Intellectual Property Rights

ON Intellectual Property FORightsCUS ON Intellectual Property Rights TABLEFOCUSFO OFC CONTENTSUS INTRODUCTION What Is Intellectual Property? ............................................................................................... 2 I. INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES Why Protecting Intellectual Property Rights Matters ................................................... 10 A Short Guide to International IPR Treaties ..................................................................... 16 Intellectual Property Training and Technical Assistance Programs.......................... 26 Jordan Benefi ts From Intellectual Property Reforms...................................................... 28 A Message From Jackie Chan: “Fakes Cost More”........................................................... 31 Taking Action: How Countries Are Fighting IPR Crime.............................................. 32 e U.S. Approach: Traditional Knowledge, Genetic Resources, and Folklore ........ 40 II. LAWS IN EVOLUTION e Challenge of Copyright in the Digital Age................................................................ 50 What Is “Fair Use”? ................................................................................................................ 59 e Importance of the Public Domain............................................................................... 60 Roundtable: Enforcement, a Priority for All Countries................................................. 62 New Tools for Fighting Optical Disc Piracy ..................................................................... 70 III. ISSUES BY INDUSTRY A Trade Association at Work ............................................................................................... 74 Intellectual Property Rights and the Pharmaceutical Industry.................................... 78 e Cost of Developing a New Drug .................................................................................. 82 Malaria: Partnering to Find a Cure.................................................................................... 84 Protecting Trademarks on the Internet ............................................................................. 86 IV. SOURCES Glossary of IP Terms.............................................................................................................. 90 Sources of Information on IP .............................................................................................. 100 Additional Readings on IP ................................................................................................... 104 Kids’ Corner: Educational Materials for Children and Young Adults........................ 107 What Is Intellectual Property? By Thomas G. Field Jr. THE BOTTOM LINE tion and original expressions of creative individuals known as intellectual property (IP)? “ um and Coca-Cola,” perhaps the They do so because they know safeguard- best-known Calypso song of all ing these property rights fosters economic time, became a big hit for the Andrews growth, provides incentives for technologi- Sisters in the 1940s. It also sparked a fa- cal innovation, and attracts investment that mous U.S. court case brought to establish will create new jobs and opportunities for all the authorship of Trinidad musician Lionel their citizens. The World Bank’s Global Eco- Belasco, who had written the song several de- nomic Prospects Report for 2002 confirmed cades earlier under the title “L’Année Passée.” the growing importance of intellectual prop- e lawyer acting for the man who published erty for today’s globalized economies, find- Belasco’s original score proved to the court ing that “across the range of income levels, that “Rum and Coca-Cola” was the Creole intellectual property rights (IPR) are associ- musician’s work and no one else’s. ated with greater trade and foreign direct in- INTRODUCTION Belasco won recognition for his creation vestment flows, which in turn translate into and also received compensation for the faster rates of economic growth.” unauthorized use of his work because the In the United States alone, for example, United States has laws that protect the intel- studies in the past decade have estimated lectual property of talented individuals like that over 50 percent of U.S. exports now de- him and enforces those laws against those pend on some form of intellectual property who would violate them. If his publisher had protection, compared to less then 10 percent sued in a country with weak or non-existent 50 years ago. protections, Belasco’s search for recognition Intellectually or artistically gifted people and compensation would not have had a have the right to prevent the unauthorized happy ending. use or sale of their creations, just the same as owners of physical property, such as cars, WHAT IS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY? buildings, and stores. Yet, compared to mak- ers of chairs, refrigerators, and other tan- hy do countries such as the gible goods, people whose work is essentially United States, Japan, and The intangible face more diffi culties in earning Netherlands protect inventions; literary and a living if their claim to their creations is artistic works; and symbols, images, names, not respected. Artists, authors, inventors, and designs used in commerce: the informa- and others unable to rely on locks and fences 2 3 Left, the cover for the original sheet music for “Rum and Coca- Cola,” before Lionel Belasco’s publisher won his lawsuit. Below, intellectual property symbols in the United States: copyright (©), registered trademark ®( ), and trademark (™). to protect their work turn to IP rights to years ago, India was losing keep others from harvesting the fruits of the battle to retain the their labor. best and the brightest of Beyond making it possible for innovators its engineers and com- and artists to be compensated fairly and for puter scientists. e lack countries to attract foreign investment and of protection for their intellectual property technology, intellectual property protection was forcing those scientists and technicians is critical to consumers. Most advances in to emigrate to countries where their hard transportation, communications, agricul- work could be protected and kept safe from ture, and health care would not exist without unfair exploitation by competitors seeking strong IP support. easy advantages. e Indian Parliament Increased recognition and support of fi nally passed a law in 1999 to protect the intellectual property also has much to do intellectual creations of its computer sci- with the rapidly rising standards of living entists. e result: a burgeoning high-tech in countries like China and India. Just a few industry producing some of the world’s 2 3 most advanced software and employing ing a system of copyright, and this system thousands of workers who might otherwise is administered by the Library of Congress’ have left India for more lucrative parts of Copyright Offi ce. the world. e U.S. Copyright Offi ce serves as a place where claims to copyright are registered and KEY FORMS OF INTELLECTUAL where documents relating to copyright may PROPERTY be recorded when the requirements of the U.S. copyright law are met. For all works, he key forms of intellectual property however — even foreign ones — prompt U.S. are patents, copyrights, trademarks, registration confers important remedial ad- and trade secrets. Because intellectual prop- vantages at little cost. erty shares many of the characteristics of Ready access to those remedies has real and personal property, associated rights spawned enormous U.S. entertainment in- permit intellectual property to be treated as dustries. According to the 2004 edition of an asset that can be bought, sold, licensed, Copyright Industries in the U.S. Economy, or even given away at no cost. IP laws enable by Stephen Siwek, the “core” U.S. copyright owners, inventors, and creators to protect industries accounted for 6 percent of the U.S. their property from unauthorized uses. Gross Domestic Product, or $626.2 billion, in 2002. e report defi nes “core” copyright in- Copyright dustries as newspapers, book publishing, re- Copyright is a legal term describing the cording, music, periodicals, motion pictures, economic rights given to creators of liter- radio and TV broadcasts, and computer ary and artistic works, including the right to software. In the 2004 report, bookstores and reproduce the work, to make copies, and to newsstands were added to “core” industries. perform or display the work publicly. Copy- Only an author or those deriving their rights off er essentially the only protection rights through the author — a publisher, for for music, fi lms, novels, poems, architecture, instance — can rightfully claim copyright. and other works of cultural value. As artists Regardless of who holds them, however, and creators have developed new forms of rights are limited. In the United States, for expression, these categories have expanded example, strangers may reproduce a portion to include them. Computer programs and of works for purposes of scholarship, criti- sound recordings are now protected, too. cism, news reporting, or teaching. Similar Copyrights also endure much longer than “fair use” provisions exist in other countries, some other forms of IP. e Berne Conven- too. e scope of this exception is discussed tion, the 1886 international agreement under in more detail in the article “What Is ‘Fair which signatory states recognize each other’s Use’?” on page 59. copyrighted works, mandates that

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