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

Wed May 14 13:08:00 2008

All,

  Congrats to Francis, although I am not one of his
fans, he was by default the best choice given WIPO's
anti-public leanings...

-----Original Message-----
>From: Thiru Balasubramaniam <thiru@keionline.org>
>Sent: May 13, 2008 11:58 PM
>To: a2k discuss list <a2k@lists.essential.org>
>Subject: [A2k] IP-Watch: Francis Gurry of Australia Wins Election To Be Ne=
xt WIPO Director General
>
>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.
>
>=E2=80=9CThis was an extremely close contest. I don=E2=80=99t want to go t=
hrough too
>many similar experiences in my life,=E2=80=9D Gurry told members in what
>amounted to a victory speech that sought to stress inclusiveness. =E2=80=
=9CI
>want to assure the membership that as of conclusion of this process my
>mind will be set on all members. I=E2=80=99m very much aware of the divers=
ity
>of the organization.=E2=80=9D
>
>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=C3=A7a 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, =E2=80=9CViva Gurry!=E2=
=80=9D
>
>Progressive voting results were posted to www.ip-watch.org.
>
>Gurry said WIPO is first a =E2=80=9Cservice=E2=80=9D organisation, and mus=
t be state-
>of-the-art in what it does. But it also is =E2=80=9Cextremely important fo=
r
>this organisation that the Development Agenda be robust,=E2=80=9D 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. =E2=80=9CThe much-needed healing at WIPO can beg=
in,=E2=80=9D
>said US Ambassador Warren Tichenor.
>
>The Brazilian ambassador took a conciliatory tone with reporters,
>saying that the =E2=80=9Conly way to rebuild the organization is to build
>respect.=E2=80=9D He highlighted the closeness of the vote.
>
>The voting was expected to last into another day or two, but moved
>quickly after Gurry, Gra=C3=A7a 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 =E2=80=9Cmany rounds=E2=80=9D=
 of
>consultations before the meeting, and the inclusiveness. =E2=80=9CThis was=
 a
>process that everybody had been part of,=E2=80=9D she said. =E2=80=9CThe w=
hole process
>went better than our greatest hopes.=E2=80=9D
>
>Gurry also signalled awareness of the suggestion some have made that
>WIPO may be losing its global competitiveness.
>
>=E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s interesting times for intellectual property,=E2=80=
=9D Gurry said. =E2=80=9CMany
>challenges.=E2=80=9D
>
>William New may be reached at wnew@ip-watch.ch.
>
>
>The URI to TrackBack this entry is:
>
>http://ip-watch.org/weblog/wp-trackback.php?p=3D1043
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>Thiru Balasubramaniam
>Geneva Representative
>Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
>thiru@keionline.org
>
>
>Tel: +41 22 791 6727
>Mobile: +41 76 508 0997
>
>
>
>
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