U.S. Chamber Study Highlights Paths for Providing Technology to Other Nations
November 13, 2009On November 11, the U.S. Chamber’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) released a report highlighting different methods of technology diffusion while hailing intellectual property as a key to advancing exports of green technologies to the developing world.
“The green technologies required to address the global challenges of climate change will come through innovation,” said Dr. Mark Esper, executive vice president the Chamber’s Global Intellectual Property Center. “A strong system of intellectual property rights will serve as the empowering mechanism to advance these technologies to developing nations.”
“This study not only disproves the myth that IP is a barrier to technology diffusion, but it identifies the real barriers to technology transfer and offers real solutions,” Esper said. The report, Promoting Technology Diffusion to the Developing World, analyzes threats to innovation and technology diffusion, existing obstacles to this diffusion, and recommendations for improving the transfer of technologies to nations that need them. These obstacles include laws, regulations, and policies imposed by host nations as well as high tariffs and lack of proper infrastructure.
Additionally, the study focuses on recommendations for improving technology diffusion. These include establishing a strong legal framework, fostering an environment that encourages increased research and development, improving local infrastructure, and investing in human capital.
“In recent years, some foreign governments have unjustly labeled IP as an impediment to the diffusion of technology, and this simply is not the case,” Esper said. “This study indicates that domestic issues and undue regulations impede progress, and stand in the way of innovation derived from strong IP rights.”
