Keynote Address
From CFPWiki
Dr. Konstantinos Karachalios will wrap up the second full day of CFP 2008 with a presentation on governance gaps in the knowledge economy and the roles and responsibilities of various institutions in addressing these gaps. As one of the leads on the European Patent Office's "Scenarios for the Future" project -- a forward thinking and provocative analysis on how IP regimes might evolve by 2025 and what global legitimacy these regimes might have -- Dr. Karachalios has particular insight into the problems and possibilities that stem from the rise of the knowledge economy.
If it is true that the production, appropriation and control of knowledge is at the centre of various battles to shape the global future, then the public institutions involved have remarkably important roles. In particular, national, regional and international IP institutions have the opportunity to productively engage in public debates around the issues, as their work frames how "knowledge" is defined and codified. However, the governance structure of the global knowledge economy is ill defined and fragile. While its tempting to point at convenient scapegoats for the multiple failures and negative externalities this situation has created, Dr. Karachalios will map out thoughts on how we might navigate between accusations of illegitimate interference and geopolitics and the calls to move beyond a strict legal-technical context.
Dr. Karachalios will also show how the EPO's scenarios -- particularly Whose Game?, in which geopolitics is the dominant factor -- are playing out today in the fight over global ICT standards and discuss how and why the EPO is involved.
About the Speaker
Dr. Karachalios has been at the EPO since 1987. He was the head of the International Academy between 1999 and 2000, and since then has worked on co-operation programmes for developing countries and managed the EPO's external relations with international and intergovernmental organisations. He was a leading member of the core task force on the EPO's "Scenarios for the Future" project and co-editor of its Compendium.
Additional Note:
We encourage all participants to read the EPO's "Scenarios for the Future" report before the conference. You can view the report online or order a copy at http://www.epo.org/topics/patent-system/scenarios-for-the-future.html The EPO's "Scenarios for the Future" project is a visible expression of the will to actively engage in a very important public debate. The EPO's intellectual outreach is combined with very concrete projects in place today with various partners, with a particular emphasis on technological fields in which patent titles may cause considerable strain if not properly regulated.
