The study examines the relationship between patents and the development and transfer of clean-energy technologies and has yielded important insights, evidence and data which could lead to better-informed policy-making on this important subject.

The final report includes the findings from a comprehensive mapping of clean energy technologies, an in-depth analysis of the patent landscape for these technologies, and a survey of licensing activities in this field. A groundbreaking outcome of the project has also been the creation by EPO of a new patent classification scheme and a searchable database.

For further infornation, please contact:

Ahmed Abdel Latif, Programme Manager for Intellectual Property and Technology, ICTSD

(aabdellatif@ictsd.ch)

In the spirit of the International Year of Biodiversity and with a view towards the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) held “Geneva Trade and Biodiversity Day” to explore the increasingly important intersection between trade and biodiversity policy in the promotion of sustainable development.

From WTO negotiations on fisheries subsidies to sustainability certification schemes for biofuels, trade policies have strong implications for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity around the globe. Similarly, ongoing talks on an international regime on access and benefit-sharing under the Convention on Biological Diversity could impact existing multilateral trade rules. Despite the clear links between these two policy-making processes, there has been relatively little international discourse or analysis that has considered how these policy communities can enhance their cooperation.

It is against this backdrop that the Geneva Trade and Biodiversity Day sought to identify and explore key issues at the trade and biodiversity nexus and provide inputs to the perceived lack of synergies between the two policy communities. In this way, participants helped to ensure that trade and biodiversity rules are mutually supportive and work together for sustainable development.

Specifically, the event aimed to:

• Improve understanding among the trade and biodiversity communities of how the pursuit of their respective goals and objectives might complement or hinder each other;
• Provide information, analysis and knowledge on the impact of multilateral trade rules on biodiversity and how biodiversity policies impact on trade and poverty reduction;
• Promote policy coherence in multi-governmental fora, including the WTO, the CBD, and WIPO, especially with regards to negotiations on an international access and benefit-sharing regime;
• Explore the synergies between trade policy and biodiversity as it relates to sectoral themes, including agriculture, intellectual property, fisheries and climate change; and
• Facilitate synergies between trade and biodiversity policy-making that results in tools that are complementary to the objectives of both communities.

This important gathering was held on 22 April 2010 at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) headquarters, Conference Room “A”. The individual sessions brought together Geneva negotiators, international organisations, civil society and academia in an effort to foster interaction among policy makers involved in different fora, as well as with those influencing policy-making processes. See “Documentation” above for select presentations from the event.

1. give an overview of COP15 and Trade Issues (including BCAs, technology, agriculture, international transportation, financing); and

2. focus on a) Transfer of technology and trade in climate-friendly goods;  b) domestic and regional climate policies in the absence of a global accord on targets.

International technology  transfer (ITT) is a comprehensive term covering mechanisms for shifting information across borders and its effective diffusion into recipient economies. Thus, it refers to numerous complex processes, ranging from innovation and international marketing of technology to its absorption and imitation. Included in these processes are technology, trade, and investment policies that can affect the terms of access to knowledge. Policy making in this area is especially complex and needs careful consideration, both by individual countries and at the multilateral level.

International markets for exchanging technologies are inherently subject to failure for reasons discussed in this report. Accordingly, there is strong justification for public intervention. However, interests in shaping such intervention are not uniform. Technology developers, which to date reside overwhelmingly in developed countries, are interested in reducing the costs and uncertainty of making transfers, along with protecting their rights to profit from such transfers. They argue, with some justification, that effective protection and policy supports for markets are necessary to increase the willingness of innovative firms to provide knowledge of their production processes to firms in developing countries. Technology importers, still overwhelmingly in developing and least-developed countries, are interested in acquiring knowledge at minimal cost. Some observers argue that this objective is best met by refusing to protect the rights of foreign firms to profit from such transfers, or at least to restrict sharply their exclusive rights to exploit technology.

There is scope for mutually advantageous changes in policy regimes within these extremes. Thus, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) within the WTO reflects, in part, an important multilateral effort to address these fundamental tradeoffs. However, the Agreement is widely criticized as being overly protective of the needs of technology developers and insensitive to the needs of developing countries (Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, 2002; World Bank, 2001). As discussed later, TRIPS does not address itself in practical ways to issues of ITT, confining its language to general statements.

