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OPENING REMARKS The Role of Intellectual Property in Building Capacity for Innovation for Development New York, May 24, 2000 Distinguished panelists, delegates and participants, On behalf of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, I would like to welcome you each and all to this panel discussion being hosted by the World Intellectual Property Organization in support of ECOSOC High-level segment. This is the fifth in the series of panels organized in preparation for the ECOSOC High-level segment, titled, “Development and international cooperation in the twenty-first century; the role of information technology in the context of a knowledge-based global economy”. The enormous importance of information technology is increasingly recognized by the international community and the need to harness its power in the service of economic growth and development is being increasingly emphasized. In the United Nations this fact is being underscored by the selection of information technology as the main theme for the High-level segment of ECOSOC 2000 this coming July. It is also the central theme of myriad conferences, summits, workshops and expert meetings both within and outside the United Nations around the globe. What has also become clear, however, is that in this new era of globalization, inter-dependence and the knowledge-based society, driven by the liberalization of trade and finance and reinforced by the information revolution, no country can insulate itself from the overarching global market system and the impact of the information revolution without incurring tremendous costs to its people. The key dynamics of the information revolution have resulted from the convergence of communication and computing technologies, the rapid growth in network computing or the internet and the sharp decline in the cost and price of information processing. These central elements are making information and communication technologies more critical and more readily accessible than ever before. Digitalization, miniaturization of micro-chips and of hardware, new and powerful software and the plunge in costs are at the heart of this revolution. And, the on-going rapid diffusion and application of information technologies from PCs to cell phones and the internet have been reshaping the world of commerce particularly through its impact on information processing, productivity and competitiveness. Just as the industrial revolution transformed our notions of energy and matter, so too, information technology is particularly transforming our ideas of time and distance. Such advances are the principal features of the emerging networked global economy where an increasing share of economic value resides in items with negligible physical characteristics but with increased knowledge content. Knowledge and information have therefore become commodities of value in their own right in the networked global economy. The power and promise of the information revolution is also becoming increasingly self-evident and their development applications are being recognized as limitless. Information and communication technologies have always been essential for the promotion of development whether such knowledge was derived from the centuries old endowment of indigenous practices or from the latest cutting-edge technologies. Today, the technologies of the information and communication revolution are those at the cutting edge and their applications offer momentous opportunities for development. They present the developing countries with enormous opportunities and challenges, not only for accelerating their development but also in helping to bridge the economic and prosperity gaps between them and the developed countries. It also presents the developing countries with a unique opportunity to leap-frog onto a higher level of development. Some developing countries have in fact made significant strides in embracing and accessing the opportunities and applications of the new information and communication technologies. The knowledge-based economy depends, to a large extent, on innovation and creativity, in essence, human ingenuity. And, human ingenuity comes in all shapes and forms and is a resource that is widely spread throughout the entire world in all regions and countries. The World Intellectual Property Organization’s main purpose in addressing this issue is to promote the protection of the rights of the creators of knowledge, thereby spurring them and others to even greater heights in creativity and innovations in the fields, among others, of science, technology and artistic pursuits. Without such protection, the engine and source of such innovations would be greatly diminished if not atrophied which could greatly set back the well-spring of such inventiveness and creative journeys of the mind that are so critical to economic advancement and generalized prosperity. In today’s world of surging globalization and the advent of the information revolution, it is no surprise that intellectual property has become increasingly important and prominent. As Dr. Kamil Idris, Director General of WIPO cogently put it in welcoming the unprecedented number of countries adhering to such treaties, including almost 60% from the developing countries in 1999, and I quote, “we live in a time where the wealth of nations is increasingly defined by their access to and use of knowledge and intellectual property protection is crucial in this process”. Distinguished panelists, delegates and participants, Given the exponential growth and prominence of intellectual property in this knowledge-based society, there is therefore a crying need for the development of human resources and capacity building. Such a direction is increasingly recognized as vitally important in the efforts to modernize and effectively utilize the intellectual property system for international economic, social and cultural development As a result, through investment in science, technology and the creative use of the transfer of technology, many developing countries will be able to develop the knowledge capital that is an a priori requisite for sustainable development. Information Technology can be used and is now widely utilized in the acquisition of knowledge, the central cornerstone of myriad applications. It is my understanding that the World Intellectual Property Organization is actively promoting the use of information technology in its work and that it has extended this to its programme of cooperation for development. WIPO’s effort to apply IT in its development agenda is clearly illustrated by the WIPONET project which, when completed, will enable developing countries to access intellectual property information, and to provide them opportunities to use their intellectual assets in the vast and rapidly growing area of e-commerce. Our distinguished panelists who will be introduced shortly by Mr. Inayet Syed, Director of Information Technology in WIPO, will discuss the topic, “The Role of Intellectual Property in Building Capacity for Innovation for Development”, from their own perspectives. I am sure the distinguished members of ECOSOC will actively join in the discussion. And, I hope that the deliberations this afternoon will help bolster increased understanding of the use and application of Information Technology and that they will lead to a number of action-oriented recommendations that would be greatly helpful to the developing countries. I would now like to give the floor to Mr. Inayet Syed to introduce the distinguished panelists. Thank you.
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