Enhancing Productive Capacity through Technology Transactions

Only industries with certain levels of technological capacity can take advantage of the opportunities arising from the expiry of patents, licenses on patented products, collaborative research and the flexibilities provided under international treaties, including the WTO agreement on Trade-related aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS).

In addition to the use of TRIPS flexibilities, UNCTAD’s work programme focuses on policy frameworks to facilitate technological transactions and related capacity building.

These include:

• Designing appropriate frameworks for international technology transactions, relationships between universities and public research centres and the private sector, IP policy between researchers and host institutions, and IP tools for incremental innovation.
• Building capacity to negotiate transactions involving technology and innovation, such as collaborative research projects, joint ventures involving technology transfer, open-source technologies, IP licenses, and Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) licenses.
• Online database of case law and jurisprudence from various jurisdictions on the use of TRIPS flexibilities by domestic courts.

These elements will be implemented through policy advice and training. The work programme is also open to contributing in the following technology areas:

• Pharmaceutical production capacities, vaccines and biosimilar manufacturing
• Agriculture
• Information and communication technologies
• Clean energy technologies