[Ip-health] Re: [A2k] 45 approved Development Agenda recommendations
Gwen Hinze
gwen@eff.org
Mon Mar 3 11:23:21 2008
We have also posted a colour-coded version here, with the 19
"immediately implementable" proposals highlighted in yellow:
<http://www.eff.org/pages/new-wipo-development-agenda>
Gwen Hinze
International Policy Director
Electronic Frontier Foundation
At 12:49 PM +0100 3/3/08, Thiru Balasubramaniam wrote:
>--
>[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
>I realize that you may have already seen this, but often I feel we
>talk about the set of 45 proposals without a clear reference to what
>they exactly constitute (from time to time I get requests from people
>trying to find the proposals). Here they are reproduced in their
>entirety with the url on the WIPO website.
>
>
>
>
>http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/doc_details.jsp?doc_id=85452
>
>
>
>------------------------
>
>
>CLUSTER A: TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY BUILDING
>
>
>1. WIPO technical assistance shall be, inter alia,
>development-oriented, demand-driven and transparent, taking into
>account the priorities and the special needs of developing countries,
>especially LDCs, as well as the different levels of development of
>Member States and activities should include time frames for
>completion. In this regard, design, delivery mechanisms and
>evaluation processes of technical assistance programs should be
>country specific.
>
>
>2. Provide additional assistance to WIPO through donor
>funding, and establish Trust-Funds or other voluntary funds within
>WIPO specifically for LDCs, while continuing to accord high priority
>to finance activities in Africa through budgetary and extra-budgetary
>resources, to promote, inter alia, the legal, commercial, cultural,
>and economic exploitation of intellectual property in these countries.
>
>
>3. Increase human and financial allocation for technical
>assistance programs in WIPO for promoting a, inter alia,
>development-oriented IP culture, with an emphasis on introducing
>intellectual property at different academic levels and on generating
>greater public awareness on IP.
>
>
>4. Place particular emphasis on the needs of SMEs and
>institutions dealing with scientific research and cultural industries
>and assist Member States, at their request, in setting-up appropriate
>national strategies in the field of IP.
>
>
>5. WIPO shall display general information on all
>technical assistance activities on its website, and shall provide, on
>request from Member States, details of specific activities, with the
>consent of the Member State(s) and other recipients concerned, for
>which the activity was implemented.
>
>
>6. WIPO's technical assistance staff and consultants
>shall continue to be neutral and accountable, by paying particular
>attention to the existing Code of Ethics, and by avoiding potential
>conflicts of interest. WIPO shall draw up and make widely known to
>the Member States a roster of consultants for technical assistance
>available with WIPO.
>
>
>
>7. Promote measures that will help countries deal with IP
>related anti-competitive practices, by providing technical
>cooperation to developing countries, especially LDCs, at their
>request, in order to better understand the interface between
>intellectual property rights and competition policies.
>
>
>8. Request WIPO to develop agreements with research
>institutions and with private enterprises with a view to facilitating
>the national offices of developing countries, especially LDCs, as well
>as their regional and sub-regional IP organizations to access
>specialized databases for the purposes of patent searches.
>
>
>9. Request WIPO to create, in coordination with Member
>States, a database to match specific IP-related development needs
>with available resources, thereby expanding the scope of its technical
>assistance programs, aimed at bridging the digital divide.
>
>
>10. To assist Member States to develop and improve national
>IP institutional capacity through further development of
>infrastructure and other facilities with a view to making national IP
>institutions more efficient and promote fair balance between IP
>protection and the public interest. This technical assistance should
>also be extended to sub-regional and regional organizations dealing
>with IP.
>
>
>11. To assist Member States to strengthen national capacity
>for protection of domestic creations, innovations and inventions and
>to support development of national scientific and technological
>infrastructure, where appropriate, in accordance with WIPO's mandate.
>
>
>12. To further mainstream development considerations into
>WIPO's substantive and technical assistance activities and debates,
>in accordance with its mandate.
>
>
>13. WIPO's legislative assistance shall be, inter alia,
>development-oriented and demand-driven, taking into account the
>priorities and the special needs of developing countries, especially
>LDCs, as well as the different levels of development of Member States
>and activities should include time frames for completion.
>
>
>14. Within the framework of the agreement between WIPO and
>the WTO, WIPO shall make available advice to developing countries and
>LDCs, on the implementation and operation of the rights and
>obligations and the understanding and use of flexibilities contained
>in the TRIPS Agreement.
>
>
>
>
>
>CLUSTER B: NORM-SETTING, FLEXIBILITIES, PUBLIC POLICY AND PUBLIC
>DOMAIN
>
>
>15. Norm-setting activities shall:
>
>- be inclusive and member driven;
>
>- take into account different levels of development;
>
>- take into consideration a balance between costs and benefits;
>
>- be a participatory process, which takes into consideration the
>interests and priorities of all WIPO Member States and the viewpoints
>of other stakeholders, including accredited inter-governmental
>organizations and non-governmental organizations; and
>
>- be in line with the principle of neutrality of the WIPO Secretariat.
>
>
>16. Consider the preservation of the public domain within
>WIPO's normative processes and deepen the analysis of the
>implications and benefits of a rich and accessible public domain.
>
>
>17. 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.
>
>
>18. 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.
>
>
>19. 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.
>
>
>20. 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.
>
>
>21. 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.
>
>
>22. 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.
>
>
>23. 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.
