Building Coalitions on Intellectual Property Strategy Vital for Developing Countries

WATERLOO, CANADA, Sep 22 (MARKET WIRE) --
Developing countries have an unprecedented opportunity to restore balance
to the global intellectual property regime by building coalitions that
would better advance their interests in future negotiations. This is the
finding of a Working Paper released today by The Centre for International
Governance Innovation (CIGI) on the eve of the 2008 General Assembly of
the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) taking place in
Geneva from September 22-30, 2008.

Building Intellectual Property Coalitions for Development argues that
developing countries can improve their influence in international
negotiations around intellectual property by coordinating their efforts
and building coalitions. Establishment of such Intellectual Property
Coalitions for Development (IPC4D) could reduce the push by the European
community and the United States to ratchet up global intellectual
property standards in the face of opposition in many developing
countries. If successful, such efforts could enlarge the policy space
that these countries need for the development of their intellectual
property, trade and public health policies.

The author proposes four coordination strategies that can be used
singularly or in combination to develop intellectual property coalitions:
(1) initiation of South-South alliances, (2) facilitation of North-South
cooperation, (3) joint participation in the World Trade Organization
(WTO) dispute settlement process, and (4) development of regional or
pro-development fora.

The CIGI paper argues that IPC4D can take many forms, such as blocs,
alliances, regional integration and other cooperative arrangements.
Working in coalition on strategic issues, developing countries could
combat the external pressure that each country faces on its own from
powerful trading partners. With appropriate arrangements, these
coalitions may even facilitate the transfer of technology from "haves" to
"have-nots," targeting a major weakness of the current international
intellectual property regime.

The paper states that collective action on this front is crucial for
developing countries because they lack sufficient representation in the
WTO, which dominates current international intellectual property
discussions. Moreover, the impending cessation of the Doha Development
Round may mean even less of a focus on developing country issues in the
next round of WTO negotiations. Recent expansion of the international
intellectual property regime has created a complex conglomerate that is
likely to harm developing countries, the author states. On the positive
side, there is an opportunity to take advantage of recent momentum to
recalibrate the balance in the international trading system.

Building International Property Coalitions for Development was written by
Peter K. Yu, the Kern Family Chair in Intellectual Property Law and the
founding director for the Intellectual Property Law Center at Drake
University Law School in Des Moines, Iowa. To view or download a copy of
this paper, please visit www.cigionline.org/publications.

The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) is an
independent, nonpartisan think tank that addresses international
governance challenges. Led by a group of experienced practitioners and
distinguished academics, CIGI supports research, forms networks, advances
policy debate, builds capacity, and generates ideas for multilateral
governance improvements. Conducting an active agenda of research, events
and publications, CIGI's interdisciplinary work includes collaboration
with policy, business and academic communities around the world. CIGI was
founded in 2002 by Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of RIM (Research In Motion), and
collaborates with and gratefully acknowledges support from a number of
strategic partners, in particular the Government of Canada and the
Government of Ontario. For more information, please visit
www.cigionline.org.

Contacts:
MEDIA CONTACT:
CIGI
Neve Peric
Media Relations Director
(519) 885-2444 Ext. 390
Website: www.cigionline.org

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