David VIVAS-EUGUI is the Deputy Programmes Director at ICTSD. He has led the strategic design and implementation of UNCTAD/ICTSD Project on IPRs and Development. Before joining ICTSD, Mr. Vivas was Senior Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL); Attaché for Legal Affairs at the Mission of Venezuela to the WTO; Staff Attorney at the Venezuelan Institute of Foreign Trade and consultant for the WTO, WHO, UNCTAD, European Patent Office, South Centre, AITIC, QUNO, Rockefeller Foundation, Saana Consulting, Ministry of Science and Technology of Venezuela and Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. His work has focused on intellectual property, transfer of technology-related issues, trade in services and international economic and environmental negotiations.
Mr. Vivas has edited and written a number of books and articles including: “Negotiating Health: Intellectual Property and Access to medicines”, 2006; “Regional and bilateral Agreements and a TRIPS-plus world: the case of the FTAA, 2004″; and the “Explanatory handbook on the protection of traditional knowledge of indigenous and local communities in the Andean Region”, UNCTAD, 2002. Mr Vivas has also participated as an Arbitrator in the WTO EU-US dispute on copyright section 110(5) of the US copyright act. He has an academic background in both law and management; he holds a J.D. from the Universidad de Catolica “Andres Bello”, Venezuela, an L.L.M. Georgetown University in the United States and an M.B.A. from the Universidad Externado, Colombia. Mr. Vivas is a Venezuelan citizen.