The three key accomplishments of the CAS-IP in 2004 were to foster exchange of knowledge and experience, file a patent application under the patent cooperation treaty, and conduct a workshop on intellectual property and technology transfer.

Foster Exchange of Knowledge and Experience

As part of its mission, the CAS facilitates the exchange of knowledge and experiences, particularly those relating to intellectual property (IP) management practice, among the CGIAR centers. The Fourth Annual CGIAR IP Strategy Meeting, organized by CAS, held at the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) headquarters in Maccarese, Romein June provided an excellent venue for center IP managers and focal points to accomplish this goal. In addition, the participants provided CAS with inputs for the 2005 CAS workplan. The discussion on center IP management was enhanced by the participation of three outside IP practitioners with expertise in technology transfer, transactional law, and Geographical Information System (GIS) database management. The meeting was attended by representatives from 11 Future Harvest Centers and 3 external consultants. An Microsoft Sharepoint site was established for this community to exchange ideas throughout the year.

Patent Application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty

CAS-IP drafted and filed a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) patent application dealing with herbicide technology that, once developed to a field-use stage, will be deployed at no cost by small-holder farmers in Africa with the assistance of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT). CAS-IP also assisted in the drafting and filing of two PCT patent applications for the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and its partners in the East Coast Fever (ECF) vaccine project to facilitate the development of an ECF vaccine for small-holder farmers in Eastern Africa. To assist centers with building internal capacity, CAS also identified, helped develop workplans for, and assisted with orientation and training of two legal interns, one for the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and one for the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

Workshop on Intellectual Property/Technology Transfer

CAS-IP organized the Challenge Program Intellectual Property/Technology Transfer (IP/TT) Workshop (28-30 June), and IPGRI. representatives from all active Challenge Programs (CPs) participated, including the Water & Food CP coordinator, the director of the Generation Challenge Program , all CP subprogram leaders, steering committee members from HarvestPlus, and SC representatives. Over the course of the three days, CP participants had an opportunity to work with eight IP/TT specialists to assess the level of IP management practice in their programs and identify areas where the CPs needed to further develop materials (e.g., agreement and contract language and IP policy statements). Several of the ideas generated during this workshop have inspired development of joint proposals between CAS-IP and the Generation CP to assist Generation CP grantees with implementation of the CP Consortium Agreement and drafting product development and distribution plans.

Collaboration with Other SO Units

CAS-IP has been involved in IPGRI's Risk Management analysis. CAS-IP staff interacted with John Mwangi and John Fitzsimon of the IAU as well as IPGRI personnel to explore the risks associated with Intellectual Property/ Intellectual Property Rights (IP/IPRs) and intangible assets and legal aspects. Victoria Henson Apollonio, Senior Scientist and Manager of CAS-IP, has been a member of IPGRI's Risk Management Committee.

In April 2004, CAS, along with Chief Information Officer Enrica Porcari and Vima Salazar of the IAU, assisted the WorldFish Center with reporting on the World Bank GPG Project. For the developers of the WorldFish Center's FishBase, ReefBase, FiRST (TrawlBase), and WorldFishStat, CAS provided feedback on, assistance with, and awareness raising about IP/IPR issues related to the creation and distribution of GPGs.