The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will host an Expert Forum on International Technology Transfer on 16 February 2015 to 18 February 2015 at its New Conference Hall. The event is open to the public, and the link for online registration can be found here: http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/registration/form.jsp?meeting_id=35562.
The mandate and design for this conference on international technology transfer are based on CDIP/6/4 REV (26 November 2010), the WIPO Development Agenda Project on Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer: Common Challenges – Building Solutions (Recommendations 19, 25, 26 and 28). At this conference, James Love, Executive Director, Knowledge Ecology International will present his paper (commissioned by WIPO) on Alternatives to the Patent System that are Used to Support R&D Efforts, Including Both Push and Pull Mechanisms, With a Special Focus on Innovation-Inducement Prizes and Open Source Development Models (CDIP/14/INF/12).
The WIPO Development Project on IP and Technology Transfer has endeavored to implement four recommendations of the WIPO Development Agenda,
Recommendation 19: To initiate discussions on how, within WIPO’s mandate, to further facilitate access to knowledge and technology for developing countries and LDCs to foster creativity and innovation and to strengthen such existing activities within WIPO.
Recommendation 25: To explore IP-related policies and initiatives necessary to promote the transfer and dissemination of technology, to the benefit of developing countries and to take appropriate measures to enable developing countries to fully understand and benefit from different provisions, pertaining to flexibilities provided for in international agreements, as appropriate.
Recommendation 26: To encourage Member States, especially developed countries, to urge their research and scientific institutions to enhance cooperation and exchange with research and development (R&D) institutions in developing countries, especially LDCs.
Recommendation 28: To explore supportive IP-related policies and measures Member States, especially developed countries, could adopt for promoting transfer and dissemination of technology to developing countries.
In the words of the WIPO Secretariat,
The project will include a range of activities that will explore possible initiatives and IP-related policies for promoting technology transfer, the dissemination and facilitation of access to technology for development, particularly for the benefit of developing countries, including LDCs. The project will consist of five progressive phases with the objective of adopting a list of suggestions, recommendations and possible measures for promoting technology transfer.
The project includes the following activities: (i) the organization of five Regional Technology Transfer Consultation Meetings, the composition criteria and TOR of which will be decided by Member States; (ii) the elaboration of a number of peer-reviewed analytic studies, including economic studies and case studies on international technology transfer, that will provide inputs for the High-Level Expert Forum; (iii) the organization of a High Level International Expert Forum on “Technology Transfer and IP: Common Challenges – Building Solutions” to analyze the needs in the area of technology transfer and make proposals for the abovementioned list of suggestions, recommendations and possible measures for promoting technology transfer. The composition criteria and terms of reference (TORs) of the High Level Forum would be decided upon by Member States; (iv) the creation of a Web Forum on “Technology Transfer and IP: Common Challenges – Building Solutions”; and (v) the incorporation of any outcome resulting from the above activities into the WIPO programs, after consideration by the CDIP and any possible recommendation by the Committee to the General Assembly.
As part (ii) of the project, WIPO commissioned 6 peer-reviewed analytical studies “covering the following issues: (i) economic studies on obstacles to international technology transfer; (ii) IPR-related policies in developed countries; (iii) cooperation between R&D institutions; (iv) favorable incentives for business partnership; (v) technology transfer issues from the perspective of developing countries; and (vi) alternatives to R&D efforts to support innovation besides patents.
