[Ecommerce] P2PNet on WIPO meeting

[Mike Palmedo]

http://p2pnet.net/story/2589

Call to 'unblinker' WIPO

p2pnet.net News:- Five hundred scientists, economists, legal experts and
consumer activists say the United Nations should relax protection for
owners of copyright, patents and trademarks and pay more attention to
the interests and needs of developing countries.

Accordingly, they're backing a proposal, "by a group of developing
countries to the UN body that oversees intellectual property, the World
Intellectual Property Organization," says the Associated Press.

WIPO's mission statement says, " The main objectives ... remain
constant: maintenance and further development of the respect for
intellectual property throughout the world. This means that any erosion
of the existing protection should be prevented, and that both the
acquisition of the protection and, once acquired, its enforcement,
should be simpler, cheaper and more secure".

But, "campaigners claim WIPO ... is blinkered and is only directed
toward protecting the rich," states the AP story. "They say intellectual
property protection should be a means to promote innovation and
creativity rather than an end in itself, and that WIPO must evaluate the
economic and social benefits of protection rather than just enforcing
the law."

In a lot of (WIPO) treaties, "the U.S. norm becomes the standard," Thiru
Balasubramaniam, Geneva representative of the Washington-based Consumer
Project on Technology, is quoted as saying.

There should be greater balance between the interests of poorer
countries and the owners of intellectual property, said Julia Oliva of
the Washington-based Center for International Environmental Law. "This
balance is being skewed."

If accepted by WIPO's 181 member states, the proposal could lead to a
change in the agency's constitution, adds AP.