[Ip-health] New ICTSD publication: Technology Transfer in the TRIPS Age: The Need for New Types of Partnerships between the Least Developed and Most Advanced Economies

[Ahmed Abdel Latif]

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Technology Transfer in the TRIPS Age:
The Need for New Types of Partnerships between
the Least Developed and Most Advanced Economies
By Dominique Foray
Ecole Polytechnique F=E9d=E9rale de Lausanne

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Technology transfer to developing countries has been discussed by the inter=
national community for more than three decades. Today, the relationship bet=
ween technology transfer and intellectual property stands high in the negot=
iations of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as well =
as within deliberations of the World Trade Organization's Council for TRIPS=
, and implementation of the WIPO Development Agenda recommendations adopted=
 in 2007.

Technology Transfer in the TRIPS Age: The Need for New Types of Partnership=
s between the Least Developed and Most Advanced Economies (Issue Paper 23) =
by Dominique Foray (http://ictsd.net/i/publications/50415/ <http://cts.vres=
p.com/c/?ICTSD/7f90e8cc42/62890a0c44/b16426bd55> ) is a recent contribution=
 of the ICTSD Programme on Intellectual Property Rights and Sustainable Dev=
elopment to this ongoing debate. It focuses, in particular, on technology t=
ransfer to the least developed economies.


According to the paper, many countries are increasing their exposure to for=
eign technologies by means of trade and foreign direct investment (FDI), wh=
ile improving absorptive capacities to facilitate the dissemination of tech=
nologies and spillovers within the domestic economy. This represents a deve=
lopment path that a number of developing countries - notably middle-income =
countries - follow. The experience of LDCs, however, is less promising. FDI=
 and trade remain at a low level, and their limited absorptive capacities m=
akes it unlikely that the few foreign technologies that are transferred wil=
l disseminate throughout the economy.


The paper makes practical recommendations applicable, first, to least devel=
oped countries (LDCs) that want to use technology transfer as an effective =
growth engine and, second, to developed countries that have to comply with =
Article 66.2 of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Relat=
ed Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) which requests them to p=
rovide incentives to enterprises and institutions in their territories for =
the purpose of promoting and encouraging technology transfer to least-devel=
oped country Members in order to enable them to create a sound and viable t=
echnological base. The paper suggests that such incentives should consist o=
f assistance for projects that are socially beneficial but with low expecte=
d profitability for technology supplier firms. This should ensure that cond=
itions for technology transfer involve the choice of relevant partners on b=
oth the supply and demand sides, selection of the right area related to a c=
learly expressed local demand for technology and the creation of organisati=
onal forms that favour the consolidation of the transfer as well as the rel=
ated entrepreneurial dynamic. In this context, the study advances the need =
for greater use of public-private partnerships (PPPs) as a mechanism for en=
suring the effectiveness of the technology transfer operation.

We hope you will find this paper a useful contribution to the debate on IP,=
 innovation and sustainable development, and particularly in responding to =
the need for increased awareness and better understanding of the complexiti=
es of technology transfer and, among others, its interface with IP.

For further information, please contact Ahmed Abdel Latif at aabdellatif@ic=
tsd.ch




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