[A2k] Flurry of upcoming meetings at international organizations in Geneva (WHO, WIPO and WTO)

Sun Nov 1 06:47:12 2009

http://keionline.org/node/677

Flurry of upcoming meetings at international organizations in Geneva
(WHO, WIPO and WTO)
By thiru
Created 30 Oct 2009 - 3:08am

The final stretch of 2009 ushers in a host of meetings at Geneva based
institutions including the WIPO Advisory Committee on Enforcement, the
WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property, the WTO
Ministerial, the WHO Expert Working Group and the Standing Committee
on Copyright. To keep abreast of the hive of activity emanating from
WIPO, WHO and WTO, here is a roadmap to keep track of the various
meetings.

November 2, 2009
African-Arab Seminar on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions:
Addressing the Needs of Affected Constituencies

On November 2, 2009, the World Intellectual Property Organization and
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt will convene an African-Arab
Seminar on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions: Addressing the Needs
of Affected Constituencies [1]. Participants include government
representatives from Algeria, Benin, Brazil, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon,
Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan and Syria. For a full list of
participants, please consult this link. [2] The provisional agenda can
be found here [3].

According to WIPO,

     [t]his seminar will provide a forum for a dialogue and exchange
of information, views and insights among different participants, in
both the African and the Arab regions, in the field of copyright
limitations and exceptions, bearing in mind the ongoing discussions at
the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights. In
addition to general themes related to the topic, discussions will also
focus on limitations and exceptions for libraries, archives, museums,
dissemination and use of copyrighted works for education and research,
and IP and the rights of persons with disabilities.

November 3, 2009
WIPO Stakeholder Platform

The WIPO Stakeholder Platform (Third Meeting with Rightsholders and
the Visually Impaired Sector Representatives) will meet at the Library
of Alexandria in Egypt on November 3, 2009.

November 2-4, 2009
Advisory Committee on Enforcement

The Fifth Meeting of the WIPO Advisory Committee on Enforcement (ACE)
is meeting in Geneva from November 2-4, 2009. Two themes on the agenda
[4] include: 1) Contribution of, and costs to, right holders in
enforcement, taking into consideration Recommendation No. 45 of the
WIPO Development Agenda, and 2) Identifying elements for creating an
enabling environment for promoting respect for intellectual property
in a sustainable manner and future work.

Recommendation 45 of the Development Agenda states:

     To approach intellectual property enforcement in the context of
broader societal interests and especially development-oriented
concerns, with a view that =93the protection and enforcement of
intellectual property rights should contribute to the promotion of
technological innovation and to the transfer and dissemination of
technology, to the mutual advantage of producers and users of
technological knowledge and in a manner conducive to social and
economic welfare, and to a balance of rights and obligations=94, in
accordance with Article 7 of the TRIPS Agreement.

For the 5th session of the ACE, eight papers have been prepared by
experts including Professor Michael Blakeney (Policy Responses to the
Involvement of Organized Crime in Intellectual Property Offences [5]),
Carsten Fink (Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights: An Economic
Perspective [6]) and Sisule Musungu (The Contribution Of, and Costs
To, Right Holders in Enforcement, taking into account Recommendation
45) [7].

Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP)
November 16, 2009 to November 20, 2009

The 4th session of the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual
Property, the steward body of the Development Agenda meets in Geneva
from November 16 to November 20, 2009. The projects [8]for
consideration by Member States include: Intellectual Property and the
Public Domain [9], Intellectual Property and Competition Policy [10],
Project on Intellectual Property, Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTS), the Digital Divide and Access to Knowledge,
Developing Tools for Access to Patent Information, Intellectual
Property and Technology Transfer, Enhancement of WIPO's Results-Based
Management (RBM) Framework to Support the Monitoring and Evaluation of
Development Activities, in addition to country proposals by People=92s
Democratic Republic of Algeria, Brazil and the Islamic Republic of
Pakistan [11], a Group B proposal [12], and a joint proposal by Japan
and the Republic of Korea. [13]

