[Ip-health] The Vatican: Intellectual property rights must serve justice, common good

Tue Oct 6 07:05:49 PDT 2015

http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/10/06/intellectual_property_rights_must_serve_justice,_common_good/1177166

(Vatican Radio) Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Permanent Representative of
the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in
Geneva, on Monday addressed representatives of the member states of the
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). WIPO is a global forum for
intellectual property services, policy, information and cooperation.

In his remarks, Archbishop Tomasi, noted the “vastly different” situation
of intellectual property in the contemporary world, in contrast to the
situation in which IP was born. “Over the past few decades, the centre of
wealth creation has been shifting from tangible assets or physical capital
to intangible assets or intellectual capital or, as the OECD calls it,
knowledge based capital.”

Archbishop Tomasi reminded his audience that protection of intellectual
property is essential to incentivizing innovation and spreading the
benefits of those innovations. Yet, he said, “while we recognise the value
of intellectual property protection, the scope of those rights must always
be measured in relation to greater principles of justice in service of the
common good.” He warned, “the fruits of scientific progress, rather than
being placed at the service of the entire human community, are distributed
in such a way that inequalities are actually increased.” Archbishop Tomasi
insisted, “The law of profit alone cannot be applied to that which is
essential for the fight against hunger, disease, and poverty,” citing Pope
St John Paul II.

Concluding his statement, Archbishop Tomasi assured the participants that
they could “count on the constructive spirit and support of the Holy See
during these Assemblies.”

Below, please find the full text of Archbishop Tomasi’s remarks to the
World Intellectual Property Organization:

Statement by H.E. Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, Permanent Representative of
the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in
Geneva

-----------------------

55th  Series of Meetings of the WIPO Assemblies
Geneva, 5 October 2015

Mr. President,

The Delegation of the Holy See would like to congratulate you on your
election to chair the General Assembly. We welcome the two new vice-chairs
as well and thank the outgoing chair and vice-chair for all their hard work
over the past year. My Delegation is confident that under your leadership
we will be able to reach a positive outcome during this session, as we did
in the previous ones.

Allow me also to express our appreciation to the Director General and the
Secretariat for the preparation of these Assemblies and for the substantial
outcomes achieved by WIPO in recent years, in particular in relation to
work concerning global IP services. The steady growth of applications and
the expansion of membership cannot be achieved without proper responses to
the evolving demands from the real world.

The context in which intellectual property (IP) operates in the
contemporary world is vastly different from the one in which IP was born.
The new context has changed the position of IP both in the economy and in
society. Over the past few decades, the centre of wealth creation has been
shifting from tangible assets or physical capital to intangible assets or
intellectual capital or, as the OECD calls it, knowledge based capital.

We live in a global knowledge economy and the key to future progress is to
excel at turning what we discover and learn into marketable new products
and technologies. As clearly shown by the Global Intellectual Property
Reports, innovation adaptation and the use of these new technologies are
the primary drivers of growth within international economies.

Through both private and public investments, we continue to see incredible
scientific advancement in the understanding and use of biological
resources, the applications of which hold great social value and potential
to improve the lives of people, particularly in the medical,
pharmaceutical, and agricultural fields. To continue incentivizing such
innovations and to spread the benefits of these innovations widely, just
legal frameworks for intellectual property protection play an essential
role. Yet, while we recognise the value of intellectual property
protection, the scope of those rights must always be measured in relation
to greater principles of justice in service of the common good. However,
nowadays, the fruits of scientific progress, rather than being placed at
the service of the entire human community, are distributed in such a way
that inequalities are actually increased. The law of profit alone cannot be
applied to that which is essential for the fight against hunger, disease,
and poverty.[i]

WIPO is also making a significant contribution to IP information sharing
and dissemination through its work related to global IP infrastructure. The
contribution to society from the invention to be patented does not consist
only of the invention as such, but also of the provision of technical
information related to that invention. The global patent system needs
continued improvement towards increased transparency and efficiency.
International enterprises can be caught unaware of existing patent rights
in various markets, while inventors and researchers need access to a fully
articulated and comprehensive database of patent claims. A comprehensive
database would lower search costs for inventors and examination offices.

While WIPO needs to follow the principles and objectives set in the
Organization’s Convention, this has to be done in a manner that continues
responding to the ever-changing realities of the international community.
This means that the Organization has to continue to work at the service of
the real world, which is formed by innovators, creators, and especially the
users of the IP system and IP information. The Secretariat and the Member
States should revive the normative work in a functional and responsible
manner that could be accepted across the system and through which we can
fulfill our responsibility as a member of the global community.

The present-day Intellectual Property Rights system is built on
long-standing and traditional concepts of protection and designed for an
era before the technological revolution. Classic copyrights cannot be
sustained in this modern digital world and the “one-size-fits-all” approach
of patent rules is no longer viable for the cross-industry complexities of
the new technology development. The Organization is called to face major
challenges and offer a place for bridging the gap between the prevalent
trade-oriented approach and the broader implications of intellectual
property regulation. In this sense, the renewal of the mandate for the
Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources,
Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) could represent a strong signal.

Mr. President,

In conclusion, let us assure you that you can count on the constructive
spirit and support of the Holy See during these Assemblies.

Thank you Mr. President.

Endnotes

[i] John Paul II, Address to ‘Jubilee 2000 Debt Campaign’, 23 September
1999.

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Elizabeth Rajasingh
Perls Research and Policy Fellow, Knowledge Ecology International
1621 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20009
*elizabeth.rajasingh at keionline.org <elizabeth.rajasingh at keionline.org>* |
 1-202-332-2670