[Ip-health] WIPO/DA - Access to Knowledge (a2k) Treaty - Feb 3-4, 2005 Geneva meeting

[James Love]

This is a short note to let people know that TWN, CPTech and IFLA intend
to host a February 3 and 4 Geneva meeting to discuss the WIPO
development agenda (DA) and a Treaty on Access to Knowledge (a2k).

In August 2004, Argentina and Brazil presented a proposal for a
development agenda at WIPO. The proposal and many of the comments and
discussions are on the web here:
http://www.cptech.org/ip/wipo/futureofwipo.html. One element of the
proposal was a possible Treaty on Access to Knowledge (a2k). In the
original Argentina/Brazil proposal, the context for the a2k treaty
concerned access to government funded research. However, many other
issues raised in the Argentina/Brazil proposal could logically be
discussed within a broader a2k treaty, including for example a treaty on
minimum copyright or patent limitations and exceptions (copyright
limitations and exceptions were recently discussed at the WIPO SCCR, and
will be scheduled as a full agenda item in the June WIPO SCCR meeting),
proposals to encourage open access publishing models, free/open source
software, access to knowledge problems with legally mandated
Technological Protection Measures/Digital Rights Management (TPM/DRM)
regimes, the Control of Anticompetitive Practices (Implementation of
Articles 8, 31.k and 40 of the TRIPS), implementation of Article 4 of
the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health, and proposals for a
protocol on the transfer of technology and knowledge to developing
countries, as well as other items mentioned or not mentioned in the
Argentina/Brazil proposal. For example, among topics not mentioned in
the Argentina/Brazil proposal would be a new protocol with the Patent
Cooperation Treaty (PCT) to have global coordination of notice and
disclosure of patent claims on proposed standards for bodies like the
IETF and the W3C, or the proposal for patent exceptions for public goods
projects like the Human Genome Project or the HapMap Project.

On October 4, 2004, the WIPO General Assembly issued a =E2=80=9CDecision on=
 a
Development Agenda=E2=80=9D (see below). This decision basically *FAST-TRAC=
KS*
discussion of the various topics in the development agenda, including
multiple meetings, a July 30 2005 report by the WIPO secretariat and
consideration of the Development Agenda at the September 2005 General
Assembly meeting.

In order to help consumer, development and civil society groups engage
in this debate, the Third World Network, CPTech and the International
Federation of Library Associations and Institutions will be holding a
two day meeting in Geneva on February 3 and 4. There will be further
details out later, including an agenda. The CPTech contact for the
meeting is Manon Ress (manon.ress@cptech.org), for those who want
further information.


General Assembly Decision on a Development Agenda
October 4, 2004

________________________________________________________________________

Following discussions, the General Assembly adopts the following
decision:

Recalling that the relationship between development and intellectual
property has continuously been raised in several multilateral fora;
Taking into account the activities carried out by WIPO in the area of
development;

Bearing in mind the internationally agreed development goals, including
those in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, the Programme of
Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010, the
Monterey Consensus, the Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable
Development, the Declaration of Principles and the Plan of Action of the
first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society and the Sao
Paulo Consensus adopted at UNCTAD XI;

(1) The General Assembly welcomes the initiative for a development
agenda and notes the proposals contained in document WO/GA/31/11.

(2) The General Assembly decides to convene inter-sessional
intergovernmental meetings to examine the proposals contained in
document WO/GA/31/11, as well as additional proposals of Member States.
To the extent possible, the meetings will be convened in conjunction
with the 2005 session of the Permanent Committee on Cooperation for
Development Related to Intellectual Property. The meetings, open to all
Member States, will prepare a report by July 30, 2005, for the
consideration of the next General Assembly. WIPO-accredited IGOs and
NGOs are invited to participate as observers in the meetings.

(3) The International Bureau shall undertake immediate arrangements in
order to organize with other relevant multilateral organizations,
including UNCTAD, WHO and UNIDO, WTO, a joint international seminar on
Intellectual Property and Development, open to the participation of all
stakeholders, including NGOs, civil society and academia.

(4) The General Assembly decides to include this issue in its September
2005 session.




--
James Love | Consumer Project on Technology
http://www.cptech.org | mailto:james.love@cptech.org
P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 200036
voice +1.202.387.8030 | fax +1.202.234.5176