McGrory, David A. --- "A private institutional investment perspective" [2013] ELECD 729; in Brown, E.L. Abbe (ed), "Environmental Technologies, Intellectual Property and Climate Change" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013) 271

Book Title: Environmental Technologies, Intellectual Property and Climate Change

Editor(s): Brown, E.L. Abbe

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9780857934178

Section: Chapter 12

Section Title: A private institutional investment perspective

Author(s): McGrory, David A.

Number of pages: 8

Abstract/Description:

The other contributors to this book provide some in-depth analysis from a range of perspectives including intellectual property (IP) law, human rights law, competition law and environmental law. They examine the interaction of the various legal specialisms and also the organizations that have attempted to formulate policy responses to some of the relevant issues, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). In contrast, this chapter seeks to take a step back from the high level policy and legal theory and focuses instead on the role that private institutional investment can play in the development of climate change technologies. A pragmatic view is taken of the risk/reward nature of private institutional investment and the effect that interference with typical investment funding models could have on the development of scalable climate change technologies. From a private institutional investment perspective, there has to be a concern that implementation of compulsory licensing or enforced sharing of intellectual property rights (IPRs) could result in outcomes that are diametrically opposed to the outcomes that supporters of such policies would seek to achieve. Kyoto Protocol targets for reductions in emissions have been consistently missed. The targets are often cited as the measure of what the signatory nations should be aspiring to but these targets need to be set in context.