Archbishop Jurkovič calls for
ethical consideration of intellectual property
 |
| Archbishop Ivaan Jurkovic |
The Vatican’s Permanent Representative to the United
Nations, Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič, issues a statement on Thursday, on the
occasion of the Meetings of the World Intellectual Property Organization.
By Vatican News
The Holy See’s Permanent Representative to the United
Nations (UN), Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič, has called for advancement in
negotiations on the Treaty on the Protection of Broadcast Organizations and the
effective protection of genetic resources, traditional knowledge and
folklore.
Archbishop Jurkovič made this call in a statement on the
occasion of the 60th series of Meetings of the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), organized in Geneva Switzerland, on
Thursday.
In the statement, the Archbishop commended all the frontline
workers in the fight against the pandemic. He also expressed his gratitude to the
outgoing WIPO Director-General, Dr. Francis Gurry, and congratulated the
newly-elected Mr. Daren Tang. He then went on to express some of the Holy See’s
concerns to the organization.
Intellectual property
Archbishop Jurkovič pointed out that the Holy See
“recognizes the role of the protection system of intellectual property in
promoting the literary, scientific or artistic production” for the sake of the
“common good.” This “emphasizes the ethical and social dimensions” that
uniquely involve the human person.
He also notes that the current coronavirus crisis has
highlighted the need for communicating the complexities of intellectual
property and placing it in the “context of innovation and creativity
frameworks.” The Archbishop then went on to express his confidence that the new
WIPO Covid-19 search facility will represent “a critical tool in disseminating
information of technologies that others may build upon for the global fight
against Covid-19.”
The challenge of digital transformation and Artificial
Intelligence
In the coming years, noted the Archbishop’s statement,
organizations and their services will have to adapt to the new challenges
presented by digital transformation and Artificial Intelligence.
This is because “Artificial Intelligence is not neutral. It
is the result of many disciplines involved, each entailing a specific area of
responsibility.”
Archbishop Jurkovič reiterated Pope Francis’s speech during
the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life in February this year.
On that occasion, Pope Francis said: “There is a political dimension to the
production and use of artificial intelligence, which has to do with more than
the expanding of its individual and purely functional benefits.” For this
reason, “there is a need to create intermediate social bodies that can
incorporate and express the ethical sensibilities of users and educators.”
The Archbishop stressed that the Holy See regards questions
of ethics, human rights and creative sector markets as central considerations.
They will help in re-examining existing policies and ensure that emerging
technologies are developed ethically for the good of humanity and the
environment.
Areas of concern
The statement pointed out the concern of “reaching an
agreement on a text of an international legal instrument.” This will ensure the
“effective protection of genetic resources, traditional knowledge, traditional
cultural expressions and folklore. The document explained that the crucial role
played by indigenous communities in relationship with their ancestral lands
calls for a different model of development that takes them into account. Thus,
the legal document must “not only favor the preferential option on behalf of
the poor, the marginalized, and the excluded, but also consider their leading
role.”
Another concern is “moving forward in the negotiations on
the Treaty on the Protection of Broadcast Organizations.”This concern
highlights the significant value of broadcast and the service provided by
broadcasters and calls the WIPO member states to work to update “the existing
international framework with due regard to technological developments.”
The document also points out that “the copyright system must
continue to play its essential role in incentivizing and rewarding creativity
and innovation.” To achieve this, WIPO member states should
prioritize promoting the quality and accessibility of education worldwide.
Education will help people discover their talents and put them to use at the
service of mankind. It will also “form minds to a broader vision capable of
embracing distant realities” extending not just through space, but also through
time.
Concluding, the Archbishop reiterated the Holy See’s
willingness to collaborate with the newly-elected Director-General and the
Secretariat.
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