Although it is often said that the SDGs –Sustainable Development Goals-are ambitious and have the greatest global impact, it is worth noting that the SDGs were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as an instrument to which all the nations of the world were invited in order to put an end to poverty and protect the planet, so that by 2030 we would all live in peace and prosperity.
There are seventeen 17 SDGs, some of which are interrelated, and although all are of vital importance, we could define those most linked to innovation and creativity as being those listed as follows: two, Zero Hunger; three, Good Health and Well-being; six, Clean Water and Sanitation; seven, Affordable and Clean Energy; eight, Decent Work and Economic Growth; nine, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure; eleven, Sustainable Cities and Communities; and thirteen, Climate Action.
Intellectual property is so important for the achievement of the SDGs that WIPO considers it an essential incentive for innovation and creativity, recognising that it is through human ingenuity that “…it will be possible to promote new solutions that eradicate poverty; boost agricultural sustainability and ensure food security; combat disease; improve education; protect the environment; and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy, increase productivity and foster business competitiveness.” As such, it recognises that Goal 9 relating to Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, is the basis of the organisation’s mission to lead the development of the international intellectual property (IP) system for the benefit of everyone. Now is the time, on International Intellectual Property Day (26 April), to highlight WIPO’s fundamental role in Global Development through the promotion, highlighting, and administration of IP.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a specialised agency of the United Nations, established since 1967, which, with the Member States, contributes to the achievement or implementation of the SDGs by means of specific services that enable them to access the use of the Intellectual property (IP) system. The aim of the above is to boost innovation, competitiveness and creativity, which are essential for achieving the sustainable development goals. This agency’s mission is to promote the use and protection of the results of human intellect.
Indeed, aware of its role in this 2030 agenda relating to the SDGs, WIPO finds its raison d’être fully identified with supporting the achievement of some of the goals. The services that WIPO makes available to companies and countries include legislative assistance, the administration of IP treaties (26 treaties), global IT data tools that allow for better results in searches of the prior art and trademarks on the global market, training on intellectual property issues, which are so important as a starting point for generating a culture of intellectual property that we need so much. There is also the dissemination of knowledge relating to innovation ecosystems, and services for the development of national IP strategies, and even an arbitration and mediation centre for the resolution of domain name disputes.
In this way, we could say that the great initiative of the United Nations, SDGs, has in WIPO an agency capable of leveraging the different needs that may arise for countries to advance in the achievement of the aforementioned global goals.
In Colombia, at the local level the National Administrative Department of Statistics (Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística or DANE) is responsible for leading the definition of indicators and monitoring. And the document CONPES 3918 of 2018 defines the strategy for the implementation of the SDGs in Colombia.
The Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development 2024, recently held in Chile from 15 to 18 April 2024,recently held in Chile from 15 to 18 April 2024, made it clear that there is a lag in complying with the indicators due to the slow growth of the economy and trade, climate change and forced migration, geopolitical conflicts and humanitarian crises resulting from wars. But there also seems to be a gap, and that is a lack of clarity on where to move forward, and how to do so, recognising that “Comprehensive cross-sectoral public policies are urgently required to address the structural and situational causes of low capacity to grow, high inequality and low social mobility, and the other gaps related to the SDGs” (José Manuel Salazar. Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)).
Moreover, according to the Global Innovation Index (GII), Out of 132 economies analysed, Colombia ranks 67th (2021), 63rd (2022) and 66th (2023).
It also concluded that Colombia produces less innovation output in relation to the investments it makes and that intellectual property revenues in 2021 were equal to 0.22% of total revenues from business activities.
In terms of patent and trademark applications, which are important indicators for measuring a country’s innovation, we found a significant decrease in the number of patent applications, with the number already being low.
The challenges facing our ecosystem are the low level of knowledge about IP among the Colombian population and the need for more public and private investment to support innovation and creativity in our country.
But in addition to the aforementioned policies, it is important to be aware that in the absence or weakness of these policies, companies are responsible for committing to the SDGs. For example, let’s look at the study conducted by the Universidad Libre in Cartagena,on the identification of sustainable development objectives from the strategic approach of companies listed on the Colombian stock exchange.[1][i]. In this study, 23 Colombian companies belonging to the stock exchange from different industries were chosen to verify the degree to which they have been involved and have fulfilled their commitment to the SDGs, and those that demonstrated commitment to goal number 9 relating to Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure were: Conconcreto, Cerrejón, Promigas, Grupo Sura, Cemex, Avianca, Grupo éxito, Isa, Argos, Celsia, Bancolombia Camacol Ecopetrol, Drummond, Davivienda and EEB.
Upon analysing them, they have a sustainability structure, also associated with a corporate social responsibility policy, and for them the SDGs do not imply a traumatic change in their structure. On the contrary, they collaborate in being a framework of guidelines to give order to what is already being done, with the possibility of being able to measure the social and environmental impact.
The above conclusion of the mentioned study demonstrates that development necessarily requires a well-built structure and a corporate leadership committed to its goals. How is your organisation doing against this global commitment?
Intellectual property must necessarily be part of this structure, as innovation and creativity, which are inherent to the human intellect, are encouraged and protected by this mechanism, not only because it grants exclusive property rights over the results of knowledge, but also because it provides incentives to continue growing and innovating, but with the level and conditions necessary to generate real and viable results that resolve these goals in a clear and decisive manner.
For example, in the case of the low-carbon economy goal, this implies employing low or zero emission technologies, which surely entails patented inventions, trade secrets, as well as patents or utility models for waste disposal or recycling in order to give off minimum greenhouse gases, software and applications for operation and marketing, and, no less important, trademarks for goods and services associated with transport and consumption.
It is very important, in conclusion, to see intellectual property in a dual approach, that is, on the one hand, the benefits it brings to patent holders who are assigned an exclusive right during the period of validity of the patent and within the specific territory in which it was granted, so that they can control production, be unique on the market with that patented product and thus obtain revenue that rewards the effort and that can be reinvested in improving the structure of the innovation units, and also in the second approach that is not usually taken into account by the general public, which is that once patent documents or specifications are published, they contain detailed information in a universal format, which serves to leverage new developments, so it is also technical knowledge to continue innovating and growing.
It is therefore high time to become aware of the importance of using intellectual property as an incentive and lever for creativity and innovation, which are pillars of the sustainable development we so desperately need. It is possible that by 2030 we will not have achieved this goal of the SDGs, which were set by the United Nations as an ambitious goal to change the course of the history of humanity in search of the longed-for eradication of poverty, the protection of the planet and the guarantee that we all live in this world in peace and prosperity, but it is our responsibility to make progress in this direction.
Claudia Caro
Director PONS IP – Colombia
[1] (Giovanni Pérez Ortega, Andry Barrera del Toro Zaira Moreno Freites).
