it is today. This is a crucial understanding and is probably what is going to make the biggest difference to future attempts to change the organization.

Literature (whether academic or policy) on WIPO as an institution, how it functions and what reforms are needed remains quite scarce. This book is the first full-length publication on the WIPO Development Agenda and is therefore a major contribution. It is particularly interesting because it addresses history and offers a range of ideas on the way forward.

There have over recent years been almost revolutionary changes at WIPO. You could not call it a ‘velvet’ or even a ’suited’ revolution, not even a ‘trademarked’ revolution - it’s been a quiet, and to my mind a too quiet, revolution. Herein lies the problem: the book is very valuable and very interesting to those who can already understand this complex subject but it does not get your juices flowing. Which is a shame as part of the Development Agenda is about making IP issues accessible and relevant to a much wider group.

However, all you need to do is turn to Christopher May’s quite brilliant and accessible ‘Afterword’ - sadly tucked away at the back rather than up at the front where it should be. Here, he points out that we need WIPO “to remain at the centre of the global governance of IP” but that to do so it cannot take sides and it has to act as a membership organization: “when its members do not agree, an organization has a clear responsibility to attempt to mediate such differences”. According to May, WIPO has begun to do this “rather than adopting the IPR-maximalist position favoured by a particular subgroup of its membership”. Hurray!

The twelve preceding chapters are probably by necessity aimed at the subject matter ‘insider’, with a vocabulary to match. This makes them no less useful. Change is only possible when the baseline condition is known and understood. So, is this book the change catalyst? Well, May’s three questions in the context of the global slowdown could catalyse change if we don’t all rush back to business as usual the minute it is a little less slow than it was. Perhaps if there was more on the big debates - innovation, global public goods and the impact of environmental constraints and climate change (none of which appear in the index) - there might be more change.

But the focus of this book is WIPO, not IPRs in general. Given this, I am left wondering whether and how WIPO staff are going to develop the skills and attitudes needed to achieve what all the authors conclude is needed. True negotiation and mediation skills are hard to come by, and shifts in attitudes even more difficult. If the thinking shift to participative development processes is anything to go by, the change in attitudes from ‘I/we know best’ to involving a wider stakeholder group takes just as long as fundamental organizational change.

There is still a lot of work to do around the implementation of the Development Agenda and many hoped that this was just the beginning of this level of engagement in WIPO. IQsensato organized a book launch and seminar/panel debate to discuss the book as part of its Geneva Seminars on Development Research (GSDR).

A significant part of the discussion focused on ideas in Chapters 4-6. These are interesting chapters because they focus on governance-level issues that will be crucial if the Development Agenda is to make a difference. Chapter 5 was seen as the most provocative and therefore stimulated the most debate, although few agreed with the outsourcing idea.

Many acknowledged the GSDR as an important platform for interrogating research from a policy angle and this seminar was acknowledged as being particularly successful in bringing together the diverse IP community in Geneva and beyond to discuss some concrete, researched ideas on implementing what is clearly a complex process.

So, given the right debate-orientated environment, the book stimulated vibrant discussion and there are high hopes for the impact of the book and the overall project. On its own, this book is an important ‘document of record’, invaluable for anyone looking at institutional change and how to change WIPO.

It will be fools who rush in without having read this crucial documentation of the process, and they will certainly fail to make lasting change at WIPO.

(* with apologies to Star Trek^TM fans)

• Useful websites and databases
  • Directory of open access journals
  • WTO documents Online database

This first publication in the IQsensato Studies series analyses the innovation and intellectual property (IP) provisions in the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Community (EC) and its Member States and 15 Caribbean countries grouped together as CARIFORUM.

In particular, the study considers if, and in which ways, the obligations assumed by CARIFORUM countries extend the obligations assumed by these countries under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in a manner that compromises their ability to address their development needs, a situation commonly referred to as TRIPS-plus. Read the full document here…

Analysis and Commentary on the 2009 WIPO General Assemblies

Read expert analysis and commentary on the 2009 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) annual General Assemblies , which take in place at WIPO headquarters in Geneva from 22nd September to 1st August 2009, on the Ideas in Development Blog throughout the session and thereafter on key decisions and emerging trends. To go directly to the commentary by clicking here…

Book Review – Realizing the Right to Health edited by Andrew Clapham and Mary Robinson, Claire Mahon and Scott Jerbi

The accessibility of a reference book and the urgency of a manifesto

Some books are meant to be things of beauty and this is one of them, but it is also an accessible, interesting, stimulating and useful read that covers the breadth and depth of the subject with an ease that is often missing. For the student of health or human rights it’s all here. For those who think they know it all, this is one of the best reminders of the main streams and tributaries of a complex subject area - which for many of us is politically and ethically obvious but can sometimes be difficult to argue in the marketplace. Read the full review here…

Mrs. Pereira has experience working on trade and development issues, including intellectual property matters with a focus on innovation, access to knowledge and technology. Prior to joining IQsensato, she provided legal consulting services for Appleton Luff, a Geneva-trade law firm, on issues involving non-tariff barriers, including certification schemes applied in Europe for organic products; Swiss and EU Regulations for toy safety, and generalized system of preference (GSP) schemes. Mrs. Pereira also assisted with the research and drafting of commissioned papers and articles on trade issues.

