Promoting innovation: An economic perspective

• Author: Carsten Fink
• Position: WIPO's Chief Economist
• Pages: 2-4

As WIPO’s first Chief Economis t, what

does your role involve?

Throughout history, eco nomic de-

velopment has bee n a key motivat-

ing factor for governments to pro-

tect intellectual property (IP) r ights.

This was al ready the case in 1474

when t he Republic of Venice issued

a decree b y which new and inven-

tive devices co uld obtain legal pro-

tection aga inst copying from third parties. It is stil l

the case in today’s world, i n which the i nputs of

intangible assets ( knowledge, inform ation an d

ideas) have becom e fundament al to th e produc-

tion of most goods and service s.

Of course, the role of the IP system has evolved

over the centuries and continues to change maybe

faster than ever before. New technologies and new

business models emerge to challenge established

IP policies and practices. The biotechnology revolu-

tion in the life sciences and the widespread adop-

tion of modern information and communication

technologies by businesses and consumers illus-

trate some of these challenges. Greater economic

integration, in turn, calls for new approaches to the

international governance of what are still largely

national IP rights.

Against this ba ckground, the role of the Chief

Economist is to inform WI PO member states a nd

the publi c at large about ongoing trends in the IP

system and to analyze how differe nt IP polic y

choices affect the e conomic pe rformance of

countries . Drawi ng on the statist ical d ata wh ich

have long bee n collected by WIPO, my col leagues

in the recently created Economics and Statistics

Division and I s eek to gene rate new

empirical evide nce on polic y ques-

tions af fecting member states. We

also work c losely wit h academic

economist s and seek to mobi lize

their expertise for polic y-relevant IP

research.

Why was it considered important for

WIPO to strengthen its focus on the

economics of IP?

As an economist, I would, of course, argue that

such a focus was long overdue. More obje ctively,

there is grea ter demand from po licymakers for

economic a nalysis now than there was two or

three decad es ago. U sage of the pate nt and

trademark systems has reached historic ally un-

precedente d levels. Compan ies in a larger num-

ber of sectors and from a lar ger number o f coun-

tries look to the I P system to bui ld and sustain a

competiti ve edge. Also, man y IP-related ques-

tions have moved to the forefront o f public poli-

cymaki ng—just obser ve the recent discussions

on IP and climate change or Internet file-sharing.

Finally, t he conclusio n of the World Trade

Organizati on’s Agreement on Trade -Related

Aspects o f Intellectual Property Right s (TRIPS) ha s

triggered man y l egislative reforms, espec ially in

developin g cou ntries, prompting qu estions

about th eir economic effects.

Looking more specifically at WIPO, th e adopti on

of t he Develo pment Agen da in 2007 was an im-

portant milestone, resu lting in steppe d-up as-

sessment and eva luation of IP policies. In addi-

tion, on e of the n ine Strategic Goals approved by

member states in 2008 envisages WIPO becom-

PROMOTING

INNOVATION

AN ECONOMIC

PERSPECTIVE

DE CE MB ER 2 01 0

2

Against the backd rop of one of the w orld’s most s erious an d widesprea d economic crises, a nd a rapi dly

evolvin g tech nological and geo-eco nomic landscape, govern ments and b usinesses around the globe

are grapplin g wi th a n ab iding question – how to promote innova tion, secure econom ic gr owth and

boost deve lopment. In this i nterview WIPO’s Chie f E conomist,

Carsten Fin k , explores ec onomic per-

specti ves on th e role th at IP pl ays in pro moting in novation, growth and developmen t.

Photo: C. Fink