As developing countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America integrate into the global economy, negotiate new trade agreements, and seek to promote innovation and diffusion of new technology to spur economic growth and competitiveness, intellectual property has become increasingly important to their development prospects. This trend poses numerous challenges as well as opportunities for governments, business, research communities, and ordinary people in the developing world. It has also placed a spotlight on the critical need for updating public policy and legal frameworks linked to IP and health, agriculture, industrial development, science, technology and education, as well as building capacity within a range of public and private institutions in developing countries for administering, enforcing and benefiting from appropriate and pro-competitive IP regimes.

As described by the recent EPO Scenarios project, the global landscape for intellectual property creation, exchange and regulation is also undergoing some dramatic changes. A technological revolution is seeing new fields such as bio-tech, artificial intelligence and nanotechnology emerge and dominate. Fast-growing middle income economies like China, Brazil, India and South Korea have become significant intellectual property producers, as well as consumers, helping to fuel the growth in volumes of IPR applications worldwide. And the global patent system is increasingly strained by problems such as pendency issues, patent thickets and the increasing complexity of technologies. As they respond to these issues with a renewed sense of urgency, IP authorities around the world are looking to alternative business models, human resource development, major investments in ICT and deeper regionalization as potential solutions.

Across the developing world, there is increasing awareness of the importance of IP in shaping fortunes in the global economy. Improving access to knowledge and technology, promoting local innovation and creativity, adding value to national brands, and protecting indigenous economic and cultural assets like bio-diversity and traditional knowledge are now central issues in many developing countries. In North America, Europe and Japan, IPR infringements, particularly in trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy in the digital environment, are an ever increasing international concern, as reflected in recent calls for stronger enforcement of IPRs worldwide by the G8 and the Commonwealth for example. And whilst the WTO TRIPS Agreement provides a common framework of international rules for protecting and regulating IPRs around the world, the continued relevance of the multilateral system is coming into question from standard-setting between parties in bilateral trade agreements and the diverging standards of major players in areas such as protection of geographical indications and patentability criteria.

Against this background, a fresh impetus and higher priority has been given to the role, relevance, quality and effectiveness of IPR-related technical assistance and capacity building (IPRTA) for developing countries. For example, at the 2007 Annual Assemblies, WIPO formally launched its Development Agenda, with IPRTA issues dominating the proposals as central element. Only a few weeks later, Sierra Leone and Uganda became the first two LDCs to complete comprehensive, state-of-the art diagnostics of their long-term needs IPRTA and capacity building for a pro-development approach to implementing the TRIPS Agreement in response to the TRIPS Council Decision of 29 November 2005. These diagnostics have set a model and new precedent for the other 30 LDC members of the WTO to follow, and they provide an exciting new opportunity in terms of developing new more sustainable and effective approaches to technical assistance, training and capacity building, better tailored to development needs and much better co-ordinated amongst IPRTA donors and beneficiary countries.