Rush for Patents May Hinder Transfer of New Climate-related Technologies

Summary posted by Meridian on 3/17/2010
Source: Policy Innovations
Author: Nirmalya Syam

The article says the North-South divide on intellectual property rights (IPR) remains unresolved following the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) has been working on the issues surrounding the divide, but the sides remain polarized, with developed countries insisting that strong IPR protection is necessary to spur innovation, and developing countries advancing proposals calling for the removal of barriers to the development and transfer of technologies arising from IPRs. The article examines several crucial sectors of environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) - wind energy, solar power, biofuels, and abiotic crops - and finds that IPRs can be an impediment to the development, diffusion and transfer of technology, making it difficult for developing countries to develop endogenous ESTs that are suitable and affordable for them. For example, while many of the core technologies of solar power are available on the public domain, advances in this sector are expected to be in technologies like nanotechnology and dye-sensitized approaches - innovations that are likely to lead to extensive patenting activity - and could potentially impair downstream research in these technologies. The article concludes by arguing that "...taking measures to mitigate the rigorousness of IPRs lies at the core of any meaningful international mechanism for facilitating development and transfer of technology that would enable developing countries [to] respond effectively to the challenge of sustainable development and climate change." The article can be viewed online at the link below.

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our team contact us site map	Rush for Patents May Hinder Transfer of New Climate-related Technologies Summary posted by Meridian on 3/17/2010 Source: Policy Innovations Author: Nirmalya Syam The article says the North-South divide on intellectual property rights (IPR) remains unresolved following the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) has been working on the issues surrounding the divide, but the sides remain polarized, with developed countries insisting that strong IPR protection is necessary to spur innovation, and developing countries advancing proposals calling for the removal of barriers to the development and transfer of technologies arising from IPRs. The article examines several crucial sectors of environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) - wind energy, solar power, biofuels, and abiotic crops - and finds that IPRs can be an impediment to the development, diffusion and transfer of technology, making it difficult for developing countries to develop endogenous ESTs that are suitable and affordable for them. For example, while many of the core technologies of solar power are available on the public domain, advances in this sector are expected to be in technologies like nanotechnology and dye-sensitized approaches - innovations that are likely to lead to extensive patenting activity - and could potentially impair downstream research in these technologies. The article concludes by arguing that "...taking measures to mitigate the rigorousness of IPRs lies at the core of any meaningful international mechanism for facilitating development and transfer of technology that would enable developing countries [to] respond effectively to the challenge of sustainable development and climate change." The article can be viewed online at the link below. The original article may still be available at www.policyinnovations.org/ideas/briefings/data/000162 As tagged by Meridian Institute: Energy: Energy, Biofuel, Solar, Climate Change, Wind Implications: Human Enhancement, Governance, Intellectual Property Rights, Economic Competitiveness, Socio-Economic Effects Stakeholders: Government, Industry, NGO, Academia, International Institutions Food And Agriculture: Agriculture Related Forums: Food and Agriculture Socio-Economic Economic Competitiveness Intellectual Property Rights Governance Ethics print format	NDN Home Subscribe Manage Subscription Search News Archives 3rd International Seminar on Nanosciences and Nanotechnology -- Seminario Naotecnologias Cuba (7/29/2010) The 3rd International Seminar on Nanosciences and Nanotechnology, organized by the Office of the Scientific Advisor to the State Council of the Republic of Cuba and the Center for Advanced Cuban Studes (CEAC), will take place from September 6-10, 2010, in Havana, Cuba. The aim of the conference is to open new paths of cooperation for the development of CEAC, consolidate existent and emerging networks in the country, and provide elements for the design of a national strategy in this field. [More] Super-sizing a Cancer Drug Minimizes Side Effects -- MIT News (7/29/2010) Scientists at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) have designed a new version of the drug cisplatin, one of the first chemotherapy drugs given to patients diagnosed with cancer, that spares the kidneys, allowing doctors to use higher doses. [More] An Asphalt Pact Cut Fumes—& Created A Model -- New Haven Independent (7/29/2010) At a recent conference hosted by the United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), convened to talk about the potential health hazards in the nanotechnology industry, a successful partnership between government, industry, and workers to tackle worker safety in the asphalt industry was looked to as a possible model for addressing worker safety in the nanotechnology industry. [More] Nanomagnets Remove Pathogens from Blood -- Nanowerk (7/28/2010) Researchers from the Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering of the ETH Zurich, Switzerland, have demonstrated a novel use of nanomagnets to rapidly and selectively remove heavy metal ions, overdosed steroid drugs and proteins from human blood. [More] More News... Learn how to include these headlines on your own website by clicking here. Please email us if you require text-only versions of the daily emails.