5th IFKAD - Matera, Italy

Conference of International Forum for Knowledge Assets Dynamics

A snapshot of the Hotel lobby Matera, Italy where IFKAD conference took place . The town is built on mountain slopes with houses and hotels carved out of rock deep in to the mountains… some of them nestling in caves like this one which are renovated and modernized and have, internet, air conditioning, and heating. This town is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Conference

The IFKAD Knowledge and Assets Conference in Matera,Italy. Prof Shanker (Shanks) Seetharam of Centennial College, chaired a session on Knowledge Assets and was also a speaker on day 2 events surrounding Rising Economies.

The following is an extract of his speech:

“This question holds particular importance in light of a 2003 study titled "Dreaming with BRICs: The Path to 2050," published by Goldman Sachs.

(1) This paper examined growth projections of the BRIC economies from the present date to 2050 relative to long-term projections of the G8 countries.

(2) The authors applied demographic trends to projections of capital accumulation and productivity growth to make their predictions. The results were startling.

In less than four decades, the BRIC economies collectively will be larger than the G8. China has overtaken already overtaken Germany in terms of GDP.

(3) India's economy is projected to be larger than all nations except the United States and China in as little as thirty years.

(4) China may overtake Germany in economic size within four years, Japan within ten years, and the United States within thirty-five years.

(5) India is expected to grow at the rate of five percent per year for the next thirty years. Its 2009 figures declare it at 8%

(6) By 2050, only the United States and Japan may be left of the current six largest economies in the world.

(7) It is reasonable to conclude that over the next few decades years the BRIC economies will increasingly influence the world's political, and economic power. Also, the rise of BRIC power will have significant implications for the international business legal environment. Yet few legal scholarly articles discuss the BRIC economies collectively as an emerging economic force. (8) This article focuses on one important legal aspect of BRIC's economic growth--the international protection of intellectual property rights. (9) The lack of intellectual property rights protection ranks for many firms as the single most significant threat to their international competitiveness. Little wonder then right up to present day these countries hold hope and maybe our future well being is dependent on them as they gallop into double digit growth an lift millions of their citizens out of poverty. But at whose cost? Who will protect the Intellectual Property Rights of corporations ranging from pharma, to high tech to new age products…and yes services too.

Matera,Italy at dusk. Location of 5^th IFKAD conference