25-26 April 2018: Enforcing Intellectual Property in Trade and Investment Agreements: What Safeguards for its Social Function?

EIPIN Conference organized by the CEIPI from 25 to 26 April 2018

Poster

From 25 to 26 April 2018, CEIPI organized the 19th Congress of the EIPIN network at the premises of the European Parliament in Strasbourg entitled “Enforcing Intellectual Property in Trade and Investment Agreements: What Safeguards for its Social Function?”

International trade and investment agreements increasingly include provisions on the protection of intellectual property. Recent decisions of arbitral tribunals shed light on this interaction between intellectual property and investment law raising important questions about the coexistence of the different bodies of law and the competence of various fora for adjudicating IP-related disputes. This conference critically examined the present landscape of trade and investment agreements, the legitimacy of current practices and the likely avenues for future developments in the field. The latest cases were discussed not only in the context of investor-state dispute settlement but also in the framework of the WTO mechanisms. The interaction with fundamental rights and ethics was explored, as well as some specific implications for the EU. The ongoing negotiations with regards to the CETA and the TTIP served as a common thread for the discussions.

Prof. Christophe Geiger and Luis Martinez Guillen, Director European Parliament Liaison Office, Strasbourg
Prof. Christophe Geiger and Luis Martinez Guillen, Director European Parliament Liaison Office, Strasbourg

The Congress was held under the scientific direction of Professor Christophe Geiger, Director General and Director of the Research Department of CEIPI.

This event was followed by a doctoral seminar of the EIPIN Innovation Society European Joint Doctorate Programme on 27 April 2018.

This event was organized in partnership with the EIPIN network and the European Parliament Liaison Office in Strasbourg.

The EIPIN IS program is available here

The EIPIN congress and its audience
The EIPIN congress and its audience
M. Enrico Bonadio (University of London) ; M. Hannu Wagner (World Trade Organisation) ; M. Xavier Seuba (CEIPI) ; Prof. Rachelle Dreyfuss (Engelberg Center on Innovation Law § Policy, New York University)
M. Enrico Bonadio, Senior Lecturer, University of London ; M. Hannu Wagner, Counsellor, World Trade Organisation ; M. Xavier Seuba, Senior Lecturer and Researcher, CEIPI ; Prof. Rachelle Dreyfuss, Co-Director, Engelberg Center on Innovation Law § Policy, New York University
Final roundtable, with Prof. Christophe Geiger (CEIPI); M. Pedro Velasco Martins (European Commission); M. Daniel Segoin (French Ministry for Foreign Affairs); Ms Julia Reda (European Parliament - not present on the photo)
Final roundtable, with Prof. Christophe Geiger, Director general and Director of the Research department, CEIPI; M. Pedro Velasco Martins, Member of the Cabinet of Commissioner Malmström, European Commission; M. Daniel Segoin, Legal Advisor and French Agent to the CJEU in the Legal Service of the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs; Ms Julia Reda, Member of the European Parliament (not present on the photo)
Some of the participants at the end of the tour of the European Parliament
Some of the participants at the end of the tour of the European Parliament

The 19th EIPIN congress aimed to bring together a wide range of leading experts in the field, academics, policy-makers and arbitrators. We express our gratitude to all those who have honoured us with their participation and accepted to confront their points of view during this event, namely: Luis Martinez Guillen (European Parliament), Henning Grosse Ruse-Khan (University of Cambridge), Pedro Roffe (ICTSD), Carlos Correa (University of Buenos Aires), Bassem Awad (Centre for International Governance Innovation), Cynthia Ho (University of Chicago School of Law), Simon Klopschinski (rospatt osten pross), Robert Howse (New York University), Xavier Seuba (CEIPI), Hannu Wager (WTO), Rochelle Dreyfuss (New York University), Tuomas Mylly (University of Turku), Thomas Cottier (University of Bern), Szilárd Gáspár-Szilágyi (University of Oslo), Rainer Geiger (Sybarius Avocats), Catherine Kessedjian (University Paris II - Panthéon Assas), Kamalinne Pinitpuvadol (International Institute for Trade and Development), Pedro Velasco Martins (European Commission), Julia Reda (Member of the European Parliament) and Daniel Segoin (French Ministry for Foreign Affairs).

You can download below the program and the speakers presentations.

