G-IPTech Lecture with Prof Graham Dutfield and Uma Suthersanen

Deaglan Coyle

The New WIPO Treaty on Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge - The Relevance of Karl Polanyi’s The Great Transformation

School of Law, Main Site Tower, QUB (MST 08.014)

<h3>The New WIPO Treaty on Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge: The Relevance of Karl Polanyi’s The Great Transformation in Evaluating its Significance</h3><h3> </h3><h4>By Graham Dutfield and Uma Suthersanen</h4> Karl Polanyi’s classic 1944 work The Great Transformation postulates that societal values were disembedded from the economy during the Industrial Revolution. This disembeddedness when viewed from an intellectual property angle explains the commodification and propertisation of human creative labour as carving out discrete units of marketable value. He also considered that society’s non-economic values will eventually get re-embedded into the economy.According to his theoretical framework, societies are constituted by two opposing movements: the expansion of the scope of the market, and the protective ‘double-movement’ to resist the disembodiment of the economy which entails greater state intervention in favour of societal 'pushback' against unbridled market powers. Polanyi’s theory is realistic enough to regard markets as a vital aspect of every society. And yet, while some types of market economy foster innovation at all costs, others temper this function with socialist or humanist (including global) concerns, at least to a limited extent. The debate on whether vaccinations for pandemics should constitute global public goods with no IP rights attached or with waivers attached is a good example of conflict between the two movements with a very uneasy compromise ensuing in that particular case.International intellectual property instruments since the Paris and Berne Conventions, attaining a high point with the WTO TRIPS Agreement, represent the dominance of the unbridled pro-market movement. Disembeddedness in IP might appear to be hegemonic globally and impossible to counter. And yet two recent intellectual property treaties, the 2013 Marrakech VIP Treaty and the 2024 WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge, suggest that re-embeddedness is finally having its day in intellectual property rule-making post-TRIPS. Or is that overoptimistic? This presentation focuses on the latter treaty, whose conclusion was the culmination of many years’ effort on the part of Indigenous peoples and low and middle income countries especially the African Group. Is its re-embeddedness authentic? Or is it merely symbolic or even an illusion?Graham Dutfield is Professor of International Governance at the School of Law, University of Leeds. Prior to joining University of Leeds, he was the Herchel Smith Senior Research Fellow at Queen Mary University of London. During the 1990s he worked with the late <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FDarrell_A._Posey&data=05%7C02%7Cd.p.coyle%40qub.ac.uk%7C801783bf33914e2e7b3e08dcddf8e2d0%7Ceaab77eab4a549e3a1e8d6dd23a1f286%7C0%7C0%7C638629308250582612%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=bSXqzMhkAyX%2B1ZSU%2Bmsu9NSLZRbZklA2HSbLSG%2F3CrM%3D&reserved=0" title="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FDarrell_A._Posey&data=05%7C02%7Cd.p.coyle%40qub.ac.uk%7C801783bf33914e2e7b3e08dcddf8e2d0%7Ceaab77eab4a549e3a1e8d6dd23a1f286%7C0%7C0%7C638629308250582612%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=bSXqzMhkAyX%2B1ZSU%2Bmsu9NSLZRbZklA2HSbLSG%2F3CrM%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Dr Darrell Posey</a>, an esteemed scholar and activist, writing <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.idrc.ca%2Fen%2Fbook%2Fbeyond-intellectual-property-toward-traditional-resource-rights-indigenous-peoples-and-local&data=05%7C02%7Cd.p.coyle%40qub.ac.uk%7C801783bf33914e2e7b3e08dcddf8e2d0%7Ceaab77eab4a549e3a1e8d6dd23a1f286%7C0%7C0%7C638629308250619160%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=a24i7oNbd58ceWVUi0wqypa9sIAqsCx7GRrzqgSCt74%3D&reserved=0" title="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.idrc.ca%2Fen%2Fbook%2Fbeyond-intellectual-property-toward-traditional-resource-rights-indigenous-peoples-and-local&data=05%7C02%7Cd.p.coyle%40qub.ac.uk%7C801783bf33914e2e7b3e08dcddf8e2d0%7Ceaab77eab4a549e3a1e8d6dd23a1f286%7C0%7C0%7C638629308250619160%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=a24i7oNbd58ceWVUi0wqypa9sIAqsCx7GRrzqgSCt74%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">the first book specifically for indigenous peoples on intellectual property and traditional resource rights</a>. From 2001-2 he served as Academic Director of the ICTSD-UNCTAD Capacity-building Project on Intellectual Property Rights and Development, based in Geneva. Currently he is Adjunct Professor at the Korea Development Institute, and at Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London. He is also an external faculty member at Chicago-Kent Law School. His most recent books are "That High Design of Purest Gold: A Critical History of the Pharmaceutical History, 1880-2020", and "Dutfield &amp; Suthersanen on Global Intellectual Property Law".Professor Uma Suthersanen holds a Chair in Global Intellectual Property Law. She is a previous Director of the <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.qmul.ac.uk%2Fqmipri%2Fabout%2Fmembers%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cd.p.coyle%40qub.ac.uk%7C801783bf33914e2e7b3e08dcddf8e2d0%7Ceaab77eab4a549e3a1e8d6dd23a1f286%7C0%7C0%7C638629308250639973%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=%2FZvd5aE2RzmQTwI2SmdGkRXOFb%2F16kyxwwGIWx575q0%3D&reserved=0" title="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.qmul.ac.uk%2Fqmipri%2Fabout%2Fmembers%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cd.p.coyle%40qub.ac.uk%7C801783bf33914e2e7b3e08dcddf8e2d0%7Ceaab77eab4a549e3a1e8d6dd23a1f286%7C0%7C0%7C638629308250639973%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=%2FZvd5aE2RzmQTwI2SmdGkRXOFb%2F16kyxwwGIWx575q0%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute</a>. She was a member for the Law Unit of Assessment (sub-panel 18) for the national Research Excellence Framework, REF 2021. Uma gained her degrees in law from the National University of Singapore and Queen Mary University of London. In 2009, she was conferred a Personal Chair at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies. Uma has authored and edited the following leading texts: "<a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sweetandmaxwell.co.uk%2FProduct%2FIntellectual-Property%2FCopinger-and-Skone-James-on-Copyright%2FHardback-and-Paperback%2F30807574&data=05%7C02%7Cd.p.coyle%40qub.ac.uk%7C801783bf33914e2e7b3e08dcddf8e2d0%7Ceaab77eab4a549e3a1e8d6dd23a1f286%7C0%7C0%7C638629308250656598%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=C%2F12WhYxfFIPd6hm9O4O7LNHd28CntbSwKMGLMEO8eI%3D&reserved=0" title="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sweetandmaxwell.co.uk%2FProduct%2FIntellectual-Property%2FCopinger-and-Skone-James-on-Copyright%2FHardback-and-Paperback%2F30807574&data=05%7C02%7Cd.p.coyle%40qub.ac.uk%7C801783bf33914e2e7b3e08dcddf8e2d0%7Ceaab77eab4a549e3a1e8d6dd23a1f286%7C0%7C0%7C638629308250656598%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=C%2F12WhYxfFIPd6hm9O4O7LNHd28CntbSwKMGLMEO8eI%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Copinger &amp; Skone-James on Copyright</a>" (Nicholas Caddick K.C., Gwilym Harbottle &amp; Uma Suthersanen, 18th Edition); and "<a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.e-elgar.com%2Fshop%2Fgbp%2Fdutfield-and-suthersanen-on-global-intellectual-property-law-9781782548843.html&data=05%7C02%7Cd.p.coyle%40qub.ac.uk%7C801783bf33914e2e7b3e08dcddf8e2d0%7Ceaab77eab4a549e3a1e8d6dd23a1f286%7C0%7C0%7C638629308250677197%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Ja0rlM9DBiVjsrJqrOtIKvvqyV7BL0Wl9Q%2BqTsnZDr0%3D&reserved=0" title="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.e-elgar.com%2Fshop%2Fgbp%2Fdutfield-and-suthersanen-on-global-intellectual-property-law-9781782548843.html&data=05%7C02%7Cd.p.coyle%40qub.ac.uk%7C801783bf33914e2e7b3e08dcddf8e2d0%7Ceaab77eab4a549e3a1e8d6dd23a1f286%7C0%7C0%7C638629308250677197%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Ja0rlM9DBiVjsrJqrOtIKvvqyV7BL0Wl9Q%2BqTsnZDr0%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Dutfield &amp; Suthersanen on Global Intellectual Property Law</a>" . She is also the General Editor of Sweet &amp; Maxwell’s "<a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sweetandmaxwell.co.uk%2FCatalogue%2FProductDetails.aspx%3Fproductid%3D6637%26recordid%3D345&data=05%7C02%7Cd.p.coyle%40qub.ac.uk%7C801783bf33914e2e7b3e08dcddf8e2d0%7Ceaab77eab4a549e3a1e8d6dd23a1f286%7C0%7C0%7C638629308250696563%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=DEwBN64RCec02uS0rn9LpSfIBYB1gmZ2lD6Y4mCPOaM%3D&reserved=0" title="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sweetandmaxwell.co.uk%2FCatalogue%2FProductDetails.aspx%3Fproductid%3D6637%26recordid%3D345&data=05%7C02%7Cd.p.coyle%40qub.ac.uk%7C801783bf33914e2e7b3e08dcddf8e2d0%7Ceaab77eab4a549e3a1e8d6dd23a1f286%7C0%7C0%7C638629308250696563%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=DEwBN64RCec02uS0rn9LpSfIBYB1gmZ2lD6Y4mCPOaM%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">European Copyright and Design Reports</a>". She is currently working on a monograph on Copyright and Public Interest: Comparative and Historical Analyses (Gillian Davies &amp; Uma Suthersanen, 3rd edition). Her research encompasses legal, socio-economic, and comparative aspects of intellectual and intangible property.This event will be held in the Edgar Graham Room, School of Law, QUB (MST.02.002)

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