IP Stressed At Climate Change Meeting
The Obama administration established a strong position on intellectual property in connection with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at an international working group meeting in Bonn, Germany this week, according to Mark Esper, executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global IP Center. Officials affirmed that “no treaty will be agreed upon that undermines or weakens intellectual property rights,” Esper wrote on the Chamber’s blog.
Nations are preparing for the UN convention in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December where negotiators will try to reach agreement on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Some worry that countries like China and India will push for carve-outs that could diminish the IP rights of U.S. companies like General Electric that manufacture solar and other energy alternatives. “America’s position was urgently needed to counteract the anti-IP rhetoric of developing nations,” Esper wrote.
