INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

  
The protection of original ideas—copyrights, trademarks, books, etc.—began in a formal way in the 1880s with the Paris and Berne Conventions. The UN’s creation of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 1967 extended intellectual property (IP) protection and advanced its administration even further. As the economies of the world have become more complex, the importance and need for protection of IP have grown. Computer chips, software, broadcasting, recordings, industrial secrets, basic research, patents, and advanced pharmaceutical drugs occupy an ever more important position in modern economies.

The creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in January 1995 included among its provisions an Agreement of Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). TRIPS incorporated the previous conventions and updated IP protections. The WTO and WIPO agreed that TRIPS should include three main provisions: standards, enforcement and dispute settlement.1

The IP issue has been included in the meetings held to advance the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Its importance championed mainly by the United States and Canada. The members of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)—the US, Canada and Mexico—are already compliant with TRIPS, as NAFTA required a high level of minimum protection for IP in national legislation. Gradually, the Cartagena, Belo Horizonte, San José and Toronto FTAA meetings and Business Forums recognized the importance of IP and the advancement of its agenda. For example, at the Toronto meeting last November the Florida delegation suggested that:

• A firm commitment must exist on the part of all countries in the Americas to enforce IP laws.

• The FTAA negotiations should strive to create uniformity among the countries’ trademark regulations.

• Intellectual property issues on the Internet, such as copyright, should be addressed in the FTAA negotiations.

• Inadequate protection of IP in other hemispheric countries may cost Florida companies millions of dollars.

• Rather than lowering the IP standards of more developed countries, developing countries should receive assistance to improve their IP laws and their enforcement mechanisms.

The delegation submitted an annotated outline of these points to the ministers in Toronto, and the text of an agreement will be presented at the March 15, 2001 meeting in Miami. Negotiating group meetings from now until that date will address related issues and prepare chapters on such areas as organizational matters and approaches, patents and copyrights. These will be presented to the vice ministers of trade on the Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC).

To some, pirating may seem like a low-cost way of taking IP from developed countries and giving it to lesser developed ones; in other words, a sort of Robin Hood tactic. In reality, however, pirating has high costs for economic development. The Alexis de Tocqueville Foundation presented the Business Forum in Toronto with a statement that addressed this issue. This document, signed by eight Latin American and two US scholars, stated that “strong intellectual property protection in the Americas is crucial to fostering trade and achieving the goals and benefits of hemispheric integration. There is clear proof that countries characterized by high standards of protection attract more investment, foment more innovation, and experience rapid and more extensive development than those countries with limited protection.” 2

1 Standards: Sets out the minimum standards of protection to be provided by each Member. Each of the main elements of protection is defined, namely the subject matter to be protected, the rights to be conferred and permissible exceptions. Enforcement: The second main set of provisions deals with domestic procedures and remedies for the enforcement of intellectual property rights. Dispute settlement: The agreement makes disputes between WTO members about respect for TRIPS obligations subject to the WTO’s dispute settlement procedures.

2 For the full text of the Alexis de Tocqueville statement see: www.sice.oas.org/ftaa/torontoforum/papers/abfdocs Intellectual Property and the FTAA

www.sice.oas, www.ftaa-alca.org, www.wto-ministerial.org www.state.gov/www/issues/economic/ftaa U.S. Department of State