[A2k] Developing Countries call for "Development Dimension" in WIPO

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Sangeeta

SUNS #5883 Thursday 29 September 2005

south-north development monitor SUNS [Email Edition]



Development: Developing countries call for 'development dimension' in WIPO

Geneva, 28 Sep (Sangeeta Shashikant) -- Member states of the World
Intellectual

Property Organization (WIPO) made preliminary statements on some crucial

issues that will be deliberated throughout the 41st session of the WIPO
General

Assemblies, whose meetings began on Monday and will take stock of current

WIPO activities and programmes, as well as provide directions for future
work

programmes.



Some of the key issues on which the General Assembly will be giving
directions

and which are also expected to be the subject matter of much debate are: how
and

in which forum the WIPO Development Agenda should be discussed; the future

work programme of the Substantive Patent Law Treaty (SPLT); whether to

convene a Diplomatic Conference on the Protection of Broadcasting
Organizations

in the second quarter of 2006; and whether the mandate of the
Intergovernmental

Committee on Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC)

should be extended to continue its work.



The meeting was opened by the WIPO Director-General, Dr. Kamil Idris, who
said

that the development goals and aspirations will continue to form the
cornerstone of

WIPO's initiatives and action, and that the development dimension will
continue to

be the main pillar. He also made brief comments on the different key issues
that

will be discussed during the next week and a half.



Ambassador Enrique Manalo, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to
the

UN in Geneva, was elected as Chairman of the Assemblies, replacing outgoing

Ambassador Bernard Kessedjian of France.



Many developing countries in their opening statements felt that WIPO needs
to do

more to address the development dimension in its activities. The general

statements raised the concerns that the intellectual property (IP) regime
has to be

balanced, i.e. it should not favour the IP right holders to the detriment of
public

interest and public policy. The IP regime must also preserve the national
policy

space of developing countries to formulate suitable policies and take
necessary

measures to attain their development goals.



There was also emphasis by many developing countries on the need to assess
and

understand the costs and benefits prior to undertaking norm-setting and

harmonization exercises.



The urgent need to integrate the development dimension in all of WIPO's
activities

was highlighted by the repeated references by developing countries to the
Doha

Declaration and Plan of Action adopted by the G77 and China at the Second
South

Summit in Doha recently.



On the substantive issues, developing countries raised concerns in that

misappropriation of  genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge

continues and that urgent attention must be given to creating a binding

international mechanism to deal with the problem.



With regard to the WIPO Development Agenda, numerous developing-country

delegations called for the renewal of the Inter-sessional Intergovernmental
Meeting

(IIM) process, as it has yet to complete the work that it has been tasked to
do by

the 2004 General Assembly.



Morocco, on behalf of the African Group, reaffirmed the great interest of
the

Group in WIPO's activities and made it clear that any possible budgetary
deficit

should not justify a lack of ambition on the part of WIPO towards activities
that

are of importance to African countries.



Morocco added that WIPO should privilege the full use of flexibilities
provided by

international Agreements and endeavour to preserve the balance between the
costs

and benefits while setting the norms for the reinforcement of the IP system.



It said that the development dimension remains a major concern of African

countries and stressed the need for the pursuance of the proceedings on the

Development Agenda at WIPO which remain uncompleted since some proposals,

most notably that of the African Group, were not discussed at the
Inter-sessional

Intergovernmental Meetings. The sense of equity and fairness recommends a
just

and fair treatment of all submitted proposals.



Morocco also recalled the political signal of the Heads of State of the G77
and

China at the Second South Summit in Doha, which called on WIPO as a

specialized institution of the UN to integrate the development dimension in
the

whole of its future plans and activities.



On the IGC, Morocco said that the African Group sets a high value on the

consolidation of the progress registered at the IGC, with the view to
establishing a

legally binding instrument to ensure the effective protection of traditional

knowledge (TK) and folklore against abusive use and misappropriation.

Participation of NGOs and local communities should also be encouraged in
order

to give more visibility and importance to the IGC.



Iran, speaking on behalf of the Asian Group, said that since many important

subjects will be discussed, the implications and the complex nature of the
subjects

necessitates each to be addressed on its own merit.



It also said that in light of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and
other

recognized instruments, development, as an important worldwide issue, is the

main concern of developing countries. WIPO, as a specialized UN body, while

working on promotion of the protection of right holders, should also be
committed

to the public policy and public interest concerns. It also recalled the G77
call

during the Second South Summit for WIPO to integrate the development

dimension in all its activities.



Iran stressed that in all activities of WIPO concerning the different
methods of

protection in treaties under discussion such as copyright and related
rights, law of

patents and reform of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), an inclusive
approach

should be adopted. The Group has in different WIPO committees repeatedly

requested that the issue of misappropriation of Genetic Resources and
associated

TK in the existing international IPR system be addressed. It has also pushed
for far

more tangible oriented results, and supported the materialization of an

international legally binding instrument.



