Intellectual property
Foreword
I am delighted to present the World Trade Organization Secretariat’s first comprehensive report on artificial intelligence (AI) and international trade. This report marks a milestone in our efforts to understand the impacts AI is having, and will continue to have, on global trade. As AI continues to evolve and transform the ways we work, live and do business, the global trade community must recognize these impacts and respond to maximize the gains for people, businesses and economies, and minimize potential risks.
Trading with intelligence
How Ai shapes and is shaped by international trade
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way we live, work, produce and trade. As it further develops, AI is expected to unlock unprecedented economic and societal opportunities. However, it is also a source of significant risks and challenges. This report examines the intersection of AI and international trade. It discusses how AI may shape the future of international trade by reducing trade costs, improving productivity and expanding economies' comparative advantages. The report reviews some key trade policy considerations, in particular the urgent need to address the growing AI divide between economies and between large and small firms, as well as data governance and intellectual property issues. It examines how to guarantee the trustworthiness of AI without hindering trade. The report also provides an overview of domestic, regional and international government initiatives to promote and regulate AI, and highlights the resulting risk of regulatory fragmentation. Finally, the report discusses the critical role of the WTO in facilitating AI-related trade, ensuring trustworthy AI and addressing emerging trade tensions, noting that the rapid evolution of AI is prompting questions about the implications of AI for international trade rules.
An Integrated Health, Trade and IP Approach to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic
An updated extract from Promoting Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic constitutes an extraordinary global public health crisis. It has created a pressing need for intensified global cooperation. The pandemic has from its outset raised issues at the crossroads of public health policy, trade policy and the framework for and management of innovation, including those relating to intellectual property rights. The second edition of the joint WHO, WIPO and WTO publication “Promoting Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation: Intersections between public health, intellectual property and trade”, published in 2020, included a special insert mapping the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to the integrated health, trade and IP policy framework set out in the study. This update revises the information contained in the last version launched in October 2021 in the light of more recent developments as of 17 May 2023.
Trade in Knowledge
Intellectual Property, Trade and Development in a Transformed Global Economy
Technological change has transformed the ways knowledge is developed and shared internationally. Accordingly, in the quarter-century since the WTO was established, and since its Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights came into force, both the knowledge dimension of trade and the functioning of the IP system have been radically transformed. The need to understand and respond to this change has placed knowledge at the centre of policy debates about economic and social development. Recognizing the need for modern analytical tools to support policymakers and analysts, this publication draws together contributions from a diverse range of scholars and analysts. Together, they offer a fresh understanding of what it means to trade in knowledge in today’s technological and commercial environment. The publication offers insights into the prospects for knowledge-based development and ideas for updated systems of governance that promote the creation and sharing of the benefits of knowledge.
Competition policy and intellectual property in today's global economy
The fast-evolving relationship between the promotion of welfare-enhancing competition and the balanced protection of intellectual property (IP) rights has attracted the attention of policymakers, analysts and scholars. This interest is inevitable in an environment that lays ever greater emphasis on the management of knowledge and innovation and on mechanisms to ensure that the public derives the expected social and economic benefits from this innovation and the spread of knowledge. This book looks at the positive linkage between IP and competition in jurisdictions around the world, surveying developments and policy issues from an international and comparative perspective. It includes analysis of key doctrinal and policy issues by leading academics and practitioners from around the globe and a cutting-edge survey of related developments across both developed and developing economies. It also situates current policy developments at the national level in the context of multilateral developments, at WIPO, WTO and elsewhere.
A dramatic impact on health systems and responses at the global level
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic constitutes an extraordinary global public health crisis. It has created a pressing need for intensified global cooperation. The pandemic has, from its outset, raised issues at the crossroads of public health, trade, intellectual property (IP) policy, and the framework for and management of innovation and access, including issues related to technology transfer.
Intellectual property aspects
The global IP system provides an incentive framework in which urgently needed innovation in relation to COVID-19 can be encouraged. It covers the stages from invention to supply of a product or service. The impact of patents on access is complex and an area of particular focus. Other IP rights, including trade secrets, are also being discussed. IP policy and the administration and enforcement of IP laws aim to balance and accommodate a range of interests in a way that promotes overall public welfare. A wide range of policy options and flexibilities are built into the international IP regime and can be used to promote access to health products and other public health objectives.
The way forward
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed immense pressure on health systems and trade systems around the world. The urgent search for technologies that may help to control the pandemic has mobilized unprecedented research efforts and investments. It has given rise to new models of working. Rapid and efficient innovation is needed more than ever, and global equitable access to new technologies is of paramount importance. Adequate management of IP is central to achieving these goals.
Introduction
The second edition of the joint WHO, WIPO and WTO publication “Promoting Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation: Intersections between public health, intellectual property and trade” (the Trilateral Study), published in 2020, included a special insert mapping the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to the integrated health, trade and IP policy framework set out in the study. The Trilateral Study and the special insert were designed to serve as background reference for policy-makers in the widest sense – lawmakers, government officials, delegates to international organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and researchers who seek a comprehensive presentation of the full range of issues, including institutions and legal concepts with which they may be unfamiliar. It is also designed to serve as a factual resource for the three organizations’ technical cooperation activities.
Preserving effective international trade
While low- and middle-income countries face particular challenges caused by the global scarcity of key health technologies, the vast majority of countries are net importers of all categories of health technologies, including those needed to address COVID-19.
Regulatory responses
Regulatory assessment and approval of health technologies are essential in every health system to ensure product quality, safety and efficacy. An effective COVID-19 treatment has not yet been found. Clinical trials are ongoing for new treatments as well as for repurposed medicines. “Compassionate use” of medicines (i.e., their clinical use before approval) is taking place in specific cases.
Meeting the demand for health technologies and medical services
The pandemic continues to trigger a massive global demand for vaccines, as well as for existing health technologies to respond to COVID-19, including diagnostics, medicines, ventilators and other medical devices, and consumables used in hospitals, such as personal protective equipment (PPE). This has put pressure on public procurement systems and led to shortages and other supply and access challenges for certain products in developed and developing countries. WHO provides information about the global response, such as R&D landscapes, regulatory approval status, and the manufacturing and distribution of vaccines.