Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are vital
in the development and diffusion of new and existing technologies for
combating climate change, ICC has stressed ahead of the December UN
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting in Copenhagen,
where a post-2012 framework agreement to govern greenhouse gas
emissions is to be concluded.
As part of a continuing series
of contributions dealing with technology and climate change, the ICC
Commissions on Environment and Energy and Intellectual Property have
worked together to issue a new paper examining the role of both
existing and new technologies in dealing with climate change and
highlighting how intellectual property systems spur innovation and
contribute to the development of technological solutions.
ICC
fully supports the UNFCCC process and strongly believes that it is
crucial to reach an agreement in Copenhagen that would provide business
with a clear and predictable framework to stimulate investment and
deploy technology on the necessary scale. However, ICC believes that
the UNFCCC negotiations should not include recommendations that
undercut or question existing IPR protections as this would be
counter-productive to the shared goal of dealing with the threat of
climate change.
Numerous longstanding and broadly accepted
inter-governmental institutions and agreements exist to address IPR in
global markets and jurisdictions, notably the World Intellectual
Property Organization and the WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property Rights agreement. ICC believes that their
provisions should be respected in the UNFCCC framework.
Technology
cooperation and transfer occurs every day in the course of thousands of
commercial transactions between the private and public sector.
Technology development and deployment includes not merely the transfer
of hardware but also of best practices, information and improvement of
human skills. The enabling environment of the countries involved is
also key for implementation. The global development and deployment of
advanced technologies to address climate change will require
appropriate institutional frameworks, including IPR protection to
accelerate promising technologies.
ICC has developed many
tools in the area of intellectual property such as the Roadmap on
Current and Emerging Intellectual Property Issues, the Intellectual
Property tool kit for Chambers of Commerce, and ICC’s Model
International Transfer of Technology Contract, which help support
efforts by business and policy-makers to address these issues.
ICC
will continue to work with policymakers to bring a wide range of
business voices and solutions to the climate change challenge.
To view the discussion paper, please click here
For more information on the ICC Commission on Intellectual Property, please click here