Research Paper 67 June 2016 INNOVATION AND GLOBAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REGULATORY REGIMES: THE TENSION BETWEEN PROTECTION AND ACCESS Nirmalya Syam and Viviana Muñoz Tellez RESEARCH PAPERS 67 INNOVATION AND GLOBAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REGULATORY REGIMES: THE TENSION BETWEEN PROTECTION AND ACCESS Nirmalya Syam and Viviana Muñoz Tellez SOUTH CENTRE JUNE 2016 Nirmalya Syam is Programme Officer and Viviana Muñoz Tellez is Coordinator of the Development, Innovation and Intellectual Property Programme at the South Centre. THE SOUTH CENTRE In August 1995 the South Centre was established as a permanent inter- governmental organization of developing countries. In pursuing its objectives of promoting South solidarity, South-South cooperation, and coordinated participation by developing countries in international forums, the South Centre has full intellectual independence. It prepares, publishes and distributes information, strategic analyses and recommendations on international economic, social and political matters of concern to the South. The South Centre enjoys support and cooperation from the governments of the countries of the South and is in regular working contact with the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77 and China. The Centre’s studies and position papers are prepared by drawing on the technical and intellectual capacities existing within South governments and institutions and among individuals of the South. Through working group sessions and wide consultations, which involve experts from different parts of the South, and sometimes from the North, common problems of the South are studied and experience and knowledge are shared. NOTE Readers are encouraged to quote or reproduce the contents of this Research Paper for their own use, but are requested to grant due acknowledgement to the South Centre and to send a copy of the publication in which such quote or reproduction appears to the South Centre. The views expressed in this paper are the personal views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the South Centre or its Member States. Any mistake or omission in this study is the sole responsibility of the author. This research paper was produced as a background paper for Chapter 2 of the Assessing Regional Integration in Africa (ARIA) 2015 Report of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) on the theme of “Innovation, Competitiveness and Regional Integration”. South Centre Ch. du Champ d’Anier 17 POB 228, 1211 Geneva 19 Switzerland Tel. (41) 022 791 80 50 Fax (41) 022 798 85 31 [email protected] www.southcentre.int LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ACP Group African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States AMCOST African Ministerial Council on Science and Technology AMU Arab Maghreb Union ANVISA Agencia Nacional de Vigilancia Sanitaria ARIA Assessing Regional Integration in Africa ARIPO African Regional Intellectual Property Organization ASTII African Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators AU African Union AUD Australian Dollar BITS Bilateral investment treaties CDIP Committee on Development and Intellectual Property CEMAC Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States CEN-SAD Community of Sahel Saharan States CFTA Continental Free Trade Area CLDP Commercial Law Development Program Office of the General Counsel of the US Department of Commerce COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa CPA Consolidated Plan of Action DAG Development Agenda Group EAC East African Community EC European Commission ECCAS Economic Community of Central African States ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States EFTA European Free Trade Association EPA Economic partnership agreements EPO European Patent Office ESA Eastern and Southern Africa FDI Foreign direct investment FTA Free trade agreements GI Geographical indications IGAD Intergovernmental Authority on Development IGC Intergovernmental Committee on Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore IP Intellectual property IPR Intellectual property rights LDC Least developed countries NEPAD The New Partnership for Africa’s Development NGO Non-governmental organizations OAPI Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development PAIPO Pan African Intellectual Property Organization PCT Patent Cooperation Treaty PVP Plant variety protection R&D Research and development REC Regional economic community RISDP SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan SADC Southern African Development Community SCCR Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights SCP Standing Committee on the Law of Patents SCT Standing Committee on Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications SIPO State Intellectual Property Office of China SME Small and medium enterprises S&T Science and technology STI Science, technology and innovation TGA Therapeutic Goods Administration TK Traditional knowledge TRIPS Agreement on Trade Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights UNCTAD United Nations Conference for Trade and Development UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNECA United Nations Economic Commission for Africa UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization UPOV International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants USA United States of America WAHO West African Health Organization WCT WIPO Copyright Treaty WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization WPPT WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty WTO World Trade Organization TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1 I. CONTEXT ................................................................................................................... 1 I.1 Conceptual Issues ................................................................................................ 1 I.1.1 Innovation .................................................................................................. 1 I.1.2 Intellectual Property .................................................................................. 5 I.1.3 Interface between Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights ............... 10 I.1.4 Regional Competitiveness ......................................................................... 12 I.2 Innovation and Intellectual Property in the African Context .............................. 13 II. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROTECTION AND ACCESS ........................................... 15 II.1 Trade Offs between Intellectual Property Protection and Access ...................... 15 II.2 Negative Impact of Intellectual Property Protection on Innovation and Access 17 II.2.1 Addressing Worrying Trends in Patent Regimes ..................................... 18 III. MULTILATERAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REGIMES ........................................... 23 III.1 Overview of Multilateral Intellectual Property Regimes .................................. 23 III.1.1 The WTO TRIPS Agreement ................................................................. 23 III.1.2 TRIPS Flexibilities ............................................................................... 26 III.1.3 IP Agreements in WIPO ....................................................................... 30 IV. AFRICA AND THE MULTILATERAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REGIMES .............. 32 IV.1 Overview of Membership of African Countries in Multilateral Intellectual Property Regimes ...................................................... 32 IV.2 Africa’s Participation in Groups Engaged in Multilateral Negotiations .......... 34 IV.3 Proposals about Intellectual Property Initiated by African Countries .............. 37 IV.3.1 Proposals to the WTO ........................................................................... 37 IV.3.1 Proposals to the WIPO ......................................................................... 39 V. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN THE CONTEXT OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN AFRICA: CONSIDERATIONS AND STRATEGIES ............................. 41 V.1 Intellectual Property and Regional Integration in Africa .................................. 41 V.1.1 African RECs Approach to IP ................................................................ 41 V.1.2 TRIPS Plus FTAs and BITs in Africa ..................................................... 46 V.1.3 Continental Free Trade Area Negotiations ........................................... 47 V.2 Curtailment of IP Policy Space by Regional IP Organizations ......................... 48 V.2.1 African Regional Intellectual Property Organization ........................... 49 V.2.2 Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle ........................... 51 V.2.3 Proposal to Establish a Pan African Intellectual Property Office ........ 54 V.3 Proposed Strategies for Designing Development Oriented IP Policies in Africa .......................................................................... 55 V.3.1 Critical Considerations for Designing a Development Oriented National IP Policy ............................................................................................ 56 VI. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 62 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 64 INTRODUCTION The objective of “Innovation and Global Intellectual Property Regulatory Regimes – The Tension between Protection and Access” is to assess the global intellectual property