INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY AND INNOVATION:
IP Awareness
and Cooperation
Communication from Australia; Canada; the European
Union; Hong Kong, China; Japan; REPUBLIC OF Korea; New Zealand; Singapore;
Switzerland; the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and
Matsu; the United Kingdom; the United States of America
_______________
1 Introduction
1. Intellectual property (IP) awareness and cooperation play a crucial
role in protecting and promoting creativity and innovation. IP is central to
modern innovation ecosystems, providing incentives for investment in new ideas
and creative works, thereby fostering socio-economic growth[1].
IP knowledge and its active application are essential
to supporting increased innovation and investment in research and development, disseminating
creative works, and boosting trade.
2. One way for Members to unlock IP's social and economic value is to
improve their understanding of IP and its role in supporting creativity and innovation.
Members can then assist creators, innovators, entrepreneurs, and businesses with
understanding how to protect, manage, and use IP and IP Rights (IPRs) at home
and abroad, and how their creations and innovations can most effectively be
shared to the benefit of all.
3. Cooperation is an important means through which IP awareness can be
developed domestically and internationally. Members have cooperated to enhance
IP awareness by collaborating through institutions such as the World Trade
Organization (WTO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO),
Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), and bilateral dialogues. Through cooperation
initiatives to promote IP awareness, Members can foster a culture that values
and protects creativity and innovation.
2 Domestic Frameworks that Support IP Awareness and Cooperation
4. Building a robust domestic IP framework is a good first step in
creating the systems that can support strong domestic and international IP
awareness and cooperation. The formation of resilient and effective
partnerships within a jurisdiction may help in the development of such a
framework. For example, IP offices, government agencies, industry, and other
stakeholder groups can work together to develop good practices, shared
experience, and guidance on the protection of IP. IP offices can also work with
educators, creators, universities, research institutions, inventors, and
entrepreneurs to ensure stakeholder needs are heard and the potential effects
of policies are evaluated. These consultations will help government officials
and public policy makers understand the impact that the domestic IP framework
has on innovation, and will help to ensure that the IP policy is effective in
practice.
5. Some Members may also consider working closely with specific
industry associations and civil society groups so that IP awareness and
cooperation resources can be tailored to individual sectors and needs. For
example, making the public aware of the value of IP and the consequences of
infringement supports the creation of a more ethical and sustainable
marketplace.
6. Some Members with robust domestic IP frameworks have regional IP
advisors or IP attachés to help with their international IP cooperation. These
advisors help create partnerships with local governments and play a crucial
role in integrating IP into regional business support programs, thereby contributing
to reducing regional disparities in economic development.
3 Bilateral IP Awareness and Cooperation
7. IP awareness can be further developed through bilateral IP
cooperation in the form of direct technical and best practice exchanges.
Bilateral IP awareness and cooperation between developed and developing country
WTO Members and their IP offices to develop local IP initiatives can highlight
the economic and social benefits that IP can bring to the development agenda.
Technical expert exchanges can assist in providing training in fields such as
trademark examination, patent examination, and industrial design registration.
8. Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) can play an important role in
supporting and fostering IP awareness and cooperation between trading partners. Ongoing IP
cooperation through FTAs helps to ensure that trading partners remain
forward-looking with their IP systems. IP awareness remains an area that is
perennially changing, particularly as technology and consumer attitudes evolve.
Consequently, it lends itself well to ongoing cooperation under an FTA, where parties
can share best practices and develop new tools to enhance the public's
understanding of the importance of IP.
4 IP Awareness and Cooperation in Multilateral Institutions
9. Large institutional settings can foster positive and cooperative
working relationships, and offer additional opportunities to share common
challenges and best practices regarding the importance of IP awareness.
10. For example, discussions at the WTO TRIPS Council include ad-hoc
items and side events highlighting and building upon shared experiences. Discussions
at WIPO bring awareness to IP issues in frontier and emerging technologies,
including AI and green technology. These and other multilateral conversations
enable important cooperation among experts on how IP can address present and
future global challenges.
5 Questions for discussion
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