333. We would like to thank the delegations of US, Switzerland, EU and Singapore for proposing this discussion item "IP and financing of innovation". Brazil welcomes the discussion. This theme is clearly described in the objectives of TRIPS. In article 7, objectives, the legal text states that the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights should contribute to the promotion of technological innovation. The rationale behind this objective is that intellectual property is capable of fostering investment through the legal certainty provided by the IP protection.
334. Beyond this, it is important to recall that the mere existence of IP rights, by itself, is not sufficient to promote technological innovation. As it was mentioned in one of the presentations in a parallel event held today, "IP is only one part in a package" when we discuss financing innovation. In fact, deficient financing for innovation, based only in IP rights, can also generate anticompetitive practices or deprive research areas from necessary and sometimes essential resources. Research on basic science and on pharmaceuticals for the treatment of neglected diseases are examples of intangibles that cannot be satisfactorily financed through the monopolies provided by the IP system.
335. In a nutshell, Brazil understands that all elements related to an optimal innovation system should be taken into account when building a balanced national innovation system. In the same way as Bangladesh, Brazil does not favor interpretations that suggest that "one size fits all" approaches can be applied to national innovation systems.
336. As a last remark, we would only like to recall a point that we have made in previous TRIPS Council sessions when discussing IP and Innovation: An IP system that provides good quality patents is an important element to foster innovation, since it can provide the guarantee to entrepreneurs and their financers that innovative businesses would not be a target of frivolous litigation based on low quality patents.