With regard to technical assistance (TA) programs, Iran said that the Asian
Group

is of the opinion that TA programs should be demand-driven and take into

consideration the particularity of each state, to ensure an equitable
balance

between the interests of all stakeholders. A one-size-fits-all system cannot
properly

respond to the needs of developing countries and thus impact assessment
studies

and evaluating measures can assist developing countries and LDCs to measure
the

utility and impact of any high protection standard in WIPO's norm-setting

activities.



It added that an inclusive, democratic and transparent approach with regard
to the

established rules of procedures should be sought.



Argentina, on behalf of the Group of Friends of Development (Bolivia,
Brazil,

Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Iran, Kenya, Peru, Sierra Leone,

South Africa, Tanzania and Venezuela), expressed their expectation that the
WIPO

Assemblies consider and endorse the agreements that were reached in the

Committees in charge of the different issues.



Reopening agreed recommendations in a context where time is limited and
issues

many, would not be wise. It also stated that attempting to strike
last-minute deals

involving separate agenda items that are extremely complex would be even
less so,

and it would not wish to put the integrity and credibility of WIPO at stake
by

adopting risky, all-or-nothing type of procedures.



With respect to the WIPO Development Agenda, it said that it is a medium- to

long-term process which needs to be tackled at the highest level by means of

additional IIMs. It is also of utmost importance to developing countries to
ensure

that development concerns are effectively mainstreamed in all of the
activities of

WIPO. Argentina expressed its belief that there was room for improvement in

WIPO as an agency of the UN family, in procedural, administrative and

substantive terms.



It also said that cooperation and assistance activities must comply with
broad

development objectives. These activities must not become mere tools for the

enforcement of IP agreements to the benefit of right holders and the
detriment of a

member's national interest. WIPO's assistance should give recipient
countries the

opportunity to fulfill the entire range of their international IP
obligations including

the effective use of flexibilities that are an integral part of the IP
Agreements and

instrumental for developing countries  to attain the goals set in the
Millennium

Declaration.



Argentina added that the IP system should also cater to the interest of
those who

are concerned with and directly affected by certain negative trends in the
field of

IP protection, in particular bio-piracy, the misappropriation of TK and the
lack of

protection of cultural expressions and folklore. These issues that are
important to

developing countries must be handled through new appropriate and effective

substantive international obligations.



It said that initiatives that do not value or take on board the concerns and
positions

of developing countries will not receive support. It expressed concern that

insufficient attention had been given to the far-reaching implications of
extending

protection to new subject areas such as "web-casting"



On behalf of the G77 and China, Argentina said that at the Second South
Summit

in Doha, members of the Group were "fully convinced of the imperative to

continue to act in solidarity and unity for a peaceful and prosperous world
that

responds to their 'aspirations'". The Group reaffirmed its commitment to the

protection and promotion of its collective interests in genuine
international

cooperation for development. In that context, the Heads of State and
Government

Members adopted the Doha Declaration and the Plan of Action of the Summit
and

called for its implementation.



Quoting the Declaration, Argentina said that it was recognized that in
undertaking

international obligations, the undertakings may impose high costs, and given
the

different levels of development, it is imperative that identical obligations
are not

forced on unequal participants (paragraph 4 of the Doha Declaration). It
also

referred to a paragraph in the Declaration which emphasized the need to
integrate

the development dimension into international rule making and the need for

flexibility and national policy space for countries assuming international

commitments. The Group rejects imposition of laws and regulations with

extraterritorial impact and all other forms of coercive economic measures,
added

Argentina.



The Declaration stresses the need to adopt appropriate measures to overcome
the

technological gap between developing and developed countries and
arrangements

that facilitated technology transfer. The Group also believes that
restrictive

business practices and monopoly rights exercised by global corporations and
other

entities often impede innovation, flow of information and technology and
that a

major component of good governance at the international level should be good

corporate governance and corporate social responsibility.



Argentina, referring to paragraph 26 of the Declaration, reaffirmed the
urgency,

subject to national legislation, of recognizing the rights of local and
indigenous

communities that are holders of TK, innovations and practices and developing
and

implementing benefit-sharing mechanisms on mutually agreed terms for the use
of

such knowledge, innovations and practices.



With respect to the Doha Plan of Action, Argentina said that its
implementation

requires working towards a common strategy for securing national policy
space for

developing countries in all areas, which allows members to adopt the most

appropriate measures and priorities and to realize their right to
development

(paragraph 1 of Doha Plan of Action). The Plan of Action also called on WIPO
as

a UN Agency to include in all its future plans and activities including
legal advice

a development dimension that includes promoting development and access to

knowledge for all, pro-development norm setting, establishing

development-friendly principles and guidelines for the provisions of
technical

assistance and the transfer and dissemination of technology (paragraph 8
vii, Doha

Plan of Action).



