The Eighth BRICS Legal Forum and intellectual property

On December 8-9, 2023, the Eighth BRICS Legal Forum was held in South Africa with the participation of delegations from all five BRICS member countries led by the heads of the legal communities of these countries (from Brazil - Bruno Barata, from India – Prashant Kumar, from China – Zhang Mingqi, from South Africa – Eunice Masipa. The Russian delegation (10 people) was headed at the Forum by the Chairman of the Association of Lawyers of Russia, Doctor of Law Sergey Stepashin.

Within the framework of the event, 10 sessions were held, where issues were discussed on the role of BRICS in the new economic structure in a multipolar world, on business development and the creation of a center for resolving arbitration disputes, on investment policy and taxation, on financing infrastructure projects, including through the BRICS Bank, on intellectual property, as well as on the need /the expediency of preparing and adopting an international treaty on the coordination of the activities of the community countries, taking into account the expansion of the membership from 1.1.2024 to 11 countries and the prospects for further development of the BRICS.

Vladimir Lopatin, Chairman of the AIUR Commission on Intellectual Property, Scientific director of the RNIIIS, Chairman of the ITC 550, spoke at four sessions, including at a specialized session with the report "Intellectual property is a strategic resource of national competitiveness within the framework of BRICS in a multipolar world." In his speeches, he, in particular, focused on the following main points.

Firstly, intellectual property (IP) is an indicator of the economic value of any intellectual creation (not a patent on the wall, but income in your pocket). The IP economy is a new sector of the economy of the Global South and all BRICS countries, as it ensures technological sovereignty and national competitiveness. Legal protection, legal protection and legal regulation in the field of intellectual property should work for the economy of intellectual property (creation of added value from the turnover of intellectual property, including at all stages of R&D).

Secondly, intellectual property and digitalization should become a tool to reduce socio-economic inequality between developed and developing countries (in the present century – a means of unfair competition and enrichment of developed countries). It is advisable to create national Registers of critical technologies and their preferential transfer to BRICS.

Thirdly, taking into account the experience of the Russian Federation and the CIS in standardization in the field of intellectual property and its role as a regulator of "soft power", it is time to create an international technical committee (TC) "Intellectual Property" in ISO with the active participation of the BRICS countries in cooperation with WIPO.

Fourth, we need an up-to-date analysis of intellectual property legislation and annual monitoring of its changes in the BRICS countries with public discussion of the results of the analysis at the BRICS forums. (The first such discussion will be held at the 15th International Forum "Innovative Development through the Intellectual Property Market", Moscow, 04/23/2023).

As a result of the Forum, a Declaration was adopted in which these proposals were reflected, including a decision to establish a working group of the BRICS Legal Forum on intellectual property. The next BRICS+ Forum will be held in Moscow in September 2024 on the basis of the MGIMO Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

RNIIIS Press Service