[Ecommerce] IP-Watch WIPO Development Agenda, Developing Countries Submit New Proposals

[Manon Ress]

http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=3D40&res=3D1024_ff&print=3D0
6/4/2005
WIPO Development Agenda, Developing Countries Submit New Proposals


by Carolyn Deere @ 7:15 pm

On the eve of high-level meetings next week on development and
intellectual property, the fourteen co-sponsors of the proposal for the
World Intellectual Property Organisation=92s new Development Agenda today
submitted detailed elaborations of their proposals for incorporating
development into WIPO=92s work.

The fourteen so-called Friends of Development asked the WIPO Secretariat
to distribute the proposal to all WIPO Member States for consideration
at two meetings to be held next week: an April 11-13 Inter-sessional
Intergovernmental Meeting on the Development Agenda (IIM) and an April
14-15 Permanent Committee on Cooperation for Development Related to
Intellectual Property (PCIPD).

In a press release issued today, WIPO highlighted that the meetings next
week follow the decision adopted by Member States in the 2004 General
Assembly debate =93to convene inter-sessional intergovernmental meetings
to examine the proposals contained=94 in the original Development Agenda
proposal introduced last fall by Argentina and Brazil (and co-sponsored
by an additional twelve developing countries), =93as well as additional
proposals of member states.=94

Under the rubric of =93promoting development and access to knowledge for
all=94, the co-sponsors offered concrete recommendations on four aspects
of their original Development Agenda proposal.

First, the co-sponsors argued that reform of WIPO=92s governance structure
is a necessary prerequisite for promoting development in its work. They
proposed amending the WIPO Convention to make it more consistent with
WIPO=92s mandate as a UN specialised agency, strengthening the role of
Member States in guiding WIPO=92s work, establishing an independent
Evaluation and Research Office, and ensuring wider participation by
civil society and public interest groups in WIPO discussions and activities=
.

Second, the Friends of Development proposed principles to ensure that
development objectives are central to all processes and outcomes of WIPO
norm-setting activities, including greater Member State involvement in
devising WIPO=92s work plan, comprehensive assessment of the sustainable
development implications of any proposed new laws; deeper consideration
of the rights and interests of a broad range of stakeholders with
respect to intellectual property; and stronger efforts to ensure that
proposed standards support the objectives and provisions of other
international instruments (such as the Millennium Development Goals).

To ensure these guidelines have practical effect, the co-sponsors
recommended independent, evidence-based =93Development Impact Assessment=94
(DIA), the incorporation of provisions to recognise the difference
between developed and developing WIPO Member States, and greater public
consultation prior to any norm-setting discussion in WIPO.

Third, the submission proposed mechanisms to ensure WIPO=92s technical
assistance and capacity building responds to the development goals of
developing countries. The co-sponsors argued for the adoption by the
2005 WIPO General Assembly of a commitment to technical assistance
programmes that are: development-focused, comprehensive and coherent;
neutral, unbiased, non-discriminatory; tailor-made to respond to the
expressed and distinct needs of a range of stakeholders. They argued
that special attention should be paid to the different levels of
development of various countries and fostering =93the technical capacity
of countries to fully use in-built flexibilities in international
agreements to advance national pro-development policies.=94

In order to make =93good use of the limited resources allocated to
intellectual property technical assistance in WIPO=94, the Friends of
Development recommended concrete measures to implement and monitor
adherence to these guidelines, such as measures for improved
information-sharing, a code of ethics to assure the independence of
technical assistance providers, the development of indicators and
benchmarks for evaluation, and greater transparency about the design and
implementation of technical assistance programmes. The proposal also
called for analysis of options for separating WIPO=92s technical
assistance function from its norm-setting function.

Fourth, the submission argued that WIPO should contribute to
international discussion of what developed countries can do to
facilitate the transfer and dissemination of technology to developing
countries and recommended several new initiatives at the multilateral level=
.

In their submission, the Friends of Development emphasised their view
that =93the development dimension of intellectual property is not the same
thing as technical assistance.=94 They affirmed that they attach
importance =93to the role of intellectual property in the path towards
development=94 and stressed their belief that =93WIPO could have a new
role=85if it incorporates the development dimension into its work=94.

The proposal also responded to the question of where best to locate the
Development Agenda discussion in the long-term. The co-sponsors stated
that the Development Agenda =93cannot be limited to or contained within
the work of any specific subsidiary body within WIPO=94 but must be
pursued =93in all areas of WIPO=92s activities, including in the work of al=
l
standing committees and other subsidiary bodies=94.

Finally, indicating that more is still to come, the Friends of
Development noted that their proposal is not exhaustive and they
=93reserve the right to make additional contributions to the debate as
discussions continue=94.

Sisule Musungu of the South Centre, a key developing country
inter-governmental think-tank, today applauded developing countries for
their collaborative effort to give practical effect to the Development
Agenda and to bolster the work of WIPO. Proactive proposals from
developing countries, he argued, help WIPO realise its long-stated goal
of making its approach to IP relevant and supportive of development. In
addition, he said that the =93issues raised in the proposals cover not
only the concerns of developing countries but also the interests of key
constituencies (such as consumers) in the North.=94

A developing country official highlighted that the new submission should
put to rest claims by some developed countries that they =93do not
understand=94 the original Development Agenda proposal. The Development
Agenda discussion, he said, brings WIPO up-to-date with other
international organizations=97from the World Bank to the WTO=97which have
undertaken similarly useful processes of introspection to ensure their
actions achieve development-oriented results.

The WIPO Secretariat noted today that it had also received submissions
from Mexico (on Intellectual Property and Development) and the United
States of America (on the Establishment of a Partnership Program in
WIPO) related to next week=92s discussions.

Sources in Geneva predict strong reactions and a lively debate among the
Secretariat, WIPO Member States, and other stakeholders on these
proposals in the coming days.

The Friends of Development Group comprises the co-sponsors of the
original proposal to establish a WIPO =93Development Agenda=94 (Argentina,
Bolivia, Brazil, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Iran, Kenya,
Peru, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania and Venezuela).

The WIPO Secretariat also drew attention today to an International
Seminar on Intellectual Property and Development to be held on May 2 and
3, 2005 (co-organized by WIPO with the United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD), World Health Organization (WHO), United
Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and World Trade
Organization (WTO)). According to the Secretariat, this event is open to
all interested parties, including the press.

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free, non-commercial reproduction and translation.
Carolyn Deere, the author of this post, may be reached at
carolyn@ip-watch.org.

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

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