The Swiss Delegation took the floor on behalf of Group B (comprised of many

developed countries) and said that the overarching goals already set out by
WIPO

are the right ones and it should continue to exploit its core competencies
to build a

better understanding of IP, to develop the IP system and to enhance the
efficiency

of the Secretariat and the services it provides. These are all areas in
which WIPO

must be successful if it is to play a strong role in achieving the UN MDGs.
The

Group also urged Members to set patent discussions back on track by
approving a

limited work plan for the WIPO Patents Committee that supports the common

interests of all Members.



It also said that the IGC is making good progress and the Group is willing
to

consider the continuation of the mandate of the IGC. It further welcomed the

creation of a Voluntary Fund to facilitate and encourage the participation
of

indigenous and local communities in the IGC. With respect to the CBD request

that WIPO examine and where appropriate address specific issues regarding
the

inter-relation of access to Genetic Resources and disclosure requirement in
IP

applications, Switzerland recommended that the draft examination (Doc.

WO/GA/32/8) prepared be transmitted to the CBD Conference of Parties.



The Group indicated that it was willing to continue Development Agenda

discussion but in the appropriate forum.  Some members of this Group in the
past

IIMs have been particularly keen to shift discussions to the Permanent
Committee

on Cooperation for Development Related to Intellectual Property (PCIPD).



The Group expressed hope that the General Assemblies will decide to convene
a

diplomatic conference on the protection of broadcasting organizations for
2006 in

Geneva. It also welcomed the entry into force of the Patent Law Treaty for
the

benefits it will provide to all WIPO stakeholders.



On budgetary matters, the Group said that it was pleased to see a new
budgetary

policy. In particular, the Group welcomed the balanced budget, no fee
increase,

increased mobilization for technical assistance, reserves on target,
predictable

forecast model for PCT fees and development of similar models for the other

systems of registration and tackling traditional and new priorities. It
supported the

creation of an Audit Committee of WIPO and the adoption of an internal audit

Charter.



The Group suggested that the Assemblies follow the advice of the UN Joint

Inspection Unit and directed the Director-General to discontinue his
practice of

personal promotions and to modify the staff rules accordingly.



The UK, speaking on behalf of the 25 European Community Member States and

acceding states of Bulgaria and Romania, supported the statement of Group B
and

the Czech Republic (on behalf of the Group of Central European and Baltic
states).

It emphasized its commitment to multilateralism in general and to WIPO in

particular. It supported the development of an international IP system which

promotes the economic, social and cultural development of all. The evolution
of

such a system can only benefit from the full participation of all WIPO
member

states which in turn can reap great benefits.



The UK said that in the last IGC, the EU presented a specific proposal for
an

effective, balanced and realistic global system for the disclosure of the
source of

Genetic Resources in patent applications. It also said that the EU has
played an

active role during the discussions on the WIPO Development Agenda and
listened

carefully to others' concerns. Looking to the future, there is the
possibility of two

diplomatic conferences being held in 2006 and, as with all issues,
flexibility will

be required on all sides to ensure successful outcomes.



China said that IP should contribute to the accomplishment of the MDGs and

encouraged all parties to feel a greater sense of duty to achieve the goals.
It also

said that during the norm setting exercises, the interest of different
countries

should be taken into account and while safeguarding the rights holders, it
should

not be detrimental to the public interest.



Brazil supported the statements made by Argentina on behalf of the G77 and

China as well as the Group of Friends of Development. It said that IP can be
a spur

to development if the national realities are respected. IP protection is not
an end

nor should it be seen as a one-size- fits-all solution for countries. It
added that

development is not a concern exclusive to developing countries. It proposed,
with

other Friends of Development sponsors, that there is full support to make

development a concern that should be ever present in all WIPO's activities.
There

must be balance in the activities undertaken in view of the various visions.



Egypt supported the statement made by Morocco, Argentina on behalf of the
G77

and the Group of Friends of Development. It said that IP should be
constantly

approached in a comprehensive manner with emphasis on its developmental

components. Addressing the wider national policy objectives of member
states, the

difference between their levels of development and socioeconomic conditions
and

the legitimate rights of the public interest, assures continuing progress in
the IP

regime.



It also viewed the IIM process as a crucial endeavour which should deliver

effective results on how best to integrate development in all activities
including

technical assistance and norm setting. Referring to the G77 Doha Plan of
Action, it

said that this reflected the determination of the leaders of developing
countries to

place development at the forefront of the international IP system.



Egypt stressed that further progress of the IP system would not be
sustainable if

the development dimension and public concerns are not fully integrated in
the

system.



South Africa said that in light of the global focus on development, WIPO
needs to

be guided by broader development resolutions. WIPO, as one of the main

institutions, has a significant role to play to ensure that IP rules support

development objectives. It also called for the renewal of the IIM process.



The US expressed full support for WIPO's work in promoting IP worldwide, as

strong IP stimulates creativity and local investment.

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