WHO Expert Working Group on R&D Financing
November 30, 2009

The 3rd meeting of the WHO Expert Working Group on R&D Financing meets
in Geneva on November 30, 2009. It is unclear at this stage whether
this conclave of experts will meet for one, two or three days. This is
the final meeting of the Expert Working Group created under the
mandate of WHA61.21. As the final report of the EWG is due at the 63rd
Assembly "through the Executive Board" which presumably is the 126th
session of the WHO Executive Board in January 2010, one wonders when
the final report of the EWG will be made made available to the general
public.

Seventh WTO Ministerial Conference
November 30 to December 2, 2009

The Seventh WTO Ministerial Conference [14]takes place from November
30 to December 2, 2009 in Geneva. According to the WTO, the "general
theme for discussion shall be =93The WTO, the Multilateral Trading
System and the Current Global Economic Environment".

Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic
Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore
December 7, 2009 to December 11, 2009

The WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and
Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC on GRTKF
[15], an acronym that rolls of the tongue) will meet from December
7-11, 2009 in Geneva. The General Assembly (2009) revived the nearly
moribund IGC with a new lease of life.

Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights
December 14, 2009 to December 18, 2009

The Nineteenth Session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and
Related Rights (SCCR) meets from December 14 to December 18, 2009 in
Geneva. The three themes on the agenda of SCCR 19 include: 1)
Limitations and exceptions, 2) Protection of audiovisual performances
and 3) Protection of the rights of broadcasting organizations. As part
of the conclusions of SCCR 18, the Proposal by Brazil, Ecuador and
Paraguay on a Treaty for Reading Disabled Persons will be discussed
under the Limitations and Exceptions agenda item. On December 14,
2009, WIPO will convene an Information Meeting on Limitations and
Exceptions for Educational Activities [16] with the following
speakers: Professor Joseph Fometeu, Universit=E9 de Ngaound=E9r=E9,
Cameroun, Professor Juan Carlos Monroy, Universidad Externado de
Colombia, Bogota, Professor Victor Nabhan, University of Ottawa,
Ottawa, Professor Daniel Seng, National University of Singapore,
Singapore and Professor Raquel Xalabarder, Open University of
Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain. Thus far, the two documents that WIPO has
prepared for SCCR 19 include: 1) an Analytical Document on Limitations
and Exceptions [17] and 2) a Second Draft Questionnaire [18]on
Limitations and Exceptions.

Source URL: http://keionline.org/node/677

Links:
[1] http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/2009/cr_cai_09/index.html
[2] http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/copyright/en/wipo_cr_cai_09/wipo_cr_cai=
_09_inf_2.pdf
[3] http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/2009/cr_cai_09/program.html
[4] http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/enforcement/en/wipo_ace_5/wipo_ace_5_1_=
prov_rev.pdf
[5] http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/enforcement/en/wipo_ace_5/wipo_ace_5_5.=
pdf
[6] http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/enforcement/en/wipo_ace_5/wipo_ace_5_6.=
pdf
[7] http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/enforcement/en/wipo_ace_5/wipo_ace_5_10=
.pdf
[8] http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/details.jsp?meeting_id=3D17460
[9] http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_4/cdip_4_3.pdf
[10] http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_4/cdip_4_4.pdf
[11] http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_4/cdip_4_9.pdf
[12] http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_4/cdip_4_10.pdf
[13] http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_4/cdip_4_12.pdf
[14] http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/min09_e/min09_e.htm
[15] http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/details.jsp?meeting_id=3D17585
[16] http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/copyright/en/sccr_19/sccr_19_inf_2_pro=
v.pdf
[17] http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/copyright/en/sccr_19/sccr_19_3.pdf
[18] http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/copyright/en/sccr_19/sccr_19_2.pdf
------------------------------------------------------------

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

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