Tony Bennett, Differing diversities - Council of Europe

Reasearch position paper 5great eagerness to respond to the challenges which cultural diversity presents forcopyright law and policy. However, with respect to a number of key elements inthe relationship between copyright and cultural diversity policies, legal scholarshipremains somewhat ambivalent.The climate of uncertainty in research on copyright and culture is a product ofambiguities in the international legal environment itself. In the area of intellectualproperty law, especially copyright, the current international situation is one of constantflux and instability. The fluidity of the international copyright regime ismatched by the growth of cultural awareness in the international community, andthe prioritisation of cultural interests in diverse international quarters – amonghighly industrialised countries, cultural minorities, and developing countries – fordifferent reasons. 1In these circumstances, it is critically important to identify directions for futureresearch which will maintain their relevance for cultural diversity issues in a legaland cultural climate characterised by constant change. These kinds of issues canbe located within existing streams of scholarship, where changes in the theoreticalorientation of research can bring about substantial progress in cultural diversitypolicies. They also arise in relatively underdeveloped areas of research, wherescholarship has yet to confront issues which are gradually becoming prominent inthe current legal environment.Impact of the internationalisation of intellectual property law on cultureScholarship on the legal implications of the TRIPs Agreement is substantial.Much of this research has been developed by legal scholars and experts, andfocuses on the legislative and administrative implications of the TRIPs Agreementfor member states. The impact of TRIPs on cultural diversity has also been a subjectof interest for legal scholars. However, scholarship in this area has yet to providecomprehensive and objective studies of the impact of TRIPs on culturaldiversity. The issue is primarily of concern to developing countries, “transitional”countries, and minority cultural groups, whose cultures often diverge substantiallyfrom western European and American norms. It is perhaps this feature of culturaldiversity issues which has led to some neglect by experts who, in their professionalcapacities, may identify more closely with the interests supporting the creationof TRIPs than with these other groups.Research into the internationalisation of intellectual property rights and culturaldiversity stands to benefit greatly from empirical work, which is generally quiteunderdeveloped in relation to intellectual property rights. 2 This is particularly truein the copyright field, where problems concerning incentives to undertake creativework, the nature of the relationship between the creation and dissemination of__________1. See Drahos, 1999: 358-365.2. Drahos (1999: 363) points out the paucity of empirical research on the effects of intellectual propertyregulation, with patents being a slight exception. Empirical research on the impact of patent law on developingeconomies is presented by Oddi (1987), and by Rapp and Rozek (1990).145