Intellectual Property Law and Sustainable Development in the Context of Goal 9
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Intellectual Property Law and Sustainable Development in the Context of Goal 9 Devanshi Saxena Research Groups Government & Law and Law & Development, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
Synonyms Fostering innovation through intellectual property; Intellectual property for SDG9; WIPO’s sustainable development agenda and SDG9
Definitions Under the Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) 1967, Intellectual Property Rights (“IPRs”) are legal rights attaching to the following: “Literary, artistic and scientific works; performances of performing artists, phonograms, and broadcasts; inventions in all fields of human endeavor; scientific discoveries; industrial designs; trademarks, service marks, and commercial names and designations; protection against unfair competition; and all other rights resulting from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary or
artistic fields” (Art. 2, § viii). Intellectual Property (“IP”) allows a right holder to own intangible property and exclude others from using it for a certain period of time and in some cases (where it is justified), forever. IP rights are territorial and the content of these rights and enforcement depends largely on domestic laws. However, there is harmonization of substantive rights at the international level and possibilities to apply for international registrations through multilateral treaties. The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Law 1994 (“TRIPs Agreement”) harmonizes minimum standards for the protection of substantive IP rights and subjects compliance to the dispute resolution mechanism of the World Trade Organization (“WTO”). IP is considered by many as a tool to foster innovation. This (under ideal conditions) directly contributes to Goal 9 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that identifies resilient infrastructure, inclusive and sustainable industrialization and innovation as essential to the 2030 Development Agenda. The path to resilience, inclusiveness and sustainability through IP under Goal 9 can have several roadblocks. These are inclusively defining innovation itself, correctly estimating IP’s contribution to a country’s development, ensuring equal and effective participation of countries in determining their IP strategies and understanding the crucial role that good IP governance plays in achieving the desired outcomes from a country’s IP strategy.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71059-4_139-1
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Intellectual Property Law and Sustainable Development in the Context of Goal 9
Introduction WIPO’s former director Francis Gurry when talking about the importance of IP for SDGs explains that the “economic imperative at the heart of innovation is fundamental to the process of societal transformation that the SDGs aim to achieve” (Wahlén 2018). As a specialized UN agency with a mandate of promoting IPRs arou
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