G8 Leaders Move on IP Protection at Summit
HEILIGENDAMM, Germany -- G8 leaders agreed upon several intellectual property issues at their Summit here Fri. Chief among them: Better protection of IP in emerging economies; streamlining and harmonizing the patent system; an IP rights (IPR) protection task force; and a new dialogue on IP between G8 countries and the emerging economies using the Organization of Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) as a platform. The IP issues were easier to compromise on among the 8 -- Germany, U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Italy, Russia and Japan -- than a binding compromise to fight climate change.
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Still, the joint declaration of the G8-05 countries had to be modified at the last minute to eliminate IP protection. “It was clear that we cannot agree 100 percent on the protection of Intellectual property or protection of investment between G8 and O5,” referring to the so-called Outreach 5 countries of China, India, Mexico, S. Africa and Brazil, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a press conference.
The G8 in their final declaration said “a fully functioning intellectual property system is an essential factor for the sustainable development of the global economy through promoting innovation.” They said the fight against piracy and counterfeiting was a common commitment: “Trade in pirated and counterfeit goods threatens health, safety and security of consumers worldwide, particularly in poorer countries.”
Among other things, G8 agreed to endorse guidelines for customs and border enforcement cooperation, especially the development of an effective information exchange system, and new guidelines for technical assistance on intellectual property rights protection for interested developing countries and the launch of technical assistance pilot plans. They also backed more work by OECD with member states to identify and target in its report specific areas for concrete actions following the OECD report on piracy, as well as studies by national experts of strengthening the international legal framework for IPR enforcement. Finally, they agreed to establish an IPR Task Force focusing on anti- counterfeiting and piracy to improve the working of the international IPR protection and enforcement.
The G8 statement also expressed “grave concern” about the “exploitation of modern communication and information technology for the planning and execution of terrorist acts, for the radicalization and recruitment to terrorism and for terrorist training. Its multimedia capabilities and mass- dissemination facilitate the coordination and communication of terrorist groups; the dissemination of terrorist propaganda; and efforts to radicalize and recruit for terrorist activities certain individuals.” This abuse should be addressed by developing a better understanding on how IT is used by terrorists, the statement said.
Heavy debates seem to have preceded the decision to enter into a new dialog with the O5 countries on IP protection under the auspices of the OECD. This point had vanished from an earlier draft, but was back at Heiligendamm, including a reference to the importance of role of organizations like the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization. An OECD representative said OECD work was mainly focusing on the economics, while other organizations are more political.
The Summit declaration on IP was “completely unacceptable,” wrote the Netzwerk Freies Wissen (Open Knowledge Network), a civil rights organization. “The final declaration is a catastrophe,” said the group’s Julian Finn: “G8 is working towards one goal: To deprive the majority of mankind from essential knowledge.”