Trade, Innovation, Competition, IP In Two New Discussion Papers

The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development recently issued papers on competition analyses of licensing agreements and on the measurement of trade and innovation.

The first paper [pdf], authored by Hiroko Yamane, professor emeritus at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, is titled, “Competition Analyses of Licensing Agreements: Considerations for Developing Countries under TRIPS.”

The discussion paper seeks to analyse provisions in the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) on the control of anti-competitive practices in contractual licences, in particular in Article 40.

According to the document, “Article 40 is flexible and leaves WTO Members a considerable margin of discretion in interpreting the emanating of ‘an abuse of intellectual property rights having an adverse effect on competition in the relevant market.’” The discussion paper uses Japan’s licensing regulation as a case study.

The second paper [pdf], presented as a “think piece” is authored by Daniela Benavente, member of the E15 initiative, and titled, “Measurement of Trade and Innovation: Issues and Challenges.” According to ICTSD, the piece is part of a compilation of papers for the E15 expert group on trade and innovation.

The paper aims at presenting issues and challenges on the measurement of trade-related aspects of innovation. The document also includes recommendations and seeks “to encourage international organisations and countries to improve the collection, compilation and dissemination of data relevant to both trade and innovation.”