VOLUME 2 of Intellectual Property Management in Health and Agricultural Innovation
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A Handbook of Best Practices
Abstract
Prepared by and for policy-makers, leaders of public sector research establishments, technology transfer professionals, licensing executives, and scientists, this Handbook offers up-to-date information and strategies for utilizing the power of both intellectual property and the public domain.
Eschewing ideological debates and general proclamations, the authors always keep heir eye on the practical side of IP management. The Handbook provides substantive discussions and analyses of the opportunities awaiting anyone in the field who wants to put intellectual property to work.
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As members of the Editorial Board, we represent not only a diversity of professional backgrounds, institutions, and geographic regions, but also a diversity of viewpoints about intellectual property (IP). We agree on many things and we share a common goal: to broaden and accelerate access—especially in developing countries—to life-saving and poverty-alleviating innovations in health and agriculture. A fundamental vision of a more equitable
world—represented in the points that follow—binds us together in this endeavor.
• Intellectual property is a tool to foster innovation. Intellectual property is
here. And here to stay. Whether viewed as a legal concept, a social construct, a
business asset, or an instrument to achieve humanitarian objectives, the value
of intellectual property cannot be disputed. The notion that inventions can
become property and can therefore be owned and sold, has encouraged scientists and researchers to invent, and entrepreneurs and companies to invest in innovation, by allowing them to profit from the resulting technologies. But
by permitting entrepreneurs to exclude competitors and set higher prices, IP
protection may also prevent some individuals, or populations, from being able
to access products. There are many ways, however, that intellectual property
can be utilized and distributed. Through the publishing of this Handbook, the
companion Executive Guide, and the online version, we intend to help put
intellectual property to work for the public sector and the public interest. We
agree that intellectual property should be neither feared, nor blindly embraced;
rather, it should be managed to maximize the benefits of innovation for all of
society, especially the poor.
• IP rights are a compromise and an imperfect solution. They represent the
search for balance between making all knowledge freely available within the
public domain and granting ownership of valuable discoveries to the inventors. Historically, we have seen that this balance encourages investment—and
reinvestment—in innovation, although this innovation too infrequently is directed toward the needs of the poor. Reaching an appropriate balance requires continuous, sound IP management, and our desire to encourage this was a major impetus for compiling this Handbook and for writing the Executive Guide. Fortunately, as numerous case studies have shown, the public sector can craft effective solutions that can achieve, or at least approach, a suitable balance. This can be accomplished by using the existing IP system, especially as it addresses situations in which companies agree to donate or otherwise share their intellectual property.
• Genius can flourish anywhere, and the emerging global systems of innovation
in health and agriculture open up new prospects for innovation everywhere.
This notion has profound implications for the management of innovation,
technology transfer, market competition, and economic development in every
country, regardless of its economic status. Provided with opportunities and resources, scientists and scholars from any locale can create promising inventions with the potential to become valuable technology. And whether inventions are home grown or come from outside, authoritative IP management will play a crucial role in enabling and preserving access to the resulting innovations.
• Policies to promote the creation and management of intellectual property by
public sector institutions should give first priority to advancing the mission
of those institutions. In most countries, the mission of universities is education, research, and public service. Universities are not revenue generators. Technology transfer should support the larger mission, and not merely the
budgets, of those institutions.
• The historical trend has been for intellectual property to benefit mostly the
affluent. This is due, in part, to the fact that insufficient attention has been
paid by the public sector to managing intellectual property. This lack of focused attention must be corrected. Public sector IP management is a rather young discipline, and there have been enormous changes in the public sector’s
involvement in health research since the 1970s and in agri-biotechnology since
the 1990s. The public sector is only now beginning to appreciate how it can
use its own intellectual property—and leverage that of others—to help meet its
social mission, including its responsibilities to the poor. We believe that there
is growing interest, within both the public and private sectors, in using intellectual property for public benefit but, also, a lack of knowledge and capacity. This Handbook is designed to help address these needs.
We hope this Handbook and Executive Guide will encourage all parties to take greater advantage of the unprecedented opportunity to benefit from the strategic management of intellectual property aimed at promoting the public welfare—especially those people who have, until now, been unable to partake in technology’s benefits—and that this will contribute to building a healthier and more equitable world.F
Sponsorship
Thousands of copies were distributed free of charge to developing countries thanks to the generous support of the Rockefeller Foundation and 30 other entities. These are acknowledged inside the book.
Date Issued
2007-08-08
Publisher
MIHR, PIPRA, FIOCRUZ and bioDevelopments-International Institute
Keywords
intellectual property; innovation; management; global health; agriculture
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Government Document
ISBN
978-1-4243-2027-1
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Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International
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book