Scenarios for the Future

A Retreat on Scenarios for the Future
Geneva, 5 – 7 September 2008

Access to knowledge has become critical to the debate on the future of patenting and Intellectual Property (IP) and this scenarios retreat seeks to map the diversity of the opinions about the key factors and challenges likely to impact the future of the IP regime.
 
This exploration exercise intends to help stakeholders explore and build a deeper understanding of the forces that might shape global IP policy going forward.

Market Rules: a world where business is the dominant driver   

Whose Game? a world where geopolitics is the dominant driver

Trees of Knowledge: a world where society is the dominant driver

Blue Skies: a world where technology is the dominant driver

The intended outcome of the exercise is a clearer understanding of how the A2K movement might evolve into the future, who the stakeholders might be and the dynamics and the issues between them. This information will be synthesised and set out in a confidential workshop report.

 The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) is one of the organizers of A2K3 Scenarios Retreat.

This retreat coincided with the third A2k3 Conference being held in Geneva September 8 - 10 2008.

(Photo taken from
http://www.epo.org/topics/patent-system/scenarios-for-the-future/background.html)

8-9 September 2008
Venue: Shanghai Exhibition Center
1000 Yan’an Zhonglu, Shanghai, China

The 3rd World Forum on China Studies will be held on 8-9 September 2008 at the Shanghai Exhibition Center in Shanghai, China. The Forum is being jointly organized by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS) and the Shanghai Municipal Information Office, and in cooperation with the State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China.

The theme of the 3rd World Forum is “Common Challenges, Common Efforts: Working Together for a Better World.” The theme covers China’s economy, sociology, culture, politics, history, philosophy, international relations and other primary research fields within China Studies.

This theme of the 3rd World Forum is a continuation and deepening of the first two Forums, “Harmony but Not Uniformity: China in Multi-Perspectives” (2004), and “China and the World: Harmony and Peace” (2006).

Together, the three Forums inquire into the global significance of China’s development, and initiate a discussion about the past, present and future of China Studies in order to understand how China may achieve coexistence and mutually beneficial relationships in a global context.

The Forums have had an impact at both the domestic and international levels and have become an important platform for research and exchanges within China Studies.

The 3rd World Forum on China Studies will consist of an Opening Session (opening remarks, keynote Speeches, guest speeches and commentary speeches) on the morning of Monday, 8 September 2008, 15 simultaneous panels on the afternoon of 8 September and the morning of 9 September, 3 simultaneous roundtables on the afternoon of 9 September and one series of lectures on the afternoon of 8 September and on the morning of 9 September. More than 100 scholars from abroad and 200 from various parts of China (of these, 40 from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao) are invited to attend the 3rd World Forum on China Studies.

Forum Theme
Common Challenges, Common Efforts: Working Together for a Better World

Panel Topics

Panel 1
Economic Theories and Policies for Social Harmony

Panel 2
A Review of China’s Development: the 20th Century and Thirty Years of Reform

Panel 3
Economic Globalization and Thirty Years of Opening-Up in China

Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz, Chief Executive of ICTSD will deliver a keynote speech in this session.

Panel 4
China’s Image in Various Perspectives

Panel 5
China and the Transformation of International System

Panel 6
A Review of and Prospects for the Construction of China’s Legal System

Panel 7
Chinese Strategies for Sustainable Energy Development and Climate Change

Panel 8
China’s Reform and Social Transformation

Panel 9
Modern Chinese Urban Development and Changes in Social Life

Panel 10
The Harmonious Development of China’s Metropolises: Experiences and Lessons

Panel 11
China’s Soft Power and the Integration of Eastern and Western Cultures

Panel 12
Promoting Chinese Values and Strengthening Comprehensive Competitiveness in the Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan

Panel 13
China’s Transitional Society and Social Services of Religious Organizations

Panel 14
Comparative Studies of the Automobile Industries of China and Other Countries

Panel 15
Cultural Exchange between China and South Korea

Roundtable Topics

Roundtable 1
Thirty Years of Reform and Development: China’s Path

Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz, Chief Executive of ICTSD will deliver a keynote speech in this session.

Roundtable 2
Finding the Way: China’s Coexistence with the World

Roundtable 3

Methodology in China Studies

Further information

Agenda

The development, application and transfer of technology are core elements in the implementation of MEAs. The Symposium aims to foster a better understanding of the types of IP issues that may arise in the context of the implementation of MEAs. It will further build on previous work on patent landscaping and highlight the use of patent information tools and their usefulness in identifying technological developments of relevance to the environment and in facilitating the transfer of appropriate technologies within the context of MEAs. Another objective of the event is to promote a better understanding of the potential benefits as well as the limitations of IP rights in supporting technology transfer under MEAs.

WIPO’s Symposia on Life Sciences and Intellectual Property Policy aim to enhance understanding of topical issues of concern to policymakers by providing a forum for stakeholders (including international policymakers, government agencies, legislators, delegates, civil society and the private sector) to exchange information and ideas on intellectual property as it relates to the life sciences. They are designed to promote better understanding of the role and practical importance of the intellectual property system to the life sciences and its potential in supporting the development of public policy within this rapidly evolving field. They are explicitly not aimed at assessing or influencing discussions in any other forum and will not produce any formal outcome.

The event is open to the general public and is free-of-charge. Anyone interested in attending the meeting is requested to complete the on-line registration form.

A2K3 will bring together scholars, policymakers, industry, and civil society to discuss key issues in global knowledge policy.  Topics will include: the history, impact, and future of the global A2K movement; the relationship between A2K and human rights; A2K and the WIPO Development Agenda; the impact of international trade rules on A2K; copyright exceptions and limitations in the information society; open business models; research and capacity building for A2K; prizes as alternatives to intellectual property monopolies; promoting open access to science and research; technologies of access such as community wireless, open source, and open standards; and public mobilization in the networked and digital global public sphere.

Miguel Rodriguez, Senior Fellow at ICTSD, will be the moderator of the panel on A2K and tnternational trade and Ahmed Abdel Latif, Programme Manager for IP and Sustainable Sevelopment, will moderate the panel on A2K and the WIPO Development Agenda.  
 
The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) is one of the organizers of A2K3.

This year’s A2K conference coincides with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) annual assemblies, being held in Geneva later that month.

The A2K3 conference is free and open to the public. Advance registration is required and will be available at http://isp.law.yale.edu/

The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development will organize a panel during SIEL’s inaugural conference that will examine developing country participation in the WTO Dispute Settlement System. Through the presentation of country studies on Brazil, Chile and Egypt the panel will share developing country dispute settlement experiences and facilitate active discussions on this issue amongst participants.

ICTSD’s panel emerges from part of a greater project undertaken by the DSU programme. The three panel presentations presented at the conference come from a case study book compiled by the Centre that closely examines the DSU experience of nine developing countries in different regions throughout the world. More details on this field guide and its publishing date will be available in late 2008.