[A2k] IP-Watch: Francis Gurry of Australia Wins Election To Be Next WIPO Director General

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

http://ip-watch.org/weblog/wp-trackback.php?p=3D1043

13 May 2008
Francis Gurry Of Australia Wins Election To Be Next WIPO Director
General

By William New
By one vote, Francis Gurry of Australia tonight won a hard-fought
election to be the next director general of the World Intellectual
Property Organization

The historic election at WIPO, only the third in its history, was
decided today by a 42 to 41 margin.

=93This was an extremely close contest. I don=92t want to go through too
many similar experiences in my life,=94 Gurry told members in what
amounted to a victory speech that sought to stress inclusiveness. =93I
want to assure the membership that as of conclusion of this process my
mind will be set on all members. I=92m very much aware of the diversity
of the organization.=94

The busy campaigns of the 15 original candidates lasted for months,
beginning last autumn, and in some cases as far back as last summer,
when it became apparent that a concerted effort would be made to
convince the current director general to leave early out of concern
for confidence in his leadership. Director General Kamil Idris agreed
to leave the position one year early, on 1 October 2008.

But in the end, Gurry, considered a favourite as one of the most
senior officials in the organisation who had nevertheless crafted a
reputation for relative independence from the existing administration,
prevailed. Gurry is the deputy director general in charge of patents,
Internet domain names, and other matters, and previously served as
WIPO general counsel. His biography is available on the WIPO website,
click here.

In the end, it was a duel of insiders, as Gra=E7a Aranha also has been
with the organisation for years. But Gurry may have managed to swing
just enough developing country votes to take it. He also seemed to
have support among some staff in the organisation. After the result,
one staff person took to the hallways, shouting, =93Viva Gurry!=94

Progressive voting results were posted to www.ip-watch.org.

Gurry said WIPO is first a =93service=94 organisation, and must be state-
of-the-art in what it does. But it also is =93extremely important for
this organisation that the Development Agenda be robust,=94 he said.
That agenda, passed by WIPO members last autumn, is expected to ensure
activities at WIPO are equally reflective of developing country
interests. The Development Agenda was initiated by Brazil and Argentina.

The United States, which led the push to remove Idris, said it was
pleased with the outcome. =93The much-needed healing at WIPO can begin,=94
said US Ambassador Warren Tichenor.

The Brazilian ambassador took a conciliatory tone with reporters,
saying that the =93only way to rebuild the organization is to build
respect.=94 He highlighted the closeness of the vote.

The voting was expected to last into another day or two, but moved
quickly after Gurry, Gra=E7a Aranha and Masood Khan of Pakistan emerged
as clear leaders in the second round, leading all other remaining
candidates to withdraw. The 13 May voting was only among the 83
governments of the total WIPO membership of 184, which make up the
Coordination Committee, the WIPO executive body. The final nominee for
director general will be sent to the annual WIPO General Assembly for
final approval of the full membership in late September. It is
expected to be approved, according to sources.

Hilde Skorpen of Norway, the Coordination Committee chair, in an
interview attributed the fast outcome to the =93many rounds=94 of
consultations before the meeting, and the inclusiveness. =93This was a
process that everybody had been part of,=94 she said. =93The whole process
went better than our greatest hopes.=94

Gurry also signalled awareness of the suggestion some have made that
WIPO may be losing its global competitiveness.

=93It=92s interesting times for intellectual property,=94 Gurry said. =93Ma=
ny
challenges.=94

William New may be reached at wnew@ip-watch.ch.


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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