The titles, authors and completion dates of the studies (Source: CDIP/14/8 Rev. 2) are as follows:
(a) Study (a): Economics of IP and International Technology Transfer, by Prof. A. Damodaran, Bangalore, India (final text, incorporating the comments by the peer reviewer, Prof. Francesco Lissoni, Bocconi University, Italy, was received on July 30, 2014);
(b) Study (b): Intellectual Property-Related Policies and Initiatives in Developed Countries to Promote Technology Transfer, by Mr. Sisule Musungu, Nairobi, Kenya (final text, incorporating the comments by the peer reviewer, Prof. Walter Park, American University, USA, was received on September 5, 2014);
(c) Study (c): Case Studies on Cooperation and Exchange between R&D Institutions in Developed and Developing Countries, by Prof. Bowman Heiden, Gothenburg, Sweden (final text, incorporating the comments by the peer reviewer, Dr. Nikolaus Thumm, European Commission Joint Research Centre, Spain, was received on September 11, 2014);
(d) Study (d): Policies Fostering the Participation of Businesses in Technology Transfer, by Mr. Philip Mendes, Brisbane, Australia (final text, incorporating the comments by the peer reviewer, Dr. Nikolaus Thumm, European Commission Joint Research Centre, Spain, was received on September 5, 2014);
(e) Study (e): International Technology Transfer: An Analysis from the Perspective of Developing Countries, by Prof. Keith Maskus, Boulder, Colorado, USA, and Prof. Kamal Saggi, Nashville, Tennessee, USA (final text, incorporating the comments by the peer reviewer, Prof. Walter Park, American University, USA, was received on July 31, 2014); and
(f) Study (f): Alternatives to the Patent System that are Used to Support R&D Efforts, including both Push and Pull Mechanisms, with a Special Focus on Innovation Inducement Prizes and Open Source Development Models, by Mr. James Packard Love, Washington, DC, USA (final text, incorporating the comments by the peer reviewer, Prof. Dominique Foray, EPFL, Switzerland, was received on September 9, 2014)
The two keynote speakers for the international technology transfer forum are: 1) Sherry Knowles, Principal of Knowles Intellectual Property Strategies LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (former Senior Vice President and Chief Patent Counsel at GSK) and 2) Mr. McLean Sibanda, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Innovation Hub, Pretoria, South Africa.
The first session of the forum features presentations by six authors of the analytic studies on international technology transfer. The second part of the forum features a moderated panel discussion on “Measures for promoting international technology transfer: challenges and solutions” including sessions on capacity-building, global cooperation, institutional framework, regulatory framework, innovation infrastructure and Funding/Evaluation Mechanisms. The moderator for these panels is Ms Alison Brimelow, Chair of the Programme Advisory Council of the UK Research Councils’ Centre for Copyright and New Business Models in the Creative Economy (CREATe), University of Glasgow (former Comptroller and Chief Executive, UKIPO and former President of the European Patent Office). The third closing session will flesh out thoughts for consideration for WIPO’s Committee on Development of Intellectual Property (CDIP).
This expert forum features speakers from academia (including peer reviewers), industry, government, WIPO and the non-governmental sector including: John Sandage, Deputy Director General, Patents and Technology Sector, WIPO, Sherry Knowles, Principal of Knowles Intellectual Property Strategies LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (former Senior Vice President and Chief Patent Counsel at GSK), Mr. McLean Sibanda, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Innovation Hub, Pretoria, South Africa, Dr. Kamal Saggi, the Frances and John Downing Family Professor of Economics at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, Dr. A. Damodaran, Professor, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), India, Dr. Walter Park, Professor, Department of Economics, American University, Washington, DC, USA, Dr. Francesco Lissoni, Professor of Economics, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy, Mr. Sisule Musungu, Partner, Sisule Munyi Kilonzo & Associates, Nairobi, Kenya, Dr. Bowman Heiden, Deputy Director, Center for Intellectual Property (CIP), Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden, Mr. Nikolaus Thumm, Senior Fellow, European Commission Joint Research Centre, Seville, Spain (former Senior Economist of the European Patent Office), Mr. Philip Mendes is Partner, Opteon, Inc., Brisbane, Australia, Mr. James Packard Love, Director of Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), Washington, DC, USA, Dr. Dominique Foray, Professor, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, Dr. Jaroslav Burcík, Director, Technology and Innovation Center, Czech Technical University (CTU), Prague, Czech Republic, Mr. Francisco Rafael Cano Betancourt, Director, Planning, Evaluation and Development, National Council for Science and Technology, Guatemala City, Guatemala, Dr. Sifeddine Labed, Director, Formation, Research, Innovation and Technology Transfer, Ministry of Post and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), Algiers, Algeria, Ms. Allison Mages, Senior Counsel, IP Procurement and Policy, General Electric Company (GE), Shelton, Connecticut, USA, and the Representative, Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), Washington DC, USA, Ms. Audrey Yap, Founding Partner and Head, IP Department, Yusarn Audrey, Singapore, Mr. Xia Wenhuan, Director, Business Development, Transpacific IP Group Limited, Beijing, China and Mr. Mario Matus, iDeputy Director General, Development Sector, WIPO (former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Chile to the World Trade Organization (WTO), to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and to United Nation Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) since October 2005). The rapporteur for this conference is Dr. Ali Jazairy, Senior Counsellor, Patents and Technology Sector, WIPO.
For detailed biographies of the moderator, speakers and peer-reviewers, please see: http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/wipo_inn_ge_15/wipo_inn_ge_15_biographies.pdf.
The full program can be found here: http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/wipo_inn_ge_15/wipo_inn_ge_15_program.pdf