INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS WORKSHOP RECOMMENDATIONS

Caribbean Latin American Action (CLAA) is a non-profit organization, governed by an international Board of Trustees, that promotes private sector generated economic development in the Caribbean and Latin America. CLAA has played an active role by engaging the business community in the move toward a Free Trade Area of the Americas and serving as a vehicle for private sector input at each of the major FTAA meetings, including the three Summits of the Americas and subsequent business fora in Denver, Colorado (1995); Cartagena, Colombia (1996); Belo Horizonte, Brazil (1997); San José, Costa Rica (1998); Toronto, Canada (1999) and Buenos Aires, Argentina (2001). CLAA's work program is divided along sectoral lines, with a "business team" of company representatives from each sector established to identify public policy actions which governments could take to increase regional prosperity through trade and investment liberalization.

Recognizing that FTAA leadership must come from within each country, CLAA encourages private sector participation from throughout the region and will coordinate a delegation of CLAA Business Team Members and Trustees to present the recommendations outlined below at the Business Forum workshops and panels in Quito.

CLAA believes that the protection and enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights is critical for the transfer of technology which in turn promotes economic development and we applaud the FTAA for implementing an IP regime with the WTO’s Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property agreement as the floor minimum standards. We believe that the FTAA IPR Agreement should set new standards of protection beyond those set by already existing international agreements.

• Governments should update IPR legislation and give urgent attention to strengthening the ability of the judicial system to enforce existing legislation and ensure adequate levels of IPR protection.

• The FTAA agreement should guarantee the availability of patent protection for products and processes in all areas of technology provided that they are new, useful and non-obvious. Relative to the standards reflected in TRIPS and NAFTA, this means that FTAA members should take on the obligation to grant comprehensive protection for all biotechnological inventions, including plant and animal inventions.

• We believe that the link between strong IPR protection and foreign direct investment must be more clearly communicated to the Hemisphere. We encourage the private sector to be more engaged in the process of demonstrating the benefits of IPR protection through seminars for representatives of the public sector, including legislative and judicial officials.

• Countries should engage in concerted enforcement actions to fight copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting, both in-country and at their borders. Improved coordination among all enforcement officials (such as police, judicial prosecutors, customs officials, tax officials, judges, and other administrative enforcement agencies) is needed so that immediate actions to enforce copyright (and trademark) laws are taken to reduce high levels of piracy (and counterfeiting) and foster development of legitimate industries. The FTAA should also include modern and effective enforcement provisions that respond to today’s digital and Internet piracy realities.

• A monitoring system should be set up to ensure full implementation of intellectual property obligations. In addition, a mechanism should be set up to foster cooperation in enforcement efforts, particularly in eliminating counterfeit products at the border. This program could be supplemented with additional technical assistance and funding.

• Governments should agree not to impose tariffs on electronic transmissions. Such duties would certainly slow the growth of electronic commerce. Governments should establish policies supporting the protection of intellectual property rights in order to promote electronic commerce and to develop information infrastructures.