[Ecommerce] Techdaily: WIPO Agrees To Development Agenda

[Jeff Williams]

Manon, Jamie and all,

  Agreeing to develop an agenda by WIPO does little to nothing
to interrupt the ongoing bi-lateral negotiations and agreements the
US and other countries have engaged in.  These agreements will
not likely be affected by the development of a new agenda taking
a possibly new direction which remains to be seen despite anyone's
opinion of a sea change in culture of WIPO.  Someof the most
economically strong countries will continue to seek bi-lateral
trade agreements that will be in what is perceived to be in their
best interest for the long and short term.

   Hence although WIPO *May* be changing it's attitude, the effect
will be to little to late and to develop a new agenda in no way
will change the decisions of countries already in the midst of
bi-lateral trade agreements or even have a significant effect on
future trade agreements.

Manon Ress wrote:

> International Roundup: October 6, 2004
> WIPO Agrees To Development Agenda
> by William New
>
> The World Intellectual Property Organization, sometimes criticized by
> nonprofit groups as favoring large intellectual property holders and
> wealthy nations, this week agreed to continue work on a proposal to
> integrate developing-country issues into the organization's activities.
>
> The decision came after debate at the WIPO annual general assembly in
> Geneva on a proposal from Brazil and Argentina to "fully incorporate"
> and "take immediate action in providing for the incorporation of a
> 'development agenda.'" All developing countries in the 181-member
> organization backed the proposal, WIPO said.
>
> Further meetings, open to inter-governmental and non-governmental
> organizations, will be held on that and future proposals from developing
> countries. A seminar on intellectual property and development also will
> be organized.
>
> Also at the assembly, a proposal by Japan and the United States to move
> forward with narrowed negotiations for a patent-law treaty failed to win
> consensus. In addition, WIPO members agreed to continue negotiating
> separate treaties on the rights of audiovisual performers and broadcasters.
>
> Commenting on the development agenda, Cory Doctorow of the Electronic
> Frontier Foundation said: "The ridiculous IP-at-any-cost position of
> WIPO has been laid bare and revealed for a sham. Now the organization is
> taking its first baby steps towards balance."
>
> Jamie Love, director of the Consumer Project on Technology, called it a
> "change in culture" for WIPO and said the body "supported an entirely
> different approach," emphasizing previously neglected areas such as
> open-source software, which allows users to view the underlying code.
> "WIPO will never be the same," he said.
>
> --
> 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
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Regards,

--
Jeffrey A. Williams
Spokesman for INEGroup LLA. - (Over 134k members/stakeholders strong!)
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