Panel Discussion Explores Human Rights Character of Intellectual Property Rights
Geneva, November 16, 1998
Press Updates UPD/1998/40
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), in collaboration with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, hosted a Panel Discussion on Intellectual Property and Human Rights on November 9, 1998, in Geneva to commemorate the 50th Aniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Over 200 people attended the Panel, including representatives of WIPO Member States, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as members of the public.
The event was the first of its kind, bringing together experts and interested parties from both the intellectual property and human rights communities. At the end of the meeting, the participants expressed their full satisfaction with the proceedings which clarified many issues and permitted a fruitful exchange of views.
Six experts presented papers and fielded questions from the audience. The Panel was chaired by Mr. Adama Dieng, the Secretary General of the International Commission of Jurists, a noted international human rights organization based in Geneva.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Roberto Castelo, Deputy Director General of WIPO, stated that the objective of the Panel Discussion was to draw attention to the universality of intellectual property rights and to examine their role in contributing to economic, social and cultural development. Although intellectual property rights are specifically recognized as human rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Mr. Castelo noted that the human rights character of intellectual property rights has not yet been fully explored.
Mr. Brian Burdekin, Special Advisor on National Institutions to the High Commissioner for Human Rights, speaking on behalf of High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs. Mary Robinson, welcomed the organization of the Panel. In his opening remarks, he said that the event represented a timely response to the call made by the United Nations Secretary General to involve "the entire United Nations system in more effectively promoting and protecting human rights".
General themes which were discussed during this one-day event included the growing philosophical and political significance of intellectual property issues in the Information Age. In his presentation entitled "The Universality of Intellectual Property: Origins and Development", Dr. Peter Drahos, UK, submitted that such mainstreaming of intellectual property issues would require intellectual property experts to engage, more than ever before, in a continuing dialogue with specialists in other fields.
In analysing the links between intellectual property rights and the right to culture, Ms. Christine Steiner, USA, demonstrated how private intellectual property rights under US intellectual property law are balanced against the public interest in accessing culture.
A presentation was also given by Ms Silvia Salazar, Costa Rica, on "Intellectual Property and the Right to Health." This presentation outlined various aspects of debates relating to the patenting of pharmaceutical products derived from biological resources and the patenting of genetic materials as prompted by the Human Genome Project which intends to sequence and map all human genes.
The Panel Discussion also considered intellectual property and the protection of traditional knowledge and innovation. In his paper on the subject, Dr. John Mugabe, Kenya, considered the growing value of traditional knowledge in relation to biological prospecting, and the extent to which intellectual property laws can provide adequate protection for traditional knowledge and innovations.
In her discussion on "Intellectual Property, Science and Technology", Dr Audrey Chapman, USA, explored the linkages between the right to intellectual property and the human right to share in scientific advancement and its benefits. Her discussion was illustrated by reference to case studies on gene patenting and the protection of databases.
The day's proceedings concluded with a paper on "Intellectual Property, Nationality and Non-Discrimination" by Dr. Silke von Lewinski, Germany. This presentation discussed the interaction between the human right not to be discriminated against and the intellectual property principle of national treatment. The principle of national treatment requires that States that are party to given intellectual property agreements grant the same protection to nationals of other countries that are also party to those agreements as it does to its own citizens.
A detailed list of speakers is attached. The papers presented in this landmark Panel Discussion will be published by WIPO in early 1999. For further details, please contact the Media Relations and Public Affairs Section at WIPO:
Tel: (+41 22) 338 95 47 or 338 98 24
Fax: (+41 22) 338 88 10
E-mail: publicinf@wipo.int