Why Intellectual Property will save the Cyprus economy

By Nick Kounoupias

On the surface the future might appear bleak for the Cyprus economy. Take three of our most important sectors for example – tourism, oil and gas and shipping.

Recent articles in the Cyprus Mail have warned that our perennial money earner, tourism, may not recover until at least 2022 because of the current pandemic. Many in the sector see this as optimistic with one senior figure in the sector warning that he just felt like “just walking away”, given the current difficulties. Meanwhile Cyprus’ valiant attempts over the last few years to explore and develop gas fields in the region together with its US and European multinational business partners and other states in the region are constantly menaced and threatened by the neighbourhood bully Turkey.

That constant threat, combined with the plummeting prices for oil world-wide in recent weeks to record lows, presents an extremely challenging backdrop for this sector of the economy also. And, finally, the shipping industry is facing and will continue to face, its own serious issues as a result of closed borders, port restrictions and shutdowns, and the unavailability of crews, suppliers and technicians. Cash flow problems abound as shipping companies cannot get paid by charterers in turn causing ripple effects throughout the chain.

Faced with these serious problems in three crucial sectors the long-term prospects for the Cyprus economy hardly seem encouraging. However, Cypriots are nothing if not resilient and, as with every problem that the country has faced in the past, come opportunities. And there is now a huge opportunity for the Cyprus Government to quickly expand the economy within those sectors that are less susceptible to external factors and more reliant on the natural talents of the Cypriot people.

At the end of February at the symposium organised by the University of Central Lancashire on Intellectual Property, I set out my long term vision for Cyprus, which is to cultivate “a culture of innovation and creativity, bringing scientists, entrepreneurs, creators and designers close together to enable innovation, the commercialisation of research and the monetisation of creative output that will spur economic growth and prosperity on the island”.

Human creativity, inspiration, entrepreneurship and innovation are natural skills, which are broadly speaking immune to external factors such as the weather, aggressive neighbours or international border controls. These human virtues will hardly be stifled by a pandemic. Indeed, the opposite has been the case as worldwide researchers and scientists have been scrambling to produce vaccines, or develop accurate and reliable Covid-19 tests. In the UK for example, faced with a massive shortage of ventilators, non-health-care sectors, such as those involved in Formula One racing, have combined their resources with the universities to produce necessary life-saving equipment.

In Cyprus world class businesses such as NIPD and RISE have been leading the fight against the pandemic together with leading state institutions such as the University of Cyprus and the Institute of Neurology and Genetics. Less visibly perhaps, Cypriot designers in different fields (for example Engino in Cyprus, Michael Anastassiades in London), film makers and musicians have been quietly making their mark on the international stage and enhancing Cyprus’ reputation. Cyprus truly has a rich seam of talent across many sectors and these can provide income and prosperity for Cyprus in the future, whilst cementing its reputation as an IP rich culture.

However, Cyprus cannot hope fully to do so without first identifying, securing, managing and protecting the various intellectual property rights – (copyrights, patents, designs and trade marks)- that these sectors rely upon for legal protection from copying and unlawful imitation. Intellectual Property is the “golden thread” running through everything. A strong Intellectual Property infrastructure and strong well enforced Intellectual Property laws really are the key to innovation and creativity. Nevertheless, despite recent advances in Cyprus much more still needs to be done.

There have been signs over the last few years that Cyprus has begun to appreciate and understand the importance of Intellectual Property. A few years ago, the Cyprus Parliament legislated to permit the public-sector universities to commercialise their Intellectual Property research. Earlier this year Kyriakos Kokkinos was appointed as the deputy minister for innovation recognising at the top levels of government the importance of supporting this field. Cyprus Seeds has been created to support and encourage the funding of new technologies. But more is needed.

In my view the government needs to do four things as soon as circumstances permit.

First it must find ways to increase the awareness of Intellectual Property in Cyprus and to explain its importance more widely. Consideration, for example, should be given to teaching the basics of protecting ideas and innovation as part of the school curriculum. This was done in the UK and elsewhere many years ago with remarkable effect. In the UK the design sector is now the fastest growing sector in the country.

Second the government should foster a culture of respect for Intellectual Property in Cyprus. There are still far too many counterfeit and pirated products on the market whilst creators are still not getting paid what they deserve for the use of their various copyrights. This is unacceptable and renders Cyprus a pariah amongst many copyright sectors. Tougher enforcement of the Cyprus Intellectual Property laws needs to be introduced especially in view of the fact that the links between organised crime and Intellectual Property piracy are well documented worldwide.

Third Cyprus must follow the EU in the future on Intellectual Property developments. Cyprus must not remain tied to the apron strings of the UK on Intellectual Property issues. The UK is these days aligning itself far more closely with the US on Intellectual Property matters rather than with the EU. For example, a few weeks ago to the consternation of the Intellectual Property community, the UK announced that it will not now implement last year’s EU Copyright Directive in a political move aimed at appeasing US ISP’s at the expense of UK rightsowners. Cyprus cannot allow itself to be influenced by this and sacrifice its developing reputation and prosperity in Intellectual Property because of a shared colonial history.

Fourth the government itself does need to be more joined up on Intellectual Property matters. For example, in the past decisions seem to have been made by one Ministry without consulting other Ministries resulting in contradictory messages being communicated at high profile public events. This is embarrassing. Whilst the appointment of a Minister for Innovation and Research is a great start, it would seem that the Minister’s responsibilities do not extend to the softer and less technical elements of Intellectual Property sectors such as music, film, design, brands and theatre. This must change if non-Cypriot Intellectual Property entities are to be encouraged back into Cyprus, which took a massive hit following the reduction of the tax incentives offered to Intellectual Property owners a few years ago.

So, the future needn’t be bleak for Cyprus. The opportunities are there. With a little more imagination Cyprus could become a world leader in its Intellectual Property offering. And, of course, making money from the output of those creative juices is what Intellectual Property is all about.

So today, on April 26, World IP Day, please remember to celebrate all things Intellectual Property and think about what Cyprus could achieve with greater respect, awareness and enforcement of Intellectual Property across the country.