Abstract
The rights pertaining to intellectual property have an important role in deciding the movement of innovations and knowledge across nations. Technology transfer is treated as a means of closing the gap between the rich and poor countries by international trade law through cooperation, investment, and access to cutting-edge inventions. The introduction of the TRIPS Agreement was intended to scale the benefits of technology up as a result of the incentives given to innovation but, in reality, this balance still proves to be a tough task. Harsh patent law, the power imbalance between the negotiating parties, and the complicated licensing systems frequently confine the less developed countries to non-accessibility to critical technologies. Academics like Maskus, Falvey, and UNIDO researchers argue that stronger intellectual property rights (IPR) protection may attract foreign direct investments and licensing in developed nations with advanced technologies but the overall advantage for developing countries would be very limited unless the domestic and international supportive policies are applied. The Doha Declaration on TRIPS reiterated the adaptability of TRIPS in dealing with public interest matters and granting of compulsory licenses.To ensure the proper and fair transfer of technology, it is necessary for the countries to vigorously utilize the TRIPS flexibilities, improve the local absorptive capacity by means of education and research, and also cultivate the voluntary mechanisms such as patent pools and joint ventures.Legal reforms can be enhanced by practical solutions through cooperation models and open innovation made possible by international organizations such as WIPO, WTO and UNIDO.The challenge of finding an equitable distribution of IP rights and public rights can be sorted out by using the international legal instruments that are in line with national innovation strategies and global development aspirations. Moreover, if the transfer of technology is regulated by the principles of fairness, flexibility, and cooperation, then the IP can be transformed from a barrier into a bridge for global sustainable development and progress.
Keywords: Technology transfer, Global innovation, Licensing, Policies.
Introduction
Intellectual property is the major factor in determining the flow of knowledge and innovation across border. The international trade law regards technology transfer as cross-country collaboration, investment, and access to new inventions making the gap between the developed and the developing countries smaller.Once an innovation is developed, its non-rival character implies that its advantages will be maximized if everyone can utilize it for free at a marginal cost.[1]The TRIPS, for instance, was one of the agreements designed to give inventors protections but at the same time promote the uncoupling of technology.As a result, technology is typically a useful company asset that offers the owner a competitive edge in the marketplace. Only when the advantages outweigh the hazards would a business transfer such assets.[2]The real scenario is vastly preventing technology transfer by intricate patent regulations and unequal power during negotiations.Getting a grip of this interplay rightly is the essential condition for the fair and sustainable global innovation.In the short term, this accessibility will benefit everyone, but it will also seriously undermine the motivation for additional innovation.This matter additionally brings to light the global governance effectiveness issue, particularly with regard to the fairness of technology access issue. Quite a number of developing nations still have a hard time getting the most out of cutting-edge research and innovation due to the fact that licensing agreements and patent controls are heavily weighted in favor of the richer nations and the multinational companies. Moreover, the discussion is steadily increasing on whether the existing IP standards are indeed accommodating enough for the public interest and flexibility considerations. Quite the opposite, partnership building between the public sector, private sector, and international organizations is already underlined as a priority. Governments need to create more favorable conditions for open innovation, skilled human resources, and stronger domestic IP policies to be able to shift technology transfer into genuine economic and social development. However, excessive IPR protection is likely to result in insufficient new knowledge distribution, which could impede growth to the point where access to current technology is required to spur additional innovation.[3]Intellectual property’s contribution to technology transfer and the extent to which it has been able to serve the mankind’s collective development is the real test of the IP’s role. In this scenario, the innovation would be a lot more globally distributed, and the global community would be the sole winner, not only some powerful economies.
[1] Rod Falvey, Neil Foster & Olga Memedovic, The Role of Intellectual Property Rights in Technology Transfer and Economic Growth: Theory and Evidence (U.N. Indus. Dev. Org., Working Paper, 2006), https://www.unido.org/resources/publications.
[2] It is true that certain organizations, like contract research organizations, develop technology to transfer for financial gain, while other organizations, like universities, develop and retain technology as a result of other purposes. This article concentrates on the former since a large portion of the valuable technology is held as assets rather than shares in trade.
[3] Rod Falvey, Neil Foster & Olga Memedovic, The Role of Intellectual Property Rights in Technology Transfer and Economic Growth: Theory and Evidence (U.N. Indus. Dev. Org., Working Paper, 2006), https://www.unido.org/resources/publications.