[Ecommerce] Another story on Declaration and Proposal

[Manon Ress]

FYI:  Today is the day the Brazil Argentina Bolivia proposal is
discussed at WIPO general assembly in Geneva.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3050100a6026,00.html

Activists challenge UN intellectual property pact
30 September 2004

GENEVA: Some 500 activist organisations, economists and scientists,
including two Nobel laureates, yesterday demanded changes to UN
intellectual property laws, saying that current rules were unfair to
developing countries.

The group said it backed a call by some developing states for changes to
the World Intellectual Property Organisation's (WIPO) charter.

Brazil and Argentina, which are leading the initiative, will today
present a motion to the annual assembly of the United Nations agency
that would make promotion of economic development in poorer states one
of WIPO's goals.

The non-governmental organisations said in a statement that protection
for intellectual property rights, such as patents, was too often treated
as an end in itself rather than as a means to promote development.

The group included Oxfam International and Sir John Sulston, joint
winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize for Medicine. "We are not against
intellectual property rights, however we are for intellectual property
rights that strike the right balance," said Martin Khor of activist
organisation Third World Network.

A balance meant taking account of the interests of consumers in poorer
countries, whether it be of medicines, which were often prohibitively
expensive, or of information technology. Many rich nations now pressing
for tough levels of protection did not apply such high standards to
themselves when they were undergoing economic development, Khor said.

The Brazil-Argentina proposal, which is supported by a number of
developing nations including Iran, Kenya and Cuba, calls for more
transfer of technology between rich and poorer.

It also suggests that publicly financed research in developed nations
should be made available to all countries. But diplomats said that the
motion faced opposition from richer nations, which saw no need for any
WIPO rule changes.



--
Manon Anne Ress
Consumer Project on Technology
www.cptech.org
PO Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036
manon.ress@cptech.org, voice: 1.202.387.8030, fax: 1.202.234.5176