Mrs. Pereira has worked on projects related to development and intellectual property with Geneva-based non-governmental and inter-governmental organizations, including the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the South Centre. At CIEL, she analysed methodologies that could be used by developing countries to conduct impact assessments of intellectual property rules on public health systems. She also helped draft “A Citizen’s Guide to WIPO”. While at the South Centre, she worked on a research paper that examined different mechanisms that the least developed countries could use to create a viable technology base and to promote growth and development.

Mrs. Pereira holds a law degree from the Catholic University of Santos, Sao Paolo, and a Masters in International Trade Law and Economics from the World Trade Institute in Berne, Switzerland. Her mother tongue is Portuguese. She is fluent in English and has an upper-intermediate knowledge of French.

Research Interests

Mrs. Pereira’s current work and research interests include intellectual property and competition law, policies and mechanisms to foster technology transfer to low income countries, methods to foster research and development of essential medicines to combat neglected diseases, as well as geographic indiciations.

Publications

”Establishing a Viable Technological Base in LDCs: A Reassessment of the TRIPS Transition Periods”, forthcoming.

”The Proposed WIPO Broadcasting Treaty: What Implications for Access to Knowledge?”, Published in A2K Project - Access to Knowledge website, Getulio Vargas Foundation School of Law in Rio de Janeiro, on 19 September 2006, available at http://www.a2kbrasil.org.br/ENG/The-Proposed-WIPO-Broadcasting

”Comercio Internacional e Investimento Estrangeiro - Questoes Atuais” (International Trade and Foreign Investment - Current Questions) - Published in Direito Internacional Publico na Internet - DIPNET website, Brazil, on 5 October 2005, available at http://www.dipnet.com.br/mostra_artigo.asp?id_artigo+37

”Adicional de Risco” (Hazardous Duty Pay) - Published in LEX magazine - Brazil - October 2004.

”Emancipacao de Adolescentes e o Direito da Mae na Emancipacao do Filho em Conformidade com o Novo Codigo Civil (The Rights of the Mother in the Emancipation of Teenagers under the New Civil Code) - Sinprafarmas Newspaper (Pharmacists Union Newspaper), on 5 August 2003.

Seven (7) years have passed since WTO Members decided to grant least-developed countries (LDCs) an extension to the transition period under Article 66.1 of the TRIPS Agreement. The decision taken at the 2001 Ministeial Conference in Doha gave LDCs upto 2016 to introduce patent protection for pharmaceutiocals. That decision was followed, in 2005, by a general extension of the transition period to 1 July 2013. The transition period given to LDCs under TRIPS was meant, among other things, to provide LDCs with maximum flexibility to facilitate their efforts to build a viable technological base. Have LDCs fully used this policy space? Should it be assumed that once the current period runs out LDCs will get another automatic extension?

Marcia Pereira, Research and Policy Analyst at IQsensato discusses these and other questions in this In Focus piece. She argues that LDCs need to take prompt action to utilise the available policy space before it is closed off. Active initiatives to utilise the transition period may also provide the case for further extensions come 2013 and 2016 respectively. Click here to read the full article.

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IQsensato brings to the international policy-making forums and processes:

New and emerging Expert voices in, and from, developing countries contribute to the in fashioning solutions. Our Research Associates Network already brings together a multidisciplinary group of 23 researchers on a wide range of issues;

Expertise and skills to undertake world class research;

The capabilities to translate research into proposals for policy action;

The capacity to analyse trends and the forces that shape key processes and impact international institutions and to anticipate policy changes;

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How do we do what we do? In order to achieve our organisational and project goals and, ultimately, our mission we use a mix of working methods and approaches. These include:

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Marumo has research interest in international law; intellectual property; international trade, investment and environment and his educational background reflects this interest. He holds a law degree from the University of Wales and two Master’s degrees - an LLM in International Trade and Investment Law from the University of Pretoria and a Master of International Law and Economics from the World Trade Institute (WTI) in Bern, Switzerland.

When not solving legal problems, Marumo enjoys travelling, meeting people from different cultures and trying their cuisine as well as learning new languages. During his time in Malaysia, for example, he acquired a basic knowledge of Bahasa Melayu. And taking adavantage of his time in Switzerland, he has been learning German. He enjoys sports and played competitive football and coached youngsters both in South Africa and Malaysia. He continues to enjoy fitness and recreational sports. On Saturdays, when he is not on the pitch himself, his favourite pastime is barbequing with friends while watching a game of football or rugby.

Dorica, using her legal expertise, has also been involved in a number of charity projects. In particular, she has been involved in offering free legal services to vulnerable groups especially rural women and children in Malawi under the Women Lawyers Association of Malawi, Civil Liberties Association and Paralegal Resource Centre (PARECE) a student led- nongovernmental organization of the University of Malawi.

She holds two Masters of Law degrees. An LL.M in International Trade and Investment Law from the University of Pretoria, South Africa and an LL.M in Intellectual Property Law from the University of Turin, Italy. She also holds an LL.B (Honours) degree from the University of Malawi and is a member of the Malawi Law Society.