[A2k] Highlights of Minister Gilberto Gil's (Ministry of Culture, Brazil) remarks to WIPO General Assembly 2006

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

Highlights of the General Statement by the Head of the Delegation of
Brazil (Minister Gilberto Gil, Ministry of Culture)


<SNIP>

We are living a historical moment when, more than ever, intellectual
property deserves to be the object of a debate that corresponds to the
breadth and complexity that this subject has acquired.  We have seen
that a number of sectors of the international community has become
increasingly aware of the importance of discussing intellectual property
in all its aspects, particularly its effects on social and economic
development, as illustrated by the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public
Health.

It is clear to us that development will only be ensured if there is a
balance between intellectual property rights and obligations and the
public interest, as had been highlighted by the Ambassador of Argentina,
on behalf of the Group of Friends of Development.  If such balance is
lost we will violate the nature of knowledge itself: we should never
forget Thomas Jefferson's words, according to which there would not be
any one thing less susceptible than all others of exclusive property
than ideas, whose sharing does not necessarily harm anyone

<SNIP>

The Brazilian Government is concerned with the fact that the Basic
Proposal for a Treaty on the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations,
approved by the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights,
remains the object of disagreements and had not been able to please the
majority of Members, both developed and developing.

Should this Assembly confirm the convening of a Diplomatic Conference
with a view to finalizing the Treaty, we must be aware that many
questions remain to be solved after several years of hard work on the
subject, shedding doubt on the very opportunity of such a negotiating
exercise.

The Brazilian Government calls for the Assembly to hold reasonable and
comprehensive discussions on this subject.  If the Diplomatic Conference
is ultimately confirmed by this Assembly, notwithstanding many pending
issues, we will be consciously assuming the risk of another failure at
WIPO, repeating the outcome of the Diplomatic of the year 2000, meant to
approve a new audiovisual treaty.

<SNIP>

At the international level, many different organizations are already
engaged in assessing the impacts of intellectual property.  The UN,
UNESCO, WTO, WHO, CBD, UNCTAD and many others have been contributing to
the debate on intellectual property and development.