The Link between Stronger IP Rights and Trade in Services

Service firms are increasingly turning to intellectual property rights (IPRs) as a means of safeguarding their intellectual assets, especially as they try to expand into international markets where the protection of IPRs is relatively weak.

In this paper, Olena Ivus studies the relationship between trade in services and the strength of IPRs protection at the international level. Analyzing data for 94 countries over the period of 1990–2010 and considering patent rights, copyright and trademarks, Ivus puts forward new empirical evidence about the impact of global strengthening of IPRs protection on cross-border trade in services.

In its 2024 budget released last month, Canada pledged $2.4 billion toward artificial intelligence (AI), including investment in a new AI Safety Institute of Canada. By establishing this institute, Canada is joining a global effort to ensure safe, secure and trustworthy AI.

In this op-ed first published by Tech Policy Press, Duncan Cass-Beggs outlines some priorities for the institute’s work and several potential principles for its design. Above all, he urges that “for these investments to be worthwhile, Canada will need to empower its new institute with a clear mandate and an agile structure, and make a commensurate government commitment to turn research into policy action.”

As AI tools rapidly improve at generating text that sounds human, Robert Diab says many observers are wondering “how far off we might be from a textual singularity — a moment when all text online will be presumed to be fake. One source estimates that by 2026, some 90 percent of the Web’s content will be automated. Surely an overstatement, but by how much?”

In this op-ed first published by Newsweek, Diab responds that “recent work on the nature of language models and cognition helps us to settle this debate in favour of the skeptics.” He argues that “the qualitative difference [AI tools] will never overcome is a fundamental staleness in thought.…The best policy response to fears of the net being taken over by bots is to cultivate a reputation for insight, authenticity and truth.”

There’s an urgent need for intergovernmental action to strengthen cybersecurity. Yet, as Kyle Hiebert outlines, a UN special committee tasked with delivering a proposal for a binding legal framework for dealing with cybercrime is having trouble reaching consensus. Negotiations have broken down over the convention’s scope, and lost in the noise are the interests and needs of developing countries.

Hiebert says that although the way forward is anything but clear, “an amendment to the treaty’s draft text presented by Canada at the committee’s concluding session in February may offer an elegant solution to the dilemma of how to mitigate cybercrime while still considering human rights.” If UN negotiators can use that amendment “to produce a revised treaty text that achieves the broadest possible level of support, that would represent meaningful compromise and progress.”

In this new video, a complement to their earlier paper of the same title, Jessica West and Jordan Miller provide insight into the complexities of space governance, including policy dilemmas and technological advancements. They explore the intricacies of regulating activities beyond Earth’s atmosphere and of navigating through “grey zones” in rules and conduct, offering a comprehensive look at the challenges and opportunities for the future of space governance.