The TRIPS Agreement is not the only component of the WTO that affects conditions for ITT. Also relevant are the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMS), the Agreement on Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary Standards (SPS), the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), and the Government Procurement Agreement. More generally, trade policy influences incentives for engaging in technology trade.

Neither is the WTO the only international format in which ITT is addressed. Bilateral investment treaties (BITS) and various preferential trade areas (PTAS) affect incentives and conditions for technology use and marketing.

The investment environment within individual recipient countries may be the most important factor of all. Put simply, because much ITT is mediated through private markets, those countries with inadequate investment climates and poor absorptive abilities are unlikely to receive much inward technology flows under any circumstances.

This report aims to shed light on some of the complexities involved in ITT in order to support positive  ecommendations for encouraging such flows to developing countries and least-developed countries. Its ultimate goal is to suggest an agenda within which individual and international policies may be structured for this purpose. In the next section I overview relevant theory and evidence on the nature and flows of ITT in order to understand the need for, and appropriate limitations on, public policy in this arena. Attention is paid  market problems, determinants of ITT, channels of transfer, and the scope for  spillovers.

Given the central role that intellectual property rights (IPRs) play, in section three I analyse their relationships with ITT. This provides a platform for discussing useful means of limiting the scope of exclusive rights, where such limitations might enhance ITT. However, the analysis also points up the difficulties of attaining benefits from this kind of precise industrial policy.

In the fourth section I turn to the WTO approach to ITT. After discussing the existing WTO provisions in this area I consider the policy options countries have in attracting technology, including regulation of IPRs. This analysis suggests a number of avenues that negotiators might pursue in improving TRIPS as regards incentives for technology trade.

In the final section I provide additional suggestions for multilateral policies that could encourage additional ITT. An important point is that the WTO approach is  not the only avenue for achieving this objective.

Contact: Ahmed Abdel Latif

Transfer and diffusion of environmentally sound technologies (EST), in particular to developing countries, is a key element of any effective international response to the global climate change challenge and one of the pillars of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). More recently, the Bali Plan of Action called for enhanced action on technology development and transfer.

In this context, the role of intellectual property rights (IPRs) has been the subject of increased attention in climate change discussions since Bali. Different views and positions have emerged pointing to the role of IPRs in either facilitating or hindering the transfer of EST.

In this regard, the parallel is often made, explicitly or implicitly, by government officials, and other stakeholders, with the access to medicines issue either to reinforce arguments about the role IPRs as an obstacle to the transfer of EST or to dismiss them, in view of the differences between the relative importance of IPRs for the pharmaceutical sector and the renewable energy sector.

Beyond simplistic comparisons and rethorical statements, analysis and research are critically needed to examine, in a constructive manner, lessons to be drawn from the debate on intellectual property and public health to better inform discussions on innovation, technology transfer and IPRs in the context of the climate change negotiations.

Innovation and Technology Transfer to Address Climate Change: Lessons from the Global Debate on Intellectual Property and Public Health by Professor Frederick M. Abbott (Issue Paper No.24) precisely aims to achieve this.

This new issue paper examines different categories of IPRs and the ways they may have different effects and implications for EST as compared with pharmaceutical technologies. It also points to a number of lessons that can be drawn from the public health-related negotiations, at the WTO and other forums, that may be useful to negotiators and policy makers in addressing climate change, transfer of technology and IPRs.

In this connection, the paper underlines that focus should be placed in establishing frameworks for mutually beneficial joint venture economic arrangements between developed and developing country enterprises to stimulate innovation. To the extent possible, technology transfer commitments resulting from climate change negotiations should be specific and concrete. “Soft” commitments on transfer of technology typically do not bear fruit.

Even if current multilateral IPRs rules incorporate flexibilities and exceptions adequate to address most foreseeable obstacles to technology transfer, the paper suggests that a declaration comparable to the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health with respect to IPRs and climate change may be useful in the progressive development of international law, so that it properly balances the rights of innovators and access by the public to the benefits arising from new technologies.

