The sharp North-South divide on intellectual property rights (IPR) remains unresolved after the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. Negotiations on this issue in the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) have been polarized with developed countries insisting that there should be no reference to IPRs and developing countries advancing proposals on measures that can be taken to remove barriers to the development and transfer of technologies arising from IPRs.
Developed countries claim that strong IPR protection is necessary to provide incentives to spur innovation. This position is driven by the fact that companies or individuals in developed countries own the overwhelming share of patents in Environmentally Sound Technologies (ESTs).
This puts firms in developing countries at a disadvantageous bargaining position in negotiating technology licensing agreements and compels them to agree to iniquitous terms that perpetuate a relationship of technology dependence.
In order to enable developing countries to leapfrog in developing endogenous ESTs that are suitable and affordable for them, it is necessary to ensure that IPRs do not obstruct their path. However, an overview of a few crucial sectors of ESTs shows that IPRs can be an impediment to development, diffusion, and transfer of technology.
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