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Claude Rubinowicz
Senior Official - French Treasury, Paris
The world of patenting and IPR could evolve in several directions, as investigated in the four scenarios. However, in every case, major players will emerge in the coming years: the Governments, seeking to secure value for themselves.
The economy has changed, and will change, not only for businesses but for the public IPRs and the way they are managed. The States and the other public entities have major intangible assets, thanks in particular to the access rights that are the State’s prerogative to grant or to some rare resources, controlled by the State and representing, for companies, a considerable factor of growth. Radio frequencies or authorizations to exercise certain regulated activities, are two typical examples.
If these assets were not properly managed, the State would deprive the economy of an essential source of wealth for certain industrial sectors. Looking beyond these public intangible assets, the State can also influence the value of the nation’s IP assets. For instance, the country’s history, geography and land are all assets which can be used to generate wealth. But in order to do so, the protection of cultural trademarks must be developed, and they must be exploited more systematically.
The governments will stop thinking of the State’s assets as based solely on the land and real-estate holdings. They will develop a more dynamic policy of capitalizing on the Public IP assets, which will not only generate additional resources for expenditure, but also strengthen the potential for growth. Public patents, professional licenses, rights to access the public domain, cultural trademarks, know-how of public entities and corporations such as universities, public databases, all of them are IP assets that are not currently being used to their full potential.
The main reason of the actual situation is a lack of awareness and of incentive in the various administrative entities of the governments. More and more, governments will become aware of the potentiality they have, and they will implement an active management framework.