WEDNESDAY, 25 APRIL 2018

TOPIC 1: MAPPING THE PROTECTION OF IP IN TRADE AND INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS: A REVIEW OF THE PRESENT AND FUTURE LANDSCAPE

CHAIR: Anke MOERLAND, Assistant Professor of Intellectual Property Law, Maastricht University, Netherlands

Speaker : Pedro ROFFE, Senior Fellow, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), Geneva, Switzerland (no presentation available)

TOPIC 2: CONCEPTUALIZING THE PROTECTION OF IP AS AN INVESTMENT: ASSESSING THE LEGITIMACY OF PAST AND CURRENT PRACTICES IN TRADE AND INVESTMENT TREATIES

CHAIR: Guido WESTKAMP, Professor of Intellectual Property and Comparative Law, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom

Speaker: Bassem AWAD, Deputy Director, Centre for International Governance Innovation, Waterloo, Canada (no presentation available)

TOPIC 3: LOOKING AT SPECIFIC EXAMPLES: “PHILIP MORRIS”, “ELI LILLY” AND OTHER CASES: WHICH SAFEGUARDS EXIST FOR PUBLIC POLICY AND TRIPS FLEXIBILITIES?

CHAIR: Giancarlo FROSIO, Senior Lecturer and Researcher, CEIPI, University of Strasbourg, France

THURSDAY, 26 APRIL 2018

MODULE II: SAFEGUARDING THE SOCIAL FUNCTION WHEN ADJUDICATING IP, TRADE AND INVESTMENT PROTECTION

TOPIC 4: ADJUDICATING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN INVESTOR-STATE DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURES: FUNCTIONING AND CHALLENGES

CHAIR: Pilar MONTERO, Professor of Commercial Law and Director, Magister Lvcentinvs, University of Alicante, Spain

SPEAKER: Robert HOWSE, Professor, New York University School of Law, United States of America (no presentation available)

TOPIC 5: THE ENFORCEMENT OF IP BY THE WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION PANEL: COMPARATIVE VIEWS

CHAIR: Xavier SEUBA, Senior Lecturer and Researcher, CEIPI, University of Strasbourg, France

TOPIC 6: WHAT ROLE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND ETHICS IN IP, INVESTMENT AND TRADE DISPUTES?

CHAIR: Seth ERICSSON, Research Fellow and Program Director, MIPLC, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Munich, Germany

TOPIC 7: THE COMPLIANCE OF INVESTMENT PROTECTION MECHANISMS IN FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS WITH EU LAW (INCLUDING THE COMPETENCY OF THE EU AND AUTHORITY OF THE CJEU) AND POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES FOR IP PROTECTION

CHAIR: Ana RAMALHO, Assistant Professor of Intellectual Property Law, Maastricht University, Netherlands

TOPIC 8: TOWARDS AN INVESTMENT COURT SYSTEM FOR THE EU: CURRENT PROPOSALS AND POSSIBLE IMPLICATIONS FOR IP ENFORCEMENT

CHAIR: Josef DREXL, Director, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Munich, Germany

SPEAKER: Catherine KESSEDJIAN, Professor Emeritus, University Paris II - Panthéon Assas, and Arbitrator/Mediator, France (no presentation available)

FINAL ROUNDTABLE: CONTROVERSIES AND POLICY ISSUES ARISING FROM IP AND ISDS IN THE EU: A CLOSER LOOK AT THE CETA AND THE TTIP

SPEAKER & CHAIR: Christophe GEIGER, Professor of law, Director General and Director of the Research department, CEIPI, University of Strasbourg, France

SPEAKERS: Pedro VELASCO MARTINS, Member of the Cabinet of Commissioner Malmström, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium ;  Julia REDA, Member of the European Parliament, Brussels, Belgium ; Daniel SEGOIN, Legal advisor and French agent to the CJEU in the Legal Service of the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Paris, France

CLOSING REMARKS

Christophe GEIGER, Professor of Law, Director General and Director of the Research department, CEIPI, University of Strasbourg, France

EU flag

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Innovation Society is funded by the European Commission within the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, International Training Networks (ITN), European Joint Doctorates (EJD). The funding period is March 1, 2017 until February 28, 2021, Grant Agreement number 721733-EIPIN IS-MSCA-ITN-EJD, European IP Institutes Network-Innovation Society — H2020-MSCA-ITN-2016.