The Pacific Alliance Blog interviewed Professor Rodrigo Corredor about his recent article on the Pacific Alliance and its digital economy strategy, published in the Colombian Yearbook of International Law.

Mr Corredor is professor and researcher at Universidad Externado de Colombia in Bogota. He holds a Masters in International Economic Law from the World Trade Institute. He has postgraduates in Intellectual Property, Copyrights and New Technologies from Universidad Externado de Colombia and a postgraduate in Public Management and Administrative Institutions from Los Andes University in Bogota. He is currently a visiting fellow at the Centre de Sciences Humaines in New Delhi and a researcher and professors at the Department of Economic Law within Universidad Externado de Colombia. He has previously consulted on managing intellectual property and innovation for projects involving the Andean region and the European Union. His research interests are international economic law, intellectual property, the digital economy, trade in services, and regulation. He has written several journal articles and chapters in edited books on these subjects.

Mr Corredor, how did you become interested in the digital economy topic, particularly in the context of the Pacific Alliance?

The digital economy has become a ubiquitous societal topic. Its international trade incidence is undeniable; the impacts of the current uncontrolled developments and expansion of the digital economy will probably be our research field for the coming years. In the specific context of the PA, the digital economy’s regulatory challenge has followed the same path of a regulatory transplant from the General Data Protection Regulation in the EU (GDPR standards), so my concern is to assess the suitability of such approaches.

What are the main social and economic challenges you see in the deepening of the region’s digital economy?

Among the various challenges, I would like to emphasise the cultural impact of digitalisation. So far, people are enjoying the advantages of the digital platforms in terms of a more even access to cultural products that gives us a sense of integration to a globalised cultural agenda. However, the long-term consequences of unlimited access to our personal data can extend to a cultural erosion phenomenon. This effect is something that regulators and political authorities from the PA countries absolutely disregard.

Why do you argue that following a model inspired by the United States’ FTAs and self-regulation results unsuitable for framing sustainable solutions to the complex challenges of deepening the digital economy in the region?

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Abstract:
This working paper provides an overview of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), as the only patent cooperation mechanism established within the framework of the Pacific Alliance (PA). It further explores the current state of trade flows of patent-intensive goods among PA member countries (Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru). Based on this background, it assesses the impact of the PPH as a vehicle to achieve increased levels of intra-regional trade, innovation and, entrepreneurship.

Resumen:
No disponible

Authors: María del Carmen Vásquez Callo and Camilo Pérez Restrepo
Full document: 2016, Vásquez & Pérez, Patent Cooperation Mechanisms in the Pacific Alliance

Abstract:
The interest of the countries to look for an international framework for the protection of Intellectual property rights started in the late XIX century. However, in the global trade field, an international standard was recently featured in 1994 with the emergence of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Agreement on Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Related to Trade (TRIPs Agreement). Later, the Intellectual property topics have been deepened under schemes of bilateral international trade agreements encouraged primarily by the United States of America, European Union and Japan, aiming to protect their industries.

Considering the importance of the Pacific Alliance and its intra-regional and global projection, emphasising the Asia Pacific region, it is a particular interest to be able to analyse the points that the bloc should bear in mind to create obligations on intellectual property matters that will attend to its interests. Although these obligations have not been established, it has gathered a working group entrusted to develop a working plan on intellectual property affairs.

For that reason, the current work will present the common ground of the intellectual property matters that the founding countries of the Pacific Alliance share. These works refer to some of the problems these countries are currently facing regarding this matter, as well as the points of interest that they could boost in the frame of the Pacific Alliance. We will also address the question of whether such issues should be discussed in the context of cooperation or if it is appropriate and necessary to articulate obligations at the international level, which allows them to address this problem and address those interests.
From our perspective, some conditions exist in the framework of the Pacific Alliance that can make favourable to adopt actions before the accession of new members to these integration processes in the following years.

Resumen:
No disponible

Authors: John Cusipuma and Gonzalo Ramírez
Full document: 2016, Cusipuma & Ramirez, Pacific Alliance- An Opportunity to Establish New Priorities on the Protection of Intellectual Property in Free Trade

Abstract:
The establishment of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) is one of the priorities of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to enhance regional economic integration beyond the Bogor Goals, as reflected in the Beijing Roadmap for APEC in 2014. Multiple pathways could converge into the FTAAP, and these include the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). This paper discusses the potential of the Pacific Alliance (PA) to provide an additional pathway that also contributes to the FTAAP process and regional integration in Asia-Pacific.

The analysis suggests that the PA can be considered a comprehensive mechanism that is in line with the Bogor Goals, and its achievements in areas such as market access, services, investment, and new generation issues suggest that it is a WTO+ agreement. However, some issues would need to be negotiated among its members—such as intellectual property, labour, and environmental protection—for the PA to profile itself as a pathway equivalent to the TPP. The PA, however, is more comprehensive than the RCEP. The analysis also suggests that despite having only four members, the PA is a “living agreement” and is open to other APEC economies for membership and, therefore, has the potential to become a region-wide agreement.

Resumen:
No disponible

Authors: Camilo Pérez-Restrepo and Adriana Roldan-Pérez
Full document: 2016, Restrepo & Roldan, Is the Pacific Alliance a Potential Pathway to the FTAAP?

Abstract:
Not available

Resumen:
Tras la revisión de los contenidos del Acuerdo Transpacífico de Cooperación Económica (TPP por sus siglas en inglés), del Foro de Cooperación Económica de Asia Pacífico (APEC), de la Organización Mundial del Comercio (OMC), el Acuerdo Económico y Comercial Global (AECG o CETA), Acuerdo sobre el Comercio de Servicios (ACS o TiSA) y las normativas de la Alianza del Pacífico, así como de las entrevistas con expertos tanto del sector público y privado, se concluye que el Protocolo Adicional de la Alianza del Pacífico (PAAM) contempla la mayoría de los temas necesarios para el impulso de la agenda digital. Sin embargo, aún se detectan áreas de oportunidad en las cuales se pueden profundizar con el propósito de asegurar de forma concreta la participación del bloque en el proceso global de digitalización.

En materia de comercio electrónico, uno de los elementos más pujantes de la economía digital, la Alianza del Pacífico debe promover la difusión de los respectivos marcos normativos que protegen a los consumidores en las transacciones realizadas dentro del bloque, junto con orientar sus esfuerzos en diseñar mecanismos y mejoras orientadas a proteger a los consumidores de posibles amenazas y fraudes online. A su vez, las economías de la AP deben sumarse al comercio sin papel, por ejemplo, a través la homologación de autenticación electrónica.

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