[Ip-health] Proposals on "norm-setting" informally agreed to

[Sangeeta]

Please find below the second SUNS report on the WIPO Development Agenda
meeting held last week in WIPO and reproduced here with permission.

Best Wishes
Sangeeta Shashikant

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposals on "norm-setting" informally agreed to

SUNS #6272 Friday 15 June 2007

Geneva, 14 June (Sangeeta Shashikant) -- An informal meeting at the session
on the WIPO Development Agenda has agreed on seven draft proposals on
perhaps the most sensitive of its clusters of issues - Norm-setting,
Flexibilities, Public Policy and Public Domain (Cluster B).

Agreement on the proposals was reached in an informal small group chaired by
Ambassador Trevor Clarke of Barbados, who is also chair of the formal WIPO
session. It will come before the formal plenary for further discussion and
adoption.

Countries in the informal group include Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Korea,
Singapore, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Barbados, Mexico, Chile,
Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, US, Switzerland, Germany and
Australia.

According to a diplomat, negotiations on this cluster were expected to be
the "most controversial" which is why this item took a whole day of
discussion. However, the delegate added that despite the controversy and
difficulties in negotiating Cluster B, there was no "animosity" in the room.

The group on Thursday discussed proposals on Assessments, Evaluation and
Impact Studies (Cluster D), and difficulties also arose during negotiations
on this item.

According to diplomats, developed countries in Group B were especially
opposed to a proposal to establish an independent development impact
assessment capability within WIPO with respect to technical assistance,
technology transfer and norm-setting.

The proposal added that this could evolve towards an independent WIPO
Evaluation and Research Office (WERO) that would be responsible for, inter
alia, evaluation of all WIPO's programs and activities and carrying out of
Development Impact Assessments in norm-setting activities, and technical
cooperation.

The draft proposals agreed to in Cluster B on norm setting, flexibilities,
public policy and public domain are:

1. In its activities, including norm-setting, WIPO should take into account
the flexibilities in international IP agreements, especially those which are
of interest to developing countries and LDCs.

2. To urge the IGC to accelerate the process on the protection of genetic
resources, traditional knowledge and folklore, without prejudice to any
outcome, including the possible development of an international instrument
or instruments.

3. To initiate discussions on how, within WIPO's mandate, to further
facilitate access to knowledge and technology for developing countries and
LDCs to foster creativity and innovation and to strengthen such existing
activities within WIPO.

4. To promote norm-setting activities related to IP that support a robust
public domain in WIPO's Member States, including the possibility of
preparing guidelines which could assist interested Member States in
identifying subject matters that have fallen into the public domain within
their respective jurisdictions.

5. WIPO shall conduct informal, open and balanced consultations, as
appropriate, prior to any new norm-setting activities, through a
member-driven process, promoting the participation of experts from Member
States, particularly developing countries and LDCs.

6. WIPO's norm-setting activities should be supportive of the development
goals agreed within the UN system, including those contained in the
Millennium Declaration.

The WIPO Secretariat, without prejudice to the outcome of Member States'
considerations, should address in its working documents for norm-setting
activities, as appropriate and as directed by Member States, issues such as:
(a) safeguarding national implementation of intellectual property rules; (b)
links between IP and competition; (c) IP-related transfer of technology; (d)
potential flexibilities, exceptions and limitations for Member States; and
(e) the possibility of additional special provisions for developing
countries and LDCs.

7. To consider how to better promote pro-competitive IP licensing practices,
particularly with a view to fostering creativity, innovation and the
transfer and dissemination of technology to interested countries, in
particular developing countries and LDCs.

A hotly contested issue in the Cluster B discussion was "access to
knowledge". The initial proposals on this were to elaborate a mechanism to
facilitate access to knowledge and technology for developing and least
developed countries and to establish a Treaty on Access to Knowledge and
Technology.

These proposals had already been diluted when it reached the informal group
this week. However, the developed countries (Group B) still objected to the
use of the phrase "access to knowledge." The US proposed to replace
"knowledge" with "information".

James Love, director of the US-based Knowledge Ecology International,
reported in a blog-site that Canada said that it didn't understand what
"access to knowledge" meant.

According to Love, "the UK indicated that there was a sentiment by many
countries that while WIPO could discuss measures that would make access to
knowledge hard, such as tough new digital copyright laws, it shouldn't
discuss proposals, like a treaty to provide minimum access to works by
libraries, teachers and the blind, which would expand access."

However, the phrase "access to knowledge" received unanimous support from
developing countries in the room, making it difficult for Group B to
maintain its position.

According to a diplomat, Group B finally gave way and agreed to that term
(used in proposal 3 above) especially as developing countries highlighted
that they were already very flexible and had significantly moved away from
their earlier position.

Another contested issue concerned the principles for setting norms. The
final text is much diluted from the original proposal of the Group of
Friends of Development.

The original proposal was: "To include in treaties and norms provisions on,
inter alia (a) objectives and principles; (b) safeguard of national
implementation of IP rules; ( c) against anti-competitive practices and
abuse of monopoly rights; (d) promotion of transfer of technology; (e)
longer compliance periods; (f) flexibilities and "policy space" for the
pursuit of public policies; (g) exceptions and limitations."

The initial reaction by Group B was to propose the total deletion of this
text. Eventually, a much diluted version of the original was agreed to. The
new draft text moves away from the mandatory requirement of "to include in
treaties and norms" to the directive that the WIPO Secretariat "should
address in its working documents for norm-setting activities, as appropriate
and as directed by Member States", "without prejudice to the outcome of
Member States considerations".

Some of the substantive elements have also been diluted, for example, the
phrase "policy space for the pursuit of public policies" has been removed.

While Group B has moved on from its initial position of not wanting to
discuss at all the proposals in Annex B of the main document as they
comprise many of the proposals of the Group of Friends of Development, it is
now engaging in the discussion, but still working in the negotiating room to
significantly dilute the many proposals put forward by developing countries.
+

------ End of Forwarded Message