>
>
>
>CLUSTER C: TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER, INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
>TECHNOLOGIES (ICT) AND ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE
>
>24. To request WIPO, within its mandate, to expand the scope
>of its activities aimed at bridging the digital divide, in accordance
>with the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society
>(WSIS) also taking into account the significance of the Digital
>Solidarity Fund (DSF).
>
>
>25. To explore IP-related policies and initiatives
>necessary to promote the transfer and dissemination of technology, to
>the benefit of developing countries and to take appropriate measures
>to enable developing countries to fully understand and benefit from
>different provisions, pertaining to flexibilities provided for in
>international agreements, as appropriate.
>
>
>26. To encourage Member States, especially developed
>countries, to urge their research and scientific institutions to
>enhance cooperation and exchange with research and development
>institutions in developing countries, especially LDCs.
>
>
>27. Facilitating IP-related aspects of ICT for growth and
>development: Provide for, in an appropriate WIPO body, discussions
>focused on the importance of IP-related aspects of ICT, and its role
>in economic and cultural development, with specific attention focused
>on assisting Member States to identify practical IP-related
>strategies to use ICT for economic, social and cultural development.
>
>
>
>28. To explore supportive IP-related policies and measures
>Member States, especially developed countries, could adopt for
>promoting transfer and dissemination of technology to developing
>countries.
>
>
>29. To include discussions on IP-related technology transfer
>issues within the mandate of an appropriate WIPO body.
>
>
>30. WIPO should cooperate with other intergovernmental
>organizations to provide to developing countries, including LDCs, upon
>request, advice on how to gain access to and make use of IP-related
>information on technology, particularly in areas of special interest
>to the requesting parties.
>
>
>31. To undertake initiatives agreed by Member States, which
>contribute to transfer of technology to developing countries, such as
>requesting WIPO to facilitate better access to publicly available
>patent information.
>
>
>32. To have within WIPO opportunity for exchange of national
>and regional experiences and information on the links between IP
>rights and competition policies.
>
>
>CLUSTER D: ASSESSMENT, EVALUATION AND IMPACT STUDIES
>
>
>33. To request WIPO to develop an effective yearly review
>and evaluation mechanism for the assessment of all its
>development-oriented activities, including those related to technical
>assistance, establishing for that purpose specific indicators and
>benchmarks, where appropriate.
>
>
>34. With a view to assisting Member States in creating
>substantial national programs, to request WIPO to conduct a study on
>constraints to intellectual property protection in the informal
>economy, including the tangible costs and benefits of IP protection in
>particular in relation to generation of employment.
>
>
>35. To request WIPO to undertake, upon request of Member
>States, new studies to assess the economic, social and cultural impact
>of the use of intellectual property systems in these States.
>
>
>36. To exchange experiences on open collaborative projects
>such as the Human Genome Project as well as on IP models.
>
>
>37. Upon request and as directed by Member States, WIPO may
>conduct studies on the protection of intellectual property, to
>identify the possible links and impacts between IP and development.
>
>
>38. To strengthen WIPO's capacity to perform objective
>assessments of the impact of the organization's activities on
>development.
>
>
>
>CLUSTER E: INSTITUTIONAL MATTERS INCLUDING MANDATE AND GOVERNANCE
>
>
>
>39. To request WIPO, within its core competence and mission,
>to assist developing countries, especially African countries, in
>cooperation with relevant international organizations, by conducting
>studies on brain drain and make recommendations accordingly.
>
>
>
>40. To request WIPO to intensify its cooperation on IP
>related issues with UN agencies, according to Member States'
>orientation, in particular UNCTAD, UNEP, WHO, UNIDO, UNESCO and other
>relevant international organizations, especially WTO in order to
>strengthen the coordination for maximum efficiency in undertaking
>development programs.
>
>
>41. To conduct a review of current WIPO technical assistance
>activities in the area of cooperation and development.
>
>
>42. To enhance measures that ensure wide participation of
>civil society at large in WIPO activities in accordance with its
>criteria regarding NGO acceptance and accreditation, keeping the issue
>under review.
>
>
>43. To consider how to improve WIPO's role in finding
>partners to fund and execute projects for IP-related assistance in a
>transparent and member-driven process and without prejudice to ongoing
>WIPO activities.
>
>
>44. In accordance with WIPO's member-driven nature as a
>United Nations Specialized Agency, formal and informal meetings or
>consultations relating to norm-setting activities in WIPO, organized
>by the International Bureau, upon request of the Member States, should
>be held primarily in Geneva, in a manner open and transparent to all
>Members. Where such meetings are to take place outside of Geneva,
>Member States shall be informed through official channels, well in
>advance, and consulted on the draft agenda and program.
>
>
>
>CLUSTER F: OTHER ISSUES
>
>
>45. To approach intellectual property enforcement in the
>context of broader societal interests and especially
>development-oriented concerns, with a view that "the protection and
>enforcement of intellectual property rights should contribute to the
>promotion of technological innovation and to the transfer and
>dissemination of technology, to the mutual advantage of producers and
>users of technological knowledge and in a manner conducive to social
>and economic welfare, and to a balance of rights and obligations", in
>accordance with Article 7 of the TRIPS Agreement.
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>Thiru Balasubramaniam
>Geneva Representative
>Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)
>thiru@keionline.org
>
>
>Tel: +41 22 791 6727
>Mobile: +41 76 508 0997
>
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>A2k mailing list
>A2k@lists.essential.org
>http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/a2k