[Ip-health] G8 document on PROMOTING INNOVATION - PROTECTING INNOVATION - In the document GROWHT AND RESPONSIBILITY IN THE WORLD ECONOMY

[MSF Michel Lotrowska]

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PROMOTING INNOVATION - PROTECTING INNOVATION

30. Science, research and innovation today more than ever form the basis of
economic

growth and prosperity. Political and economic strategies to foster
innovation are therefore

key elements for the future development of industrialised countries,
emerging

economies and developing countries alike. We will undertake to bring forward
an international

economic and political environment that promotes and protects innovation.

Innovation for Sustainable Growth

31. Forward looking innovation policy is geared towards promoting the
research community

and towards translating ideas, the product of the research process, into
innovative

products and services. Whereas the promotion of research involves education
and

higher-education policy, economic policy can play a crucial role in
promoting the translation

of research into innovative products and in fostering an innovation-friendly
business

environment. Both tasks benefit from the engagement of national governments.
International

cooperation and exchanges can supply a substantial impetus in the shaping of


national policy. Cooperation between advanced and developing countries in
research

activities in the field of science and technology should also be
strengthened.

32. Because we strive to provide scientific and technical leadership we also
recognize

our responsibility for a long-term oriented research initiative that will
focus on concentration

of scientific research and improved technological capacity in order to be
able to react

most effectively to future global challenges. We recognize the increasing
significance

of many emerging economies in science and research and invite them to
actively

participate in this process by reinforcing already existing cooperative
efforts in the

OECD building also on the results of ongoing work promoted inter alia by the
relevant

UN bodies.

33. In this respect we support the engagement of the OECD to work on
proposals for

topical international collaborative efforts. Based on the work of the Global
Science Forum

(GSF), we recognize the value that the GSF will bring as the moderator of
this

process. We also support the sharing of information among the G8 and
emerging

economies on national research endeavours in order to identify priorities
that could be

enhanced by collaborative research efforts, joint initiatives and programmes
on areas of

common interest. Possible areas of cooperation could be sustainable use of
water and






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land and research in the field of energy efficiency as well as the promotion
of environmentally-

related innovations both in the public and in the business sector. We will
work

together to achieve more effective coordination and cooperation in our
research efforts

in these fields.

Intellectual Property Protection as the Backbone of Innovation

34. A fully functioning intellectual property system is an essential factor
for the sustainable

development of the global economy through promoting innovation. We recognize


the importance of streamlining and harmonizing the international patent
system in order

to improve the acquisition and protection of patent rights world-wide.

35. The benefits of innovation for economic growth and development are
increasingly

threatened by infringements of intellectual property rights worldwide. We
therefore

strongly reaffirm our commitment to combat piracy and counterfeiting. Trade
in pirated

and counterfeit goods threatens health, safety and security of consumers
worldwide,

particularly in poorer countries. In this regard we welcome work on the WHO
initiative to

implement the International Medicinal Products Anti-Counterfeit Taskforce
(IMPACT).

Our common efforts in this combat are therefore in the interest of all
countries at all levels

of development.

36. We commit to strengthen cooperation in this critical area among the G8
and other

countries, particularly the major emerging economies, as well as competent
international

organizations, notably the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO),
WTO,

the World Customs Organization (WCO), Interpol, the World Health
Organization

(WHO), the OECD, APEC, and the Council of Europe. We invite these
organizations to

reinforce their action in this field.

37. We welcome the joint Declaration of the business communities of all G8
countries

on "Strategies of G8 Industry and Business to Promote Intellectual Property
Protection

and to Prevent Counterfeiting and Piracy" which highlights actions companies
are taking

to secure their intellectual property rights at home and abroad and to keep
their global

supply chains free of pirated and counterfeit goods - from producers and
distributors,

retailers and merchandisers. Industry and business have an essential role to
play in protecting

innovation, and we will engage our respective private sectors on effective
solutions

with regard to both the supply and the demand side of piracy and
counterfeiting.

We also welcome educational campaigns with the help of business communities
in our

countries directed at raising awareness of consumers with regards to the
negative effects

of counterfeiting and piracy.

38. In light of the urgency to implement concrete measures which will
improve and

deepen cooperation among G8 partners and deliver real enforcement results,
we decide

to undertake the following:






(a) We endorse the Guidelines for Customs and Border Enforcement Cooperation
designed

to strengthen cooperation and coordination among our national customs and
law

enforcement administrations. In this context we especially welcome the
development of

an effective information exchange system - where appropriate -in close
association

with the WCO which will lead to improved cooperation among the relevant
enforcement

authorities worldwide.

(b) We endorse new Guidelines for Technical Assistance on intellectual
property rights

protection to interested developing countries, as well as a mechanism to
better coordinate

and leverage existing G8 assistance to such countries with a view to
building the

capacity necessary to combat trade in counterfeited and pirated goods to
strengthen

intellectual property enforcement. In partnership with certain developing
countries we

agree to launch technical assistance pilot plans with a view to building the
capacity necessary

to combat trade in counterfeited and pirated goods to strengthen
intellectual

property enforcement. The progress on these pilot plans will be reviewed by
the G8 in

2008.

(c) We endorse the recommendations aimed at improving G8 member countries'
cooperative

actions to combat serious and organized intellectual property rights crimes
and

the further work on their basis to facilitate structured international
cooperation regarding

the investigation and prosecution of those crimes.

(d) While appreciating the information contained in the OECD report
estimating the economic

impacts of counterfeiting and piracy on national economies and right
holders, as

well as public health and safety, we will encourage the OECD to work with
member

states to further identify and target in its report specific areas for
concrete actions.

(e) We recognize the need for continued study by national experts of the
possibilities of

strengthening the international legal framework pertaining to IPR
enforcement.

(f) We consider the establishment of an IPR Task Force focusing on
anti-counterfeiting

and piracy to look together at how best to improve the working of the
international IPR

protection and enforcement, and produce recommendations for action including
improved

peer review. The issue will also be considered in the Heiligendamm Process.




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A New Dialogue on Innovation and Intellectual Property Protection

39. Lively interaction between science and business, strong protection and
enforcement

of intellectual property rights, and the combination of market-based
entrepreneurship

and science-based research are increasingly decisive factors in promoting
economic

growth and development around the world. We invite the major emerging
economies to

a follow up process using the OECD as a platform with the aim of
establishing a new

international dialogue on innovation and intellectual property protection as
part of the

Heiligendamm Process. Such a dialogue will provide a forum for the positive
exchange

on topics critical for growth of successful knowledge economies and the
promotion of an

innovation-friendly business environment also taking into account the needs
of small

and medium sized enterprises, including: (a) the crucial role and economic
value of intellectual

property protection and implementation as a central framework condition for

the development of a future-oriented economy based on technological progress
and

innovation; (b) effective market incentives for innovation and the diffusion
of knowledge

at the national level taking into account recent developments in technology
markets;

and (c) the crucial importance of efficient innovation value chains that
promote business

commercialization of patented research results and exploit licensing as a
major

driver for the international transfer of technology. The dialogue could
furthermore ascertain

measures the industrialized countries and major emerging economies can take
to

achieve fully effective implementation and protection of intellectual
property rights within

their own territory. Fully respecting the mandate, function and role of the
competent

multilateral organizations, in particular the WTO and the WIPO, participants
in the dialogue

may also discuss initiatives aimed at strengthening intellectual property
rights protection

which should then be addressed in the appropriate international fora. The G8


Summit 2009 will take stock of the progress made by that date.



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