Léger Robic Richard Seminar: Global Warming and Intellectual Property

Very few will now dispute that global warming, which is mainly caused by the increase of greenhouse gases (GHG) such as CO2 and methane in the earth’s atmosphere, is the result of human activity. But human activity is far from new. What is new is a certain type of human activity - that linked to industrial development. The question then arises: could intellectual property rights (IPRs) be the cause of global warming? After all, the industrial revolution has brought with it IPRs, among the most relevant of which is patent law which encourages and protects new products and processes.

The seminar concentrates on how the existing international IP instruments and EU law already provide safeguards to limit the levels of GHG in the atmosphere. It then envisages how intellectual property rights could be improved to further reduce the levels of GHG. The solutions developed may also inspire other countries, including the Canada, as they are based on international instruments and universal arguments that can apply in any country. The seminar focuses on patents but will also touch marginally on copyright.


Dr Derclaye will speak in English but will answer questions in either French or English.