International discussions on international intellectual property and trade
Professor Susy Frankel recently travelled to Indonesia, Germany, Switzerland and Singapore to present at forums on international intellectual property and trade.
Professor Susy Frankel recently travelled to Indonesia, Germany, Switzerland and Singapore to present at forums on international intellectual property and trade.
The first forum in Jakarta brought together the New Zealand Centre of International Economic Law (NZCIEL) and the Universitas Pelita Harapan’s Center for International Trade and Investment (UPH CITI) to co-host a focus group discussion, during which Professor Frankel—as Director of the NZCIEL—was one of three guest speakers.
The invitation from UPH CITI—which is funded by the World Trade Organization—came from Victoria PhD graduate Michelle Limenta who was a post-doctoral research fellow of NZCIEL.
“This forum was the first opportunity to create a link between the two centres and to meet and share our knowledge,” says Professor Frankel.
The focus group was a platform for Indonesian regulators, practitioners, academics and other interested parties to discuss the protection of traditional knowledge and genetic resources.
“Indonesia is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world and one that faces huge issues with protecting cultural identity. New Zealand has considerable experience and knowledge to share in this area.”
Professor Frankel then travelled to Bonn where she spoke on copyright regulation to the ALAI International Congress. ALAI is Association Littéraire et Artistique International, which was founded in Paris in 1878 by Victor Hugo.
From Bonn she travelled to Geneva where she spoke as an independent expert to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Her lecture opened a two-day programme of discussion with delegates and indigenous peoples relating to negotiations on treaties for the protection of traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources.
Professor Frankel’s lecture framed the key tools used in protecting intellectual property across borders and how that could relate to protecting—and stopping the misappropriation of—traditional knowledge across borders.
“Internationally, there is a concern about how intellectual property law interferes with, or inadequately protects, traditional knowledge and trans-border issues are particularly complex” says Professor Frankel.
“As trade increases globally, more indigenous or local communities are seeking to protect their cultural assets and to gain benefits from people from international trade that exploits such assets.”
On her return to New Zealand, Professor Frankel participated in a roundtable discussion “Regional Economic Integration in Asia: Trade, Intellectual Assets, and Geopolitics” at the Singapore Management University, School of Law’s Applied Research Centre for Intellectual Assets and the Law in Asia.