[Ecommerce] Blogs on WIPO and the Development Agenda

[Manon Ress]

http://www.corante.com/copyfight/archives/2005/02/24/whats_up_with_wipo.php

February 24, 2005
What's Up With WIPO?
Posted by Donna Wentworth

As regular Copyfight readers know, the fact that the World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO) is considering the so-called Development
Agenda is the biggest and best news copyfighters worldwide have heard
for years. The big question here: Will WIPO unlock its considerable
power to help humanity by pursuing a range of initiatives that reflect
such notions as "balance," "innovation" and "access"? Or will it remain
mired in an "IP uber alles" philosophy that considers any and all
"strengthening" of intellectual property rights to be the proper
fulfillment of its mission?

The latest developments are promising: WIPO has agreed to a number of
meetings in April where the Development Agenda will be discussed.
Lately, however, some non-government organizations (NGOs) have started
to worry that they will be excluded from the meetings because WIPO
hasn't yet accredited them. It's a unique moment in WIPO history, and
hashing through the pros and cons of the agenda will require the
perspectives and expertise of organizations that are focused on public
interest and development issues. Yet there's no guarantee that these
groups will be accredited and their voices heard.

Yesterday, David Tannenbaum of the Union for the Public Domain published
a terrific post over @ LawMeme that provides insights on the situation
from CPTech's Jamie Love. Love is working to gather details from WIPO
about the process for admitting NGOs to ensure that people who have
vital experience and authority in these matters will not be excluded. If
you care about the direction of intellectual property law and policy,
the post is a must-read/must-link/must-republish. It's important that
the public knows what's happening here. Let's shed some light.

--
Manon Anne Ress
manon.ress@cptech.org,
www.cptech.org

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