[A2k] Scrip World Pharmaceutical News: WIPO adopts development agenda, but leader under fire

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

PHIND: Pharma & Healthcare Ind News - latest 5 weeks (PHIC)


Accession number & update
S00972390 20071002.
Occurrences
PARAGRAPH
SO (1)
TX (7).
Title
WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) adopts development
agenda, but leader under fire (F).
Source
Scrip.
Publication date
20071002.
Text

The general assembly of the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO) has adopted a development agenda, comprising 45 recommendations
which will enhance the development dimension of the UN agency, but its
implementation could be affected by leadership issues.

The development agenda was first raised by Brazil and Argentina in
September 2004 (and backed by others including Egypt and South Africa) ,
with a WIPO working group finalising the agenda in June (Scrip No 3270,
p 21).

Ellen t'Hoen for the Medecins sans Frontieres' access to medicine
campaign told Scrip: "We are very pleased on the adoption of the
development agenda as WIPO so far has not taken an interest in public
health matters, although it is a UN agency.

"WIPO saw itself primarily as an agency that protects intellectual
property - not to maximise benefits to society as a whole. As a result
of the development agenda, WIPO will need to change the way it works on
intellectual property.".

However, the general assembly meeting was overshadowed by calls from
developed countries (particularly from the US, the EU and Japan) for the
resignation of Dr Kamil Idris, the director general of WIPO, for
allegedly lying about his age on a number of official documents.

The US mission to the United Nations said Dr Iris violated the WIPO
staff rules and regulations and that these acts "cannot be considered a
mere administrative error; that without the use of an incorrect birth
date the director general's career path would not have been the same".
Dr Idris joined WIPO in 1983, becoming director general in 1997. Dr
Idris has denied any wrongdoing.

Some commentators have said the leadership crisis could affect the
implementation of the development agenda. Thiru Balasubramaniam, a
spokesperson for Knowledge Ecology International, a campaign group on
access to medicines and knowledge which worked closely on the
development agenda, told Scrip: "Despite the positive outcomes reached
at WIPO, the culmination of over three years of hard work, the coast is
not clear at WIPO. Most importantly ... the lack of a swift resolution
to the leadership crisis at WIPO could vitiate the political capital and
credibility gained by the passage of the development agenda. Difficult
questions remain on resolving the programme and budget of the
organisation which have direct consequences on implementation of the 45
recommendations.".

Even so, he said the passage of the agenda "has breathed new life into
the organisation and restored the public interest's faith in the
possibility that the multilateral system can be reformed.".

The development agenda covers a number of areas, including: technical
assistance and capacity building; norm-setting, flexibilities, public
policy and public knowledge; technology transfer, information and
communication technology and access to knowledge; assessments;
evaluation and impact studies; and institutional matters including
mandate and governance.

A committee on development and intellectual property will be set up to
develop a work programme for implementation of the agenda. It will
monitor, assess, discuss and report on the implementation of all
recommendations adopted.

The committee will be made up of member states and is expected to hold
its first meeting in the first half of next year. It will also submit an
annual report to WIPO's general assembly. 19 of the recommendations are
to be implemented immediately. (To access the development agenda, visit
www.wipo.int.).

Mr Balasubramaniam said: " The committee will consider new innovative
frameworks for stimulating R&D as well as examine competition policy as
a mitigating influence to curb the abuse of intellectual property
rights." SCRIP - World Pharmaceutical News - www.scripnews.com FILED 2
October 2007 COPYRIGHT Informa UK Ltd 2007.

COPYRIGHT BY Informa UK Ltd 2007

Elizabeth Sukkar
World Editor
Scrip World Pharmaceutical News


---------------------------------
Thiru Balasubramaniam
Geneva Representative
Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
voice +41.22.791.6727
fax +41.22.723.2988
mobile +41 76 508 0997
thiru@keionline.org