Finally, the paper reflects on the urgent need for further evidence based analysis to inform current discussions on climate change, technology transfer and IPRs. For this purpose, and building on previous research in this area, the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) has joined forces with the European Patent Offi ce (EPO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to undertake a joint project to examine the role of patents in the development and transfer of EST, in particular in the field of energy generation. This initiative is expected to provide input into ongoing discussions on technology transfer in the context of the UNFCCC at COP-15 in Copenhagen.

Ultimately, it is important to recall that IPRs are only one among many other factors which impact technology transfer. Other factors such as the enabling environment, in particular financing, adequate incentives and institutions, do play an essential role and require also vigorous action.

This paper was commissioned under the ICTSD Programme on IPRs and Sustainable Development as part of ICTSD’s Global Platform on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainable Energy which is specifically aimed at contributing to effective international cooperation towards addressing climate change, by advancing analytical capacity of stakeholders and their interaction with policy makers such that effective solutions can be built and agreed by the international community at the Copenhagen COP-15, in December 2009.
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WTO LAW AND INTERNATIONAL EMISSIONS TRADING: IS THERE POTENTIAL FOR CONFLICT? By Christina Voigt, University of Oslo (Faculty of Law), 2008. This article explores the ways in which UNFCCC Annex 1 countries will continue their emission reduction policies with minimum harm to their own economies, whether these means are within WTO regulations and the extent of their flexibility. The paper also examines whether international emissions have a place in WTO agreements to begin with. To access the article, please refer to http://ssrn.com/abstract=1145242

A PROPOSAL FOR A GLOBAL EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME FOR AVIATION AND SHIPPING. By Terry Barker, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, June 2008. Policies to cut C02 emissions from all sectors, including transportation, have become more critical. Dangerous climate change has gotten scientific backup but a suitable network for implementing effective mitigation policies does not exist of yet. This paper supports the proposal for a global emissions trading scheme (GETS). To access the paper, please refer to http://www.tyndall.ac.uk/publications/briefing_notes/bn26.pdf

GROWING UNREST: THE LINKS BETWEEN FARMED AND FISHED RESOURCES AND THE RISK OF CONFLICT. By Alec Crawford and Oli Brown, IISD, June 2008. This paper presents evidence on how the production and trade of fished and farmed commodities can attribute to the onset or continuation of violent conflict. The paper relies on two case studies. To access the paper, please refer to http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2008/growing_unrest_resources.pdf

ENERGY AND CLIMATE: OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE G-8. Directed by Michael Grubb, Cambridge Centre for Energy Studies, 2008. The Climate Strategy report was aimed at world leaders participating in the G8 Summit in Toyako, Japan. It raises the battle against rising carbon emissions to the forefront as a response to rising oil and energy prices. It warns of a possibility that new sources of oil could emit twice as much C02. The paper outlines five key proposals for G8 leaders to consider in Toyako. To access the paper, please refer to http://www.climate-strategies.org/uploads/ClimateStrategiesG8report.pdf

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE: BIOPIRACY OR BIOPROSPECTING? By Michael J. Krieger, ETH Zürich, 28 June 2008. This paper talks about the equitable sharing of biological resources and explores alternative approaches to those offered by the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). To access the paper, please refer to http://www.bepress.com/ndsip/reports/art15/

THE GLOBAL IP UPWARD RATCHET, ANTI-COUNTERFEITING AND PIRACY ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS: THE STATE OF PLAY. By Susan Sell, George Washington University, 9 June 2008. This paper provides a review of the current global efforts to move forward IP enforcement. The paper explores the people, institutions and strategies behind these efforts regionally as well as internationally. To access the paper, please refer to http://www.iqsensato.org/?p=69

SUCCESS STORIES FROM THE REALIZATION OF FARMERS’ RIGHTS RELATED TO PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE. By Regine Andersen and Tone Winge, the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, 2008. This report is a patchwork of 17 Farmers’ Rights success stories from 11 countries. To access the report, please refer to http://www.fni.no/doc&pdf/FNI-R0408.pdf