Financial Times

Intellectual Property Rights enriches Sri Lankan innovation
The benefits of intellectual property rights, go beyond the market place and profits as violations of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), could lead to unnecessary sickness and accidental deaths, according to US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Jeffrey J. Lunstead.

He said consumers rely upon the preservation of intellectual property rights to ensure safe medicine and food. Children and the elderly are the most susceptible to false medicines and nutritional products because they use these products more frequently and are more vulnerable to toxins than other sectors of society. “Strict IPR enforcement ensures that our medicines and food supplies are safe,” he added.

Excerpt from Lunstead’s statement:
Without a secure mechanism to retain profits there is little incentive for scientists and artists to apply their energies toward innovation. By enforcement of IPR a society ensures that innovation flourishes and creates an environment fertile for investment.

Consistent enforcement of IPR creates an environment conducive for investment. As the respect for IPR in Sri Lanka increases, local companies and individuals will invest their funds and creative skills in products and services valuable both to Sri Lanka and foreign markets. Also trans-national corporations will look more favourably upon Sri Lanka as a location for potential investment.

Businesses will begin to recognize Sri Lanka as a place where they can open factories and make investments without fear of losing their property to the black market. Increased investment will help to create more jobs and stimulate economic growth.

Businesses often look beyond the bottom line and recognize the importance of strong relationships and positive work environments when deciding where to invest and build factories. American and Sri Lankan business leaders consistently cite loyalty and protection of property as a characteristic
potentially more valuable than cheap labour and low costs.

Enforcing property rights protection of Sri Lanka's rich biological diversity will foster economic growth. Ceylon tea is known throughout the world for its unique taste and high quality. Because of its worldwide appeal, the potential for less scrupulous foreign tea producers to misuse the Ceylon tea label exists. Given the precedent set by the World Trade Organization, the Sri Lankan tea industry has a vested interest in protecting the label Ceylon tea.

The same philosophy could also be applied to certain Sri Lankan handicrafts, ayurvedic medicines and other forms of domestic creativity. Similarly, basmati rice and tequila are produced in specific developing countries that hold significant commercial importance. Verdicts made by the World Trade Organization have secured geographical property rights for these products: production of these goods must take place in India and Mexico respectively. Similar products made from different locations cannot carry these names, instilling benefits for the regions where basmati rice and tequila are produced.
Development of a society that both protects and benefits from a high quality IPR enforcement system takes time.

In order to accommodate this transition period, the World Trade Organization created the Trade Related Aspects on Intellectual Property Agreement (TRIPA), which allows countries until 2016 for full compliance on some property rights. While this is over a decade away, today is the time to start enforcing intellectual property rights. Ultimately Sri Lanka, with its natural resources and the industriousness and creativity of its people stands to gain from a world-class IPR ethic and enforcement structure; yet the desire must come from Sri Lanka's citizens.

The development of the nation rests upon all its citizens, its consumers, its voters its business leaders and its politicians.

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