Geneva, Switzerland
July 7, 2011
Source: Intellectual Property Watch
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) is holding a somewhat uncharacteristic two-day meeting to increase awareness of intellectual property rights throughout the region.
The UNECE meeting of IP “specialists” is taking place on 7-8 July at the UN in Geneva. According to a UNECE newsletter [pdf], the meeting includes a wide range of stakeholders, including industry, but no one representing the public interest.
“An effective and balanced intellectual property (IP) regime increases national wealth and benefits consumers by stimulating research and investment into new technologies and innovative products, and by enabling the transfer of technology, including between countries at different stages of economic development,” the newsletter said.
The problem in the UNECE region, it said, is that smaller companies are not aware of the benefits of IP, university researchers do not realise that research results need IP protection to be commercialised, and “consumers do not fully understand how, by buying counterfeit products, they are undermining innovative businesses.”
The newsletter stretches a bit to offer a rationale for the UN body to hold such an event: “This event contributes to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, in particular Goal 8
“Develop a global partnership for development”, which, inter alia, calls for the United Nations to work in cooperation with the private sector to make available the benefits of new technologies.”
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