UNIQUE PARTNERSHIP ESTABLISHED BETWEEN
GOVERNMENTS AND PRIVATE ENTERPRISES TO ENFORCE INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY RIGHTS
International Forum on the Enforcement of
Intellectual Property Rights in
Central and Eastern Europe and the
Commonwealth of Independent States,
Palais des Nations, Geneva, 26 - 27 October
1998
28 October 1998
Industrial counterfeiting and piracy cost
billions of dollars to countries throughout the world. For
countries in central and eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of
Independent States, this has meant enormous losses in revenue and
investment, and is seriously undermining their fledgling market
economies. To address the issue and discuss concrete ways of
protecting intellectual property rights (IPRs) in these
countries, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
(UN/ECE), in conjunction with the European Union, the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade
Organization (WTO), held an international Forum in Geneva on 26
and 27 October. Attending the Forum were over 250 participants
from Governments, private companies, law firms, international
organizations and various institutions concerned with developing,
protecting and enforcing intellectual property rights in the
central and eastern European region.
The discussions focused on the economic and
social implications of the current lack of protection for
intellectual property rights owing to poor enforcement. Also
highlighted was the value that improved enforcement could offer
to local enterprises. Among the most important implications for
the countries concerned are significant investment losses, job
losses, tax evasion, the involvement of organized crime and
terrorist groups, and health and safety hazards for the
population. For local, newly privatized enterprises, protected
and enforced intellectual property rights would improve their
access to funding and new technology, and provide them with an
adequate return for higher value added production and more
research and development.
Current laws are often ineffective because of
generally poor enforcement. Efforts to improve the situation are
hampered by the lack of resources and adequately trained
personnel, relatively accessible technology for counterfeiting,
poor understanding by local companies and populations of the
benefits to them of protecting intellectual property rights and,
in some cases, by a lack of political will.
To tackle this problem of protection and
enforcement, the Forum recommended that:
(a) a group of experts be created,
under the joint auspices of UN/ECE and WIPO, to develop a
constructive dialogue between the private sector and
individual Governments and to implement the
recommendations of the Forum within the region.
Other practical and concrete recommendations
adopted at the Forum included the following:
(b) Increasing the role played by the
private sector in enforcing and protecting intellectual
property rights.
Governments and the private sector need to work
together to develop the right conditions for effective
enforcement. The private sector, for instance, can assist
officials in training, in learning to identify counterfeit goods
and in raising awareness of the value of brands to companies as
well as of the benefits that such brands offer to the general
population.
(c) Encouraging domestic companies to
make use of their intellectual property rights by
providing guidance on, for example, developing their own
brands, filing for patents or registering trademarks.
(d) Improving the coordination of
intellectual property rights issues at national level, by
creating National Intellectual Property Units, special
task forces or other such bodies.
Such coordinating bodies could, for instance,
propose actions related to compliance with intellectual property
rights laws, disseminate information on IPR matters and develop
policy-related innovation in support of companies and industries.
The work of the proposed joint UN/ECE and WIPO
group of experts should be fully coordinated with all the
technical-assistance efforts being undertaken by the European
Union, WIPO and WTO, and would be designed to assist in and
implement the work being done by these organizations relating to
intellectual property rights. Accordingly, they should also
cooperate and liaise with other international organizations.
The recommendations of the Forum are designed
to build trust and confidence between Governments and the
business community, and increase cooperation with the private
sector. The aim is to achieve a higher quality of trade and
investment in the transition economies of central and eastern
Europe through a more secure environment for the protection of
intellectual property rights.
The principal organizer of the Forum was
UN/ECE, which includes, among its 55 member States, 26
countries in economic transition. UN/ECE is currently focusing on
helping to develop the economies of these countries. In support
of this focus, it gives a high priority to assisting its member
Governments in implementing and enforcing technical standards and
agreements, as weak enforcement in this area remains a major
stumbling block to the integration of these countries into the
regional and global economy.
Further details can be obtained from:
Mr. Geoffrey Hamilton
Regional Adviser, Trade Division
United Nations Economic Commission for
Europe (UN/ECE) Palais des Nations
CH - 1211 GENEVA 10, Switzerland
Tel: (+41 22) 917 2838
Fax: (+41 22) 917 0037
E-mail: [email protected]