IP/C/W/641  
 
22 February 2018  
(18-1156) Page: 1/2 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights  Original: English  
 
IP AND INNOVATION:  
THE SOCIETAL VALUE O F IP IN THE NEW ECON OMY (2018 THEME)  
COMMUNICATION FROM A USTRALIA; THE EUROPE AN UNION; JAPAN; SWI TZERLAND; 
THE SEPARATE CUSTOMS TER RITORY OF TAIWAN, PE NGHU, KINMEN AND MAT SU; AND 
THE UNITED STATES OF AME RICA 
The following communication, dated 21 February 2018, is circulated at the request of 
the delegations of Australia; the European Union;  Japan; Switzerland; the  Separate Customs 
Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and M atsu; and the United States of America . 
 
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1.  Throughout 2017 the TRIPS Council discussed Micro, Small and Medium -Sized Enterprises 
(MSMEs) and inclusive innovation, describing how MSMEs incorporated intellectual property rights 
(IPRs) into their business strategies.  Overall, these  successful and inclusive discussions held during 
the three meetings provided a robust and thorough overview of WTO Members ' national and 
international IP strategies and case studies, both from developing and developed countries.  
2.  This year, the discussion on IP and Innovation could take a new angle, examining how IP helps 
create conditions that encourage investments in innovations of all kinds, helping to create new 
businesses, and expand opportunity for individuals and societies. IP protection and enforcem ent 
can help promote conditions that encoura ge risk -taking, whether in the development of new 
technologies, new solutions to business challenges, new cultural and artistic expressions, and the 
means to distribute such works to the public. The TRIPS Council  Members are invited to take part 
in a three part exchange this year on how their IP -intensive industries continue to be a major and 
integral part of their local economies and share their success stories on how IP improves everyday 
lives, builds new busine sses, and contributes to the economic prosperity of our economies. The 
first sub -theme is IP-Intensive Industries and their Economic Impact on Society . Future topics 
include IP Improving Lives  and IP and New Business . 
IP-Intensive I ndustries and T heir Econ omic Impact on Society  
3.  The protection and enforcement of IPRs help create conditions that permit and encourage 
individuals and businesses to experiment with new approaches and solutions, which benefit society 
as a whole. At the macroeconomic level,  adequat e IPR protection and enforcement, by 
empowering experimentation, whether in the arts, business, or technology, helps unshackle latent 
human potential to address the world 's many challenges, contributing to long term economic 
growth and development as well as the better life for our citizens.  
4.  In the most concrete sense, IPR -intensive industries generate jobs directly, as well as indirectly 
via industries that supply goods and services to those IPR -intensive industries. IPR -intensive 
industries also pay signi ficantly higher wages than other industries, and help artists and creators 
to receive remuneration for their work. The product innovation it encompasses fuels the 
introduction of novel goods, services and techniques, across a range of fields, including the  
environment, education and rural development. All of this translates into a higher real standard of 
living, measured by GDP or otherwise.  IP/C/W/641  
 
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  5.  IPR-intensive industries have been found to be integral to growth in GDP, employment and 
trade. Furthermore, recent e mpirical data indicate that the contribution of these industries to the 
modern economy has grown significantly over the last decade in the digital era. As a result, IPR -
intensive industries appear to have coped better with the severe economic crisis than t he economy 
as a whole, which is another indicator of the added val ue of IPR -intensive industries.  
6.  For the February 2018 TRIPS Council  meeting , Members are invited to share the impact that 
IPR-intensive industries have had on the development of their economies, for example , the impact 
of certain IP rights or more generally. Members are encouraged to share their national empirical 
data on the relevance of IPR -intensive industries and of IP rights for their success, allowing a fact -
and evidence -based dis cussio n on the economic impact of IP.  
7.  Members are therefore invited to:  
1) share empirical data and present studies (completed, underway or planned) on the 
economic impact of IP or IPR -intensive industries to GDP, trade, employmen t and rural 
development;  
2) share information on IP and innovation law, policies, strategies, program mes and 
projects that supported or relied on IPR -intensive industries or other entities and that 
have proven successful;  
3) share information on how IP assets strengthen the ability of busi ness enterprises to 
receive strong valuation and attract capital, leading to greater business success;  
4) share empirical data and present studies on the economic impact of counterfeiting, 
piracy and other IPR infringements on innovation and society at large.  
 
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