The European Union delivered the following intervention at the February 2014 WTO TRIPS Council on agenda item 12 (IP and Innovation: University Technology Partnerships). The United States of America tabled this standalone agenda item on University Technology Partnerships in the context of IP and Innovation.
TRIPS Council 25/26 February 2014
EU intervention on Agenda point 12
IP and Innovation – University technology partnershipsThe EU is happy to contribute once more to the important debates that have been taking place in the TRIPS Council on different aspects of “IPR and Innovation”. Let me stress that we do not share a previous intervention that appeared to portray the past debates under this agenda point as opposing developed and developing countries. Such perspective entirely overlooks the numerous, valuable and constructive contributions that both developing and developed countries have made in the last couple of years under this agenda point highlighting and exemplifying how intellectual property is one of the instruments for innovation.
The EU has supported partnerships among universities all over the world for many years. A lot of this cooperation has technology as one of its core elements and linked to this, the phenomenon of knowledge transfer. The importance of improving Knowledge Transfer (KT) between public research institutions and extending this also to third parties is identified as one of the key areas for action by the European Commission.
In the Communication on the Innovation Union from 2010, other concrete actions are announced to facilitate effective collaborative research and KT including developing a set of model consortium agreements and trans-national collaboration. In 2011, in the field of higher education, the Commission set out key policy issues to promote innovation in higher education through more interactive learning environments and strengthened KT infrastructure and encouraging partnerships and cooperation as a core activity through reward structures, incentives for multidisciplinary and cross-organisation cooperation and the reduction of regulatory and administrative barriers to partnerships between institutions and other public and private actors.
I can give you some examples, which reflect a small portion of what is happening on the ground:
– The EU ASEAN university partnerships which started back in 2000. The objective of the programme is to enhance cooperation between higher education institutions in the two regions, to promote regional integration within ASEAN countries, and to strengthen the mutual awareness of European and Asian cultural perspectives. The programme promotes, amongst others, collaborative studies and research programmes and solidarity among scientists and scholars and scientific and scholarly knowledge and information dissemination.
– Under Horizon 2020, the European Framework programme or Research and Innovation, emphasis has also been put on developing European Research Infrastructures (ESFRI), which integrate and open up national research facilities, including e-infrastructures. The networks of research infrastructures across Europe strengthen its human capital base by providing world-class training for a new generation of researchers and engineers and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration.
These infrastructures are necessary to avoid duplication of efforts, to coordinate and rationalise the use of facilities pool resources so that the Union can also acquire and operate research infrastructures at world level. The goal is to encourage research infrastructures to act as early adopters of technology, to promote R&D partnerships with industry, to facilitate industrial use of research infrastructures and to stimulate the creation of innovation clusters. This activity will also support training and/or exchanges of staff managing and operating research infrastructures.
These research infrastructures also support international partnerships and cooperation activities.
– Under the umbrella framework of the so-called ‘Marie Curie Actions’ (which also form part of the Horizon 2020 Programme mentioned above), a specific programme is destined for international cooperation: the International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES). It helps research organisations (such as universities and research centres) to set up or strengthen long-term cooperation with others, through a coordinated exchange programme for their staff. All areas of research are covered, except those under the EURATOM Treaty.
– The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) also has an international cooperation section. One of its prime actions is to develop Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) which are made up of higher education institutions, research organisations and other stakeholders in the innovation process. A KIC connects excellence-driven innovation hubs with a results oriented approach to attain the Horizon 2020 objectives. KICs are comprised of collaborators from different cultures and backgrounds which challenge traditional collaborative models and thus create new value chains. The EIT is funding KICs through a contribution of 2.7 billion euros from Horizon 2020.
Individual EU Member States also have extensive bilateral research cooperation agreements with third countries. For example:
– the UK, via its Science and Innovation Network (29 missions in 24 countries) and Joint Commissions. The Joint Commission with India, for example, amounts to joint funding commitments of £70 million for 7 new research agreements. One of the 7 agreements is aimed at cooperative research on chronic non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and chronic respiratory diseases. The UK also operates RCUK, a key facilitator for research cooperation agreements which promotes closer research relationships between Indian and British researchers and helps with the exploitation of jointly funded research results. A flagship UK-India program of collaboration has been the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI). It has committed almost £25 million to support around 500 partnerships. A central component is the mobility of undergraduate and graduate students and collaborative research projects between the two countries.
– Spain carries out a lot of science and innovation cooperation via its two main government organisations: the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas. Spain has cooperation with developed, emerging and developing countries. For historical reasons, the target of most of the cooperation is carried out with Latina America and North Africa. The Agreements are primarily for the exchange of research personnel but also include joint research and workshops, etc.
IP generated from collaborative research
The results of research and innovation are, more often than not, protected by Intellectual property in order to reimburse costs related to the research and development carried out. Of course, the owners of the IP are then responsible for the level of licensing they accord to third parties and the future sharing of benefits if an innovation becomes a product sold on the commercial market. The IP portfolio is beneficial to all parties and thus also a good development tool for developing countries.
In general, collaborative research agreements are governed by four principles:
– the parties will mutually notify each other the IP generated and will undertake to protect the IP within a period of time
– the parties will exploit effectively the IP generated
– the parties will not exercise any discriminatory treatment
– the parties will protect confidential information.
Participants must jointly develop a Technology Management plan with reference to the IP, publications and the use of the IP created during the joint research. Usually, the IP will be jointly owned.
The European Commission has produced European Research Area Guidelines on IP Management in international research collaboration agreements between European and non-European Partners.
http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/index_en.cfm?pg=other-studies