We tackled anti-IP initiatives at the World Trade Organization (WTO) by collaborating with key partners to promote the role of patents in driving innovation and economic growth.
Increasing tensions between Global North and Global South perspectives on IP have led to the emergence of anti-IP initiatives at the World Trade Organization (WTO), including the COVID patent waiver and wider calls for compulsory licensing. Statements by UN Secretary-General António Guterres that green technologies should be treated as global public goods, “free from intellectual property constraints,” have created a real risk of further erosion of patent protections and a chilling effect on innovation.
In collaboration with the International Chamber of Commerce UK and the IP Federation, we co-developed and published two influential reports, Why Patents Are Essential for Innovation and Growth and Patents as Engines of Growth. These reports feature powerful case studies from the Global South as well as the UK, demonstrating that patents are not barriers to development, but vital tools that enable businesses – particularly SMEs and start-ups – to attract investment, commercialise innovation, and compete globally. They highlight how strong IP frameworks support sustainable and inclusive economic growth across both developed and developing economies.
President Bobby Mukherjee and Deputy Chief Executive Neil Lampert participated in UK trade delegations to Geneva, engaging with WTO ambassadors, diplomats and international organisations, and using the above reports as briefing tools. Through these discussions, CIPA emphasised the risks posed by weakening patent protections and made the case for balanced IP systems that incentivise innovation while supporting global collaboration. They showcased real-world case studies, illustrating how patents underpin the success of emerging technologies and university spin-outs.
This work not only countered growing anti-IP narratives, but also provided practical initiatives to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the Global South. These included plans to “demystify” IP for small businesses via collaboration with Ambassador Matthew Wilson (Barbados) Chair of the WTO’s MSME Working Group, providing IP “health checks” and developing further case studies demonstrating the value of IP in diverse sectors and regions.
Headline successes from the campaign were:
- Neil Lampert presenting Why Patents are Essential for Innovation and Growth to a distinguished audience of WTO diplomats, trade officials and representatives of national missions at WIPO. He introduced the CEO of our Colombian nanotech case study, Isabel Pulido, of NanoFreeze, who presented her IP journey to the audience, which included the Trade Counsellor from the Colombian Mission to the WTO (Colombia has been a supporter of compulsory licensing initiatives). The Counsellor said that he was “proud” to see NanoFreeze’s success
- The CEO of our WIPO-award winning Kenyan agri-tech case study, Esther Kimani, making a presentation about the importance of IP to her success at the December meeting of the WTO’s Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS)
These activities reinforce CIPA’s commitment to championing a balanced and robust global IP system – one that supports innovation and patenting, enables international trade, and ensures that businesses of all sizes can thrive in the global economy.