Levelling the playing field to promote technology transfer and innovation in African least developed countries

• Citation: (2020) IPLJ 35
• Date: 22 January 2021
• Author: Dos Santos, F.
• Published date: 22 January 2021
• Pages: 35-55

35

LEVELLING THE PLAYING FIELD

TO PROMOTE TECHNOLOGY

TRANSFER AND INNOVATION

IN AFRICAN LEAST DEVELOPED

COUNTR IES

 

ABST RAC T

Indisputably, tech nology and innova tion play a crucial role i n promoting developm ent

and the bette rment of people’s lives. However, access to t echnology is oft en hindered

by proprietar y claims from private corp orations who are it s major rights holder s. Over

the years, the ef forts to facilitate ac cess and transfer of tech nology for the states in need ,

especially th e least developed coun tries (LDCs), have been f rustr ated by the lack of

adequate int ernational legal fra meworks. The provisions of art s 7 and 66.2 of the TRIPS

agreement th at have attempted to set a ba sic regime to promote the tr ansfer of technology

   

       

LDCs, especial ly in Africa, which are: the im provement of the provisions of the TRIPS

                

binding inte rnational inst rument – the Agree ment on Trade Related Issues of Technology

Tran sfer.

KEYWORDS: Technology tr ansfer; LDCs; Africa n LDCs; TRIPS agreeme nt

  

Technology is hailed as the main driver of societal development.1 The

relevance of technology to promote development has prompted the nee d for

every state to either gener ate it or, where they are unable to, to acqui re it

from other states.2 St ates lacking capacity t o develop their own technology

were left with only one option: acqui ring it mainly from p rivate corporation s

 

assistance i n editing this pap er.

1 EA Godwill ‘Scie nce and technology in Af rica: the key elements and meas ures for sustainable

development’ (2014) 14(2) Global Jou rnal of Sc ience Fro ntier Re search G Bio-Tech & G enetic s

21; SJ Patel ‘The technological d ependence of developing cou ntries’ (1974) 12(1) T he Journal of

Modern Afri can Studies 4.

2 A Breitwieser and N Foste r ‘Intellectu al propert y rights, in novation and tec hnology tra nsfer:

a survey’ (2012) The Vienna In stitute for Internat ional Economic Studies (Worki ng Paper 88)

47; H Duller ‘Role of technology i n the emergence of ne wly industri alizing cou ntries’ (1992)

9 ASEAN Economic Bulle tin 1 (Populat ion dynamics a nd economic tr ansition: Asia-Pa cific

towards the yea r 2000) 45–54.

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through tech nology transfer mechanism s.3 Therefore, technology tra nsfer is

of paramount impor tance for the realisation of the rig ht to the enjoyment of



  

Having observed the st rong link between technology transfer a nd progress

of nations, some attempts have been ma de to establish an international reg ime

          

much success.4 In light of the above, this paper seeks to explore how the

            

technology to developing states, espe cially the least developed countries

(LDCs) in Africa.5 As an alt ernative to improving t he existing legal regimes,

the paper explores the possibility of adopt ing a new binding multilateral tre aty

that will ensu re technology transfer to those countries.

  

 

The role of technology as a key driver of development, improvement

of productive capacities and people’s lives cannot be overemphasised.6

Article 15(1)(b) of the Convention on Economic, Social and C ultural Rig hts

         

progress and its applications must b e enjoyed by all wit hout discrimination.7

However, in the current global context, private c orporations are t he major

         

rights encapsulated i n the intellectual p roperty syste m and, very often, t hey

3 S Ray ‘Technology transfer an d technology polic y in a developing coun try’ (2012) 46(2) The

Journal of De veloping Areas 371; BA Larson and M Anders on ‘Tech nology transfer, licensi ng

contracts , and incentive s for furth er Innovation’ (Augus t 1994) 76(3) American Journal of

Agricultural Economics 547; S Tomlinson, P Zorlu and C La ngley Innovation and Technolog y

Transfer Frame work for Global Climate De al (2008) 56 –64.

4 SK Sell Power and Idea s North-South Politi cs of Intellectual Proper ty and Antitrust (1998) as

cited by P Gottsc halk ‘Technology tra nsfer and benef it sharing un der the biodiversit y convention’

in HH Lidgard , J Atik and TT Nguyen (eds) Sus tainable Technology Transfer A Gui de to Global

Aid & Trade Developme nt (2012) 199.

5 Ther e are current ly 47 countries tha t are classified by t he United Nations as L DCs; 33 of them are

located in Af rica. Some the cou ntries will gr aduate and be rem oved from the list: An gola in 2021

and São Tomé and Prínc ipe in 2024. See the list available at ht tps://www.un.org/development/

desa/dpad/ wp-content/u ploads/sites/45/publication/ ldc_list.pdf (access ed on 20 August 2020).

6 Godwill (n1) 21; S Young and P La n ‘Technology transfe r to China th rough foreign di rect

investment’ (1997) 31(7) Regional Studies 670; KE Masku s ‘Encouragi ng interna tional

technology t ransfer’ (2004) Intellectual P roperty Rights and Su stainable Developmen t, ICTSD

(Issue Paper 7) 7; Breit wieser and Foster (n2) 47; Patel (n1) 4. D Acemoglu and JA Robinson W hy

Nations Fail T he Origins of Power, Prosper ity and Poverty (2012) 77 argue that t echnology is

an import ant ‘engine of prosperit y’. However, there are some isolated voices aga inst reliance on

technology t ransfer to promote de velopment in LDCs, such as RS Bhalla ‘Third world t ransfer of

technology th rough patents’ (Apri l–June 1999) 41(2) Journal of the Indian Law In stitute 256 –63;

F Stewart ‘Argume nts for the generation of tec hnology by less-develope d countries’ (November

1981) New Issues, New Analysis 9 7–109.

7 United Nations ‘Cove nant on Economic, Social and C ultural Rights’ (1966) availa ble at https://

treaties.un.org/doc/Treaties/1976/01/19760103%2009-57%20PM/Ch_IV_03.pdf (accessed on

5 March 2018).

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