[A2k] FromGeneva: New WIPO committee on Development Agenda gets underway

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

Please check the blog to access the following reports:

     (a) Preliminary Implementation Report with respect to the 19
proposals identified for
     immediate implementation by WIPO; and

     (b) Initial Working Document regarding the implementation of the
26 agreed proposals.


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http://www.keionline.org/index.php?option=3Dcom_jd-wp&Itemid=3D39

Thiru, from Geneva | WIPO Development Agenda | Access to Knowledge
New WIPO committee on Development Agenda gets underway
March 3rd, 2008 by Thiru Balasubramaniam

The newly created WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual
Property (CDIP) is meeting this week in Geneva from 3 March - 7 March
2008. The chair of the CDIP is Ambassador Trevor Clarke of Barbados.
Today the discussion has focused mainly on the rules of procedure and
modalities governing this Committee. Unfortunately, finding the 45
Development Agenda recommendations adopted at the WIPO General
Assembly in September/October 2007 on the WIPO website is not easy.
For the sake of transparency, it would be good if the International
Bureau published these 45 recommendations on a readily accessible site.

Today, two documents bearing the seal of the Chair were circulated.
The first document consists of two parts:

     (a) Preliminary Implementation Report with respect to the 19
proposals identified for
     immediate implementation by WIPO; and

     (b) Initial Working Document regarding the implementation of the
26 agreed proposals.

The second document contains suggestions made by the Central European
and Baltic States, the Group of Friend of Development and the Republic
of Korea on activities for the implementation of the WIPO Development
Agenda recommendations.

So far, Member States have made general statements and inter-
governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations are
slated to speak now. More details of Member States=92 interventions will
be made available soon. As my recollection goes, South Africa, Brazil
and Thailand made strong interventions; Thailand specifically
referenced access to knowledge.

Earlier in the day, there had been some tension between on how to deal
with the 19 proposals identified for immediate implementation vis-a-
vis the 26 agreed proposals. At the end of the day, the Chair
suggested a =93cluster by cluster=94 parallel approach. This means, the
CDIP would consider the first proposal in cluster A of the 26
recommendations followed by the first proposal in cluster A of the 19
proposals identified for immediate implementation.

The substantive work will begin tomorrow.

Today the Indian representative posed a question to the Chair: =93How
will you ensure that the development dimension is incorporated into
WIPO?=94 Perhaps this is a question that could well be posed to the
entire WIPO membership as it meets this week to make decisions on how
the Development Agenda will be implemented.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 3rd, 2008 at 6:12 pm.

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Thiru Balasubramaniam
Geneva Representative
Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
thiru@keionline.org


Tel: +41 22 791 6727
Mobile: +41 76 508 0997