ABSTRACT
The chapter finds that intellectual property has not been central in the formulation of United Nations (UN) 17 sustainable development goals (SDG). Only one reference to IPR is made in the 2015 Transforming Our World resolution, introducing the 17 SDGs (UN 2015, objective 3b), namely on the flexibilities to protect public health as allowed for in the TRIPS Agreement. Numerous reports under the Millennium Project analyzed the role of science and technology in fulfilling the MDGs, criticizing the functioning of the present IP system in different ways. Based on the strong links between a well-functioning IP system and successful application of science and technology for sustainable development, the chapter presents five hypotheses in order to explain why IP is not highlighted in the context of the SDGs. These hypotheses are tested by analyzing UN-wide processes relating to technology, processes within the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and TRIPS flexibilities.
Haugen, Hans Morten, Why are Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) Hardly Visible in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? (July 5, 2021) in OA Rognstad and IB Ørstavik (eds), Intellectual Property and Sustainable Markets, 12-37. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2021.
First posted 2022-03-10 18:00:46
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