Developing a strategic IP plan for Guyana
By Dr. Abiola A.A.Inniss
Between the years 2013-2017,
I conducted a study which investigated
how intellectual property
law and public policies in the four
largest CARICOM economies
(Guyana, Barbados, Trinidad &
Tobago, and Jamaica) affected
the choices made by firms about
innovation and technology. The
results were validated by a team
of peer reviewers. The findings
were interesting and even startling,
because they revealed that
innovation in firms of medium
and large size across these sample
countries, except one, were
reluctant to invest in innovations
and accompanying technologies,
even where there was more focus
on intellectual property rights
(IPRs), laws and policies. In the
case of Guyana, there are no visible
policies on IPRs, the laws are
outdated, and there is minimal
enforcement, nevertheless it is
in this country that the highest
levels of endogenous innovations
exist. There can be no sound
explanation for this occurrence
in Guyana until further study is
done which investigates its phenomenological
underpinnings.
In the meantime, the need
for development of a practical
approach to Intellectual Property
Rights policies and laws is
ever present and becoming more
urgent.
Recent oil finds have created
high expectations and hopes
for the country, but the exploitation
and distribution of the
gains will be lopsided if attention
is not paid to the development
of other industries and
in particular, the development
of innovation and technology.
In this way, many more people
will benefit from industries
which offshoot from the developments
in oil. In today’s world
this goes hand in hand with the
development, of patents, copyright,
industrial design and
trademarks among other protections,
making it imperative
for the government of Guyana
to develop and implement a
strategic intellectual property
plan for the country.
There are several ways of
approaching this undertaking,
but a review of best practices
garnered from the examination
of strategies which have been
successful in developing countries,
suggests that there are five
key stages which can be adapted
to suit the needs of the community
in which they will be implemented.
The first of these is the creation
strategy by which is meant
the development of policies and
plans that encourage creativity
within the society. A government
may provide real incentives that
encourage individuals, firms and
institutions of higher learning
to develop new products, processes
and even services that are
needed in the communities, all
with the view to the promotion
of innovation and technology.
This also means developing partnerships
with other countries for
the creation of research institutes,
collaborative agreements
with researchers from other
universities, and the exchange
of information among higher
education institutes around the
world. It involves investing in
technical and physical resources
in a structured, deliberate manner
and it must be part of the
economic plan for the country.
This is a feasible approach that
should be taken by the government
of Guyana if is serious
about developing innovation and
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technology. While all sectors of
the society must be encouraged
to think about and participate
in creating innovation, it cannot
be considered a reasonable plan
for making gains in science and
technology on a serious level,
to simply give some money to a
few secondary schools and tell
them to come up with innovations
that will benefit the society.
A carefully considered, holistic
approach in which highly trained
scientists, engineers, and others
with advanced skills sets are
recruited, is the answer to creating
much needed advancements
in science, technology and innovation.
Next comes the development
of the legal and regulatory framework
which will ensure that the
hard work of those who engage
in research and the development
of technologies can be protected
from unrestricted use by others
for profit. In the case of Guyana,
this will mean the development
of comprehensive legislation
which covers all aspects
of intellectual property rights
and takes into consideration the
international conventions and
agreements to which it is a signatory,
and which requirements
it may wish to acknowledge.
These requirements in the form
of regulations are not self-executory
and must be enacted into
the laws of the country before
they can take effect. Particular
reference can be made in this
regard to the Trade Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights –
TRIPS agreement implemented
by the World Trade Organization
-WTO to ensure that developing
countries meet some minimum
standards of intellectual property
protections as a requirement for
trade arrangements under the
WTO. Guyana is a signatory to
this agreement but has not met
its requirements because there
have not been any updated IP
laws.
The debate rages to this day as
to whether the TRIPs agreement
benefits or dispossesses developing
countries of the means to
develop innovation and technologies
because of its restrictions on
the use of knowledge, and countries
have had varied responses
to it. Reciprocal protections of
IPRs across countries is however
one of the positive aspects
of the agreement, though TRIPS
is by no means the only way
to attain this latitude. In every
area of developing intellectual
property rights policies, there is
need for sound knowledge and
expertise. It is not a simple matter
of hosting so -called stakeholder
meetings with the hope
of coming to consensus on the
need for IPRs. Such an approach
is a waste of time and money,
and as has been established from
recent experience, leads to no
result. The government needs to
establish a working commission
which comprises people who
are scholars and practitioners
in intellectual property law and
the creation of policy, and who
can provide the intellectual and
practical resources to craft policies
and laws which will create
the protections that are needed
while balancing the interests of
the society.
The exploitation of IPRs is the
next consideration which must
be made in an implementation
strategy. Patents may be bought
and sold, as may industrial
designs and trade- marks. This
is one means by which those
types of rights may be exploited
and the legal framework must
be in place to make this possible.
In the case of copyright, creators
of content such as artists,
musicians, writers and performers
are heavily dependent upon
the revenues from their creations
and face grave difficulty in
collecting them because of the
lack of any collective rights management
agencies in the country.
While government should not
necessarily take on the management
of those rights, it should be
instrumental in the formation
of such an agency or agencies
which will be backed by legislation.
Collective Rights management
agencies are an essential
part of the exploitation of copyrights.
The expansion of human
resources is stage four of the
implementation plan but can
be implemented concurrently
with stage two. It includes the
training of patent examiners
and the creation of a patent
office at which submissions
and examinations are made.
A copyrights and trademarks
and industrial designs registry
must be established and staff
trained in the protocols and
administration of those areas
of IP. It goes without saying
that modern systems include
the use of blockchain technology
for the registration of
copyrights and that technical
expertise will have to include
trained systems technicians.
This list of resources is by
no means exhaustive and is
intended only to introduce the
reader to the scope of intellectual
and human resources
which are required to create
a viable modern and efficient
intellectual property system.
The final stage is the actual
implementation of the system,
this encompasses all of
the forgoing and takes place
at every level since it occurs
simultaneously with the creation
of the other four stages.
The key role of the government
is to resource personnel
with the relevant skills sets, and
intellectual ability to help manage
the process. It is time to
engage scholarship and technical
resources to develop a comprehensive
intellectual property
regime. It is time for the government
to get serious.
About the author
Dr. Abiola A.A.Inniss Ph.D.
LLM, ACIarb, DTM - is the
Founding Director of the Caribbean
and Americas Intellectual
Property Organization.-
CAAIPO, dedicated to research
and practical development of
intellectual property rights and
policies in the Caribbean. She
received her education at Walden
University U.S.A in Law
and Public Policy and DeMontfort
University School of Law
U.K.
Dr. Inniss is the leading analyst,
author, and scholar on
Caribbean Intellectual Property
and the founder of the Caribbean
Law Digest Online
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