Managing IP in Knowledge-based Development

1. Managing IP in Knowledge-based Development International cooperation to improve framework conditions in catching-up economies Ralph Heinrich UNECE Team of Specialists on Intellectual Property Skopje, 1 April 2009

2. The UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE)

3. The UN Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) • 56 member countries • home to 20 percent of the world’s population • including most of the developed economies, • but also emerging market economies and • a few low income countries

4. What UNECE does • helps to implement global UN initiatives at the regional level • fosters sustainable development & economic cooperation in its region

5. What UNECE does fosters sustainable development & economic cooperation in its region by … • providing a multilateral forum for policy discussion and negotiations • brokering and administrating international standards and conventions • engaging in capacity building and technical cooperation

6. UNECE’s main areas of activity • Trans-border environmental issues • Border-crossing transport issues • Facilitation of international trade • Trans-border energy issues • International harmonization of statistics and • Economic Cooperation and Integration

7. Committee on Economic Cooperation and Integration (CECI) Established in 2006 to promote “… a policy, financial and regulatory environment conducive to • economic growth, • innovative development • and higher competitiveness focusing mainly on countries with economies in transition”

8. CECI - main areas of work promoting • innovation and competitiveness • public-private partnerships • entrepreneurship • Financing Innovationand • Intellectual Property Rights

9. The Team of Specialists on Intellectual Property (TOS-IP) • provides a forum for the exchange of experiences • collects/ disseminates good practices and policy recommendations • engages in capacity building and policy advice at national & sub-regional level

10. … through • its network of experts representing • government ministries and agencies • the business community • international organizations and • academic institutions • and its inter-governmental process

11. TOS-IP • constituted in Nov 06 • currently ~ 120 experts • from ~35 countries

12. TOS-IP’s mandate helps to … • “build up national innovation systems • commercialize intellectual property • improve the investment environment in creative, innovative and high technology industries … • among others through effective enforcement of intellectual property rights”

13. ToS-IPs mandate Hence commercialization & enforcem’t as 2 sides of 1 coin w/o enforcem’t, IPRs have no commercial value w/o commercialization, no incentive to enforce

14. Economic Role of IPRs Well-designed IPRs: Provide incentives for innovation Underpin markets for intellectual assets Encourage disclosure & diffusion of knowledge

15. The International Dimension • Innovation THE key driver of economic growth • reduced costs of creating & transmitting knowledge … • … including across borders faster innovation & closer economic integration

16. Innovation, Integration & Economic Development globalization of int’l supply chains & production networks … and increasingly internationalization of R&D increasing knowledge flows across borders

17. Innovation, Integration & Economic Development Increasing knowledge flows across borders increasing need to manage, protect & enforce IPRs across borders

18. Channels of Int’l Knowledge Flows Int’l trade Foreign direct investment X-border licensing Research cooperations People

19. Int’l IPR Enforcement IPRs are national, yet the goods & services they underpin are increasingly produced & sold internationally w/ growing int’l trade, trade in counterfeits & pirated goods is increasing

20. Int’l IPR Enforcement Weak IPR enforcement can compromise economic development by undermining channels of knowledge transfer: Lower-tech FDI and lower-tech outsourcing Less FDI & outsourcing (protecting supply chains) Weakening links b/w foreign & domestic firms Less R&D cooperation

21. Int’l IPR Enforcement Counterfeiting & piracy organized internat’lly Fakes shipped across many borders Increasing importance of internet Need for int’l cooperation

22. Int’l IPR Commercialization To achieve “critical mass”, all actors in the commercialization process will have to increasingly think internationally Universities => research cooperations, staff Firms => sourcing of R&D, licensing, cooperations Investors

23. Int’l IPR Commercialization Need for int’l IPR management strategies Need for advisory & consultancy services w/ int’l perspective Need for contracts across jurisdictions Need for harmonization to reduce costs

24. Summary Globalization & accelerating innovation Catching-up economies need to integrate into global production networks & to strengthen innovative capacity Hence need to manage & enforce IPRs across borders

25. Upcoming UNECE Activities Astana 21-22 May: Financing Innovative Enterprises Geneva 28-29 Sept: Innovation-based Entrepreneurial Opportunities Bishkek Oct/Nov: Knowledge-based Development

26. Some CECI Publications on Knowledge-based Development www.unece.org/ceci/

27. Thank You! • http://www.unece.org/ceci/Welcome.html • mailto: ralph.heinrich@unece.org • phone: +41 22 917 1269