Transcript “Learning from Existing Evaluation Practices on the Impacts and Effects of Intellectual Property on Development” Geneva 6th/7th October Evaluation Section Internal Audit and Oversight Division (IAOD)World.

“Learning from Existing Evaluation
Practices on the Impacts and Effects of
Intellectual Property on Development”
Geneva
6th/7th October
2011
Evaluation Section Internal Audit and Oversight Division
(IAOD)World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
Monitoring and evaluation of the effects
of the protection of Geographical
Indications. A Methodological proposal
Giovanni Belletti, Andrea Marescotti
Department of Economics, University of Firenze (Italy)
Introduction
General aim: provide a methodology for the evaluation of economic,
social, and environmental effects of the registration/protection of
Geographical Indications (GIs).
Many expectations related to the protection of GIs: not only private
interests, but also collective and public ones
TRIPS Agreement: growing consciousness and interest in the world
Framework of the study: broad cooperation project on GIs between the
Jamaica Intellectual Property Office and the Swiss Intellectual Property
Institute
Main objectives of the proposed methodology:
• monitoring and evaluating the effects that registering a single GI may
have on the “GI production system” and on its delimitated territory
• monitoring and evaluating the effects of introducing a GI legal and
institutional framework, at national level
The object of the analysis: complexity
and consequences
Agrofood products identified by a GI are complex objects, due to:
• Multiple links with local specific natural and human resources
• History and tradition of the product, and links to local population
• Collective dimension (many actors involved) and local shared
knowledge (production and consumption sides).
GI legal protection should normally be based on collective rights and
on shared rules of production (Code of practice)
The legal protection of a GI (especially when there is a Code of
Practice):
• Impacts on the market performance of the product (prices,
volumes, quality levels, marketing channels, ...)
• Modifies the competitive balance inside the GI supply chain
(exclusion effects, inter-firms relationships…)
• Affects social and environmental dimensions (links to natural and
human resources, local culture, traditional knowledge…)
Evaluation process and methodological
approach
Survey
Building Phase
- Define aims
- Stakholders
expectations
- Chains of causality
- Choosing
indicators
- etc.
Evaluation
t0
GI picture
Specific enquiries
t1
GI picture
- What happened?
- Why?
- What is GI role?
Specific enquiries
Complexity of the GI product system, exogenous pressures and difficulty to find
counterfactual cases (benchmarking)  diachronic approach
Many stakeholders involved in the GI product, with different points of views and
expectations  participatory approach. Evaluation team with local stakeholders, that:
• Defines aims of the analysis, areas of impact and pertinent indicators
• Shares responsibilities in collecting and organizing data
• Participates in data analysis, interpretation and evaluation
Key evaluation question: What expected
effects from GIs?
GI-Framework
and policies

Input
First
order
Effects

Outputs
Second
order
Effects

Outcomes
Third
order
Effects

Impacts
e.g. number of firms registered in the RGI system or using the RGI
e.g. prices of the RGI product
e.g. impact on biodiversity, preservation of traditional knowledge, on tourism
A map of GI potential effects has been prepared
6
Findings - Mapping potential effects of a GI
product registration: overview
Findings – Special focus on effects on the GI
system economic performance
Findings – Special focus on Third order effects
Findings – Special focus on Third order effects
Findings – Indicators for monitoring GI effects
A critical step is the selection of
relevant indicators for
monitoring each area of impact.
Indicators should be:
• Relevant
• Scientifically consistent
• Measurable
Official statistical sources often
do not provide specific, useful
data for the GI evaluation
Need for specific inquiries and
need to have synergies
between data collected within
administrative procedures (e.g.,
GI control and certification
activities may generate many
relevant data at very low cost)
Example of indicators for GI effects on prices
Findings - Mapping potential effects of a GI legal
framework
Key findings, conclusions, recommendations
Requirements for the evaluation:
- the methodology should be adapted to different GI situations
- Use participative methods (information, empowerment and
inclusion of all stakeholders) due to the “collective nature” of GIs
- Use multiple evaluation criteria (weights can vary according to
stakeholders motivations and expectations)
- carefully select indicators and data sources, often lacking or
incomplete or non-specific
Advantages of the evaluation:
- provides the public sector as well as all GI stakeholders with reliable
information on the economic, social and environmental impacts of GI
protection
- At national level: it can help improving the legal framework
- At single GI level it helps:
- Ex ante: to analyse weather to apply or not, how to draw the
Code of Practice (Impact Assessment)
- Ex post: to correct rules and (individual and collective) strategies
Evaluation experience
The methodology has been developed by the Authors in the framework of a cooperation
project between the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property and the Jamaican
Intellectual Property Office, and reflects their research experience both in the European
Union and in some developing countries.
The methodology has been partly implemented to Jamaica, both at national level
(effects of the introduction of a GI legal framework) and at single GI level: Jamaica Rum,
Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, Jamaica Jerk (seasoning and sauce)
The competent Jamaican authorities and Jamaican Producers’ organizations can use
this methodology as soon as it will be relevant (i.e. once one or more Jamaican GIs
have been registered). Furthermore, this methodology will be available for other
cooperation or development projects on GIs.
The methodology is published in:
Belletti G., Marescotti A., Paus M., Reviron S., Deppeler A., Stamm H.,
Thévenod-Mottet E. (2011), The Effects of Protecting Geographical Indications.
Ways and Means of their Evaluation, Publication No 7, Swiss Federal Institute of
Intellectual Property, Bern (http://www.ige.ch)