[A2k] WIPO SCP/IM/GE/06: Future Work Program for the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

An informal session of the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents
(SCP) will meet from April 10 to 12, 2006 "to agree on a work program
for the SCP, taking into account the discussions of the open forum" on
the Draft Substantive Patent Law Treaty (SPLT) held from March 1-3,
2006. This informal session will be a crucial meeting as it will help
steer the future course of the draft SPLT negotiations in the context of
US, Japanese, and European efforts to implement international patent law
harmonization. This informal session will set the agenda for the
ordinary session of the WIPO SCP later this year.


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http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/scp/en/scp_im_ge_06/scp_im_ge_06_2.doc

http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/scp/en/scp_im_ge_06/scp_im_ge_06_2.pdf


STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE LAW OF PATENTS
Informal Session
Geneva, April 10 to 12, 2006
FUTURE WORK PROGRAM FOR THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON
THE LAW OF PATENTS
Document prepared by the Secretariat



1. At its thirty-second (17th ordinary) session from September 26 to
October 5, 2005, the WIPO General Assembly discussed matters concerning
the establishment of a new work plan for the Standing Committee on the
Law of Patents in respect of the draft Substantive Patent Law Treaty
(SPLT) and adopted the following statement:

=93(i) An informal open forum would be held in Geneva in the first quarter
of 2006 on all issues that have been raised in the draft of the SPLT or
that Member States wish to include in the draft SPLT. The forum will be
of a duration of three days. The various issues will be discussed with
contributions from speakers reflecting a balance of geographical
representation and perspectives, and technical expertise. Member States
may submit proposals for issues and speakers for the forum until
November 15, 2005. The Chair of the WIPO General Assembly will conduct
consultations on the draft program with all interested Member States.
The Director General will publish the final program in January 2006.

=93(ii) A three-day informal session of the SCP will be held soon after in
Geneva to agree on a work program for the SCP, taking into account the
discussions of the open forum. WIPO will, in the measure possible,
provide financial assistance to facilitate the participation of
developing countries.
=93(iii) An ordinary session of the SCP will be held for a duration of
five days to commence work on the work program of the SCP agreed at the
informal session of the SCP.

=93(iv) The WIPO General Assembly in September 2006 will consider the
progress made with a view to determining a work plan for the following
year.=94

2. Following the above statement, an Open Forum on the Draft Substantive
Patent Law Treaty (SPLT) was held from March 1 to 3, 2006, at the
International Conference Center Geneva (CICG) subsequent to
consultations with all interested Member States on the program of and
the speakers for the Open Forum. The Open Forum was attended by 324
participants including 34 speakers, representatives of 66 Member States,
two Observer States, ten intergovernmental organizations and 21
non-governmental organizations, as well as 87 individual participants
from 30 countries. The program of the Open Forum is contained in the
Annex to this document. Presentations and speakers=92 biographies are
available on WIPO=92s website at:
http://www.wipo.int/meetings/2006/scp_of_ge_06/en/scp_of_ge_06_inf1.html.

3. The informal session of the SCP is being convened in accordance with
item (ii) of the statement referred to in paragraph 1 above.

4. The SCP is invited to consider and agree on a work program for the
SCP, taking into account the discussions of the Open Forum.


[Annex follows]