WIPO Policy Advisory Commission Endorses Use Of Intellectual Property As a Tool for Development

Geneva, November 17, 2003
Press Updates UPD/2003/208

A number of present and former Heads of State and government, joined by other eminent persons, endorsed on November 14, 2003, the vision of Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Dr. Kamil Idris, to use intellectual property as a tool for development. Meeting in Sinaia, Romania at the invitation of President Ion Iliescu, members of WIPO's Policy Advisory Commission (PAC) discussed the importance of cultural industries to national economies and the strategic exploitation of intellectual property for development.

Dr. Idris thanked President Iliescu for the generous invitation to host the PAC meeting which, he said, in bringing together such eminent individuals, clearly demonstrated the growing importance of intellectual property for economic growth and wealth creation. Dr. Idris noted that the PAC "has become a fundamental part of the fabric of … the intellectual property protection system". Dr. Idris extended personal thanks to the members for their constructive, inspiring and thought provoking contributions, which he said, underlined the need to further demystify and raise public awareness about the role of intellectual property as a tool to promote economic, social and cultural development.

In addressing the Commission, President Iliescu underlined the importance of WIPO's leading role in promoting the strategic use of IP to promote social, economic and cultural development. He outlined his country's commitment to the use of IP to further national strategic economic objectives and referred, in particular, to the recent adoption by the Romanian Government of a national IP strategy.

President Guido De Marco of Malta, chairman of the PAC, applauded the Romanian Government for hosting the Commission, which he said clearly demonstrated the country's commitment to promoting greater use of the intellectual property system to further its own national economic, social and cultural development objectives. He said that intellectual property was of the essence in introducing new ideas and innovations and stressed the need to balance the rights of creators with those of the general public and the needs of developing countries and countries in transition to market economies.

PAC members (list available) expressed broad agreement on the inherent value of intellectual property to development and underlined the importance of WIPO's role in promoting the evolution of a balanced and inclusive intellectual property system. Discussions focused on two papers presented by PAC members. Mr. Bruce Lehman presented a paper on the management of cultural assets and Mr. Hisamitsu Arai introduced a study on the steps that Japan has taken to develop innovative strategies for the creation, protection and exploitation of intellectual property.

Mr. Lehman underlined the importance of the creative industries as a source of national wealth in today's information-based global economy. He explained that provided an effective legislative and administrative environment existed, such industries could lead to international competitive advantage. In this regard, Mr. Lehman referred to the experience of the United States of America where in 2001, core copyright industries contributed an estimated $535.1 billion to the economy, accounting for approximately 5.24% of GDP. Copyright-based industries contributed more to the U.S. economy and employed more workers than any other single industrial sector, he pointed out.

Mr. Lehman said that copyright-based industries are flourishing not just in the United States of America, but also around the world. He noted that to capture the full economic value of these industries for local development, developing countries and countries in transition need to establish appropriate intellectual property infrastructures and enforcement mechanisms. Such measures would ensure that a country's cultural assets realize their full economic potential. In this regard, Mr. Lehman underlined that a major task for national authorities in the future is to educate the public, particularly children and students, about the relationship between authors' rights and a robust culture and healthy economy. He pointed to WIPO's role, as a respected international institution with global reach, in facilitating this educational process.

Mr. Arai emphasised the importance of innovation in the knowledge-based economy and discussed the IP experiences of both Japan and the United States of America to illustrate the importance of developing and implementing a national IP strategy to revitalize and achieve long-term national economic growth. He explained the Japanese Government's commitment to making Japan "an intellectual property-based nation" and outlined its policies for "achieving a dynamic economy and vigorous society through the strategic creation, protection and exploitation of intellectual property". Mr. Arai, emphasized the need to promote the creation of high-quality intellectual property in the R&D sector and the contents businesses and to obtain prompt legal protection to maximize the added value in the industry and establish an intellectual creation cycle. Such measures, he said, would make it possible to revitalize the manufacturing sector, restore its competitiveness, strengthen technical capability and create new job opportunities. Mr. Arai also underlined the importance of developing a national intellectual property culture, saying broad-based policy approaches are necessary so that everyone is able to enjoy the benefits of intellectual property.

The PAC, a purely advisory body to the Director General is made up of eminent personalities in the fields of politics, diplomacy, law and public administration and is mandated to enhance WIPO's capacity to monitor and respond in a timely, informed and effective manner to international and regional developments in intellectual property, information technology and other fields bearing on WIPO's operations and policy environment.

Since its establishment in 1999, the PAC has been instrumental in raising awareness among policy makers and the public at large of the role and importance of intellectual property as a strategically important tool for economic development, wealth creation, social progress and cultural enrichment. This message is captured in the World Intellectual Property Declaration issued by the PAC in September 2000 which was designed to send a strong message about the universal value of intellectual property.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Dr. Idris met with President Iliescu. For further details see Update 2003/209.

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