tralac was invited to a workshop on Intellectual Property, Free Trade Agreements, and Sustainable Development, co-organized by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Third World Network, Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental, and Trade Law Centre for Southern Africa. The workshop was held on 27-28 February 2006 at American University in Washington, DC.

The objective of the workshop was to promote a more balanced and sustainable development-oriented bilateral intellectual property negotiations. In particular, the workshop aimed to provide a forum for negotiators and stakeholders from developing countries to meet U.S. stakeholders with similar or complementary positions to exchange experiences and information on the challenges of negotiating and implementing intellectual property provisions of bilateral trade agreements. Topics included:

1. setting intellectual property provisions in the context of the opportunities and challenges for sustainable development in bilateral trade agreements; 

2. identifying U.S. intellectual property legislation, policies and decision-making processes relevant for efforts to negotiate and implement bilateral trade agreements from a sustainable development perspective; 

3. enhancing a South-South exchange of experiences on the negotiation and implementation of intellectual property provisions; and 

4. developing strategies to counter or avert rising bilateral levels of intellectual property provisions.