UN AGENCY: IN ERA OF AI, INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE STILL PARAMOUNT

The world is increasingly becoming conscious of the need to protect intellectual property (IP) to encourage innovations and inventions, but more needs to be done to safeguard indigenous or traditional knowledge, according to the chief of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

In an interview last week, Geneva-based WIPO director general Francis Gurry said the volume of IP applications globally continued to rise at 8-10 percent annually, outpacing global economic growth of around 3.5 percent.

In the last 10 years, Asia has become the dominant source of IP application volume, covering patents, trademarks and designs, he said. The region now accounts for about 60 percent of IP applications, particularly from China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and India.

“We’re seeing good improvement from the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nation) countries, from Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and they are well positioned to take advantage of the new dynamic—where Asia is at the forefront—demographically, economically and now, technologically,” said Gurry, who was in town last week for the Intellectual Property Convergence Forum 2018.

In the case of international patent applications, representing the best of technology globally, 49 percent came from Asia, he noted.

IP was also increasingly growing in complexity from both policy and practical points of view, he said.

“Once, it was just national and international (in dimension). Now you also have bilateral, regional and multinational. That is a much more complex environment for IP and at the same time, we see that the subject matter is more com- plex because some of the new technologies around data, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) in advanced manufacturing,” Gurry said.

Amid challenges from globalization, the rise of AI and the disparity in technological advances across jurisdictions, WIPO—a global forum for intellectual property services, information and cooperation under the 191-member United Nations—has been hoping for a “breakthrough” in protecting traditional IP or indigenous knowledge.

Traditional knowledge refers to a living body of knowledge developed, sustained and passed on from generation to generation within a community, often forming part of its cultural or spiritual identity. As such, it is not easily protected by the current intellectual property system, which typically grants protection for a limited period to inventions and original works by named individuals or companies.