[Ip-health] KEI Brownbag re WIPO Development Agenda February 9, 2007

[Thiru Balasubramaniam]

Dear Colleagues,

Mark your calendar:  February 9, 2007 12:30-2:30 at 1621 Connecticut
Avenue NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 2009 -- Brown bag/briefing
regarding the WIPO Developement Agenda.

The Third Session of the Provisional Committee on Proposals related
to a WIPO Development Agenda (PCDA) will be held in Geneva (February
19-23, 2007).

Background: in 2004, a group of 14 countries requested the WIPO
General Assembly to consider a proposal that would include the
following:

evaluation of norm setting activities of WIPO
examination of the mandate and goververnance of WIPO
faciliation of technology transfer
promotion of appropriate measures for technical assistance

Following this, more than a hundred proposals were put on the table
by member states.  At the 2d Session of the PCDA there was no
consensus; the Kyrgyz Republic tabled a proposal for the General
Assembly consideration containing 41 recommendations (Doc PCDA/2/3)
[identical to Chair's conclusions that were rejected at the 2d
session].  We have now 6 clusters under labels such as technical
assistance and capacity building, norm setting, flexibilities, public
and public domain, technology transfer, information and communication
technology (ICT) and access to knowledge, institutional matters
incuding mandate and governance and other issues. These are described
as "low hanging fruits" or non controversial and will be discussed at
the 3rd Session.  The tough issues, at the core of the Friends of
Development request, will be discussed at the 4th session in June.

First link (Kyrgyz Republic) proposal:
http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/doc_details.jsp?doc_id=63532

2nd: Report from WIPO PCDA (2nd session)
http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/doc_details.jsp?doc_id=66912

We invited the following experts to inform us about the context and
substance of the discussions: (Confirmed discussants) Paul Salmon
(USPTO), David Carson (Copyright Office), Robert M. Watts (State
Depart.) Suzanne Stoll (WIPO), Thiru Balasubramaniam (KEI), James
Love (KEI); (Invited) Neil Graham (LOC) and Michael Shapiro (USPTO)

Contact: Manon Ress:  manon.ress@cptech.org or Thiru
Balasubramaniam:  thiru@cptech.org

------------
Thiru Balasubramaniam
Geneva Representative
Knowledge Ecology International
voice +41.22.791.6727
fax +41.22.723.2988
mobile +41 76 508 0997
thiru@cptech.org