[Ip-health] IQsensato to the 4th Session of the WIPO Committee on Development and IP

[Sisule F. Musungu]

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Statement of IQsensato to the Fourth Session of CDIP



[Made on Monday, 16th Nov 2009 afternoon]



Thank you Mr. Chairman.



I speak on behalf of IQsensato, which welcomes the opportunity to speak at =
this session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDI=
P).



IQsensato=E2=80=99s purpose is to provide an international platform for pro=
moting the research and thinking of researchers and experts to inform and s=
hape international policy debates and discussions such as the ones taking p=
lace in this Committee. In this context, IQsensato has been collaborating w=
ith the African Copyright and Access to Knowledge (ACA2K) Project (http://w=
ww.aca2k.org/index.php/); a project that has explored for over two years, t=
hrough empirical research, the relationship between national intellectual p=
roperty (IP) frameworks, particularly the copyright environments, and acces=
s to knowledge in African countries.



At the Third Session of the CDIP, we described the project and shared some =
of our preliminary findings. We are providing outside this meeting room a n=
umber of Briefing Papers about these preliminary findings as well as our me=
thodology guide and other materials. We will also be presenting more detail=
ed country specific findings from the ACA2K work to the forthcoming session=
 of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR).



As we noted at the Third Session of this Committee, the connection between =
IP law and knowledge production/consumption is often ignored in Africa. Whi=
le there are several aspects of national copyright law that are crucial to =
access to knowledge, the role of limitations and exceptions is particularly=
 noteworthy towards this end. In this respect, ACA2K research indicates tha=
t copyright limitations and exceptions are too narrowly and/or vaguely defi=
ned in a number of African countries to facilitate access in a balanced and=
 effective manner.

In this context, we hope that the implementation of projects such as that o=
n the public domain and that on information and communications technologies=
 (ICTs), the digital divide and access to knowledge will result in concrete=
 measures to address the practical impediments to access to educational mat=
erials, among others. Equally, we hope that the mechanisms put in place for=
 coordination and evaluation of the implementation of the Development Agend=
a will provide national stakeholders and the international community with c=
redible evidence on the basis of which better IP policy can be made in the =
future.



IQsensato, ACA2K and our network of researchers look forward to engaging wi=
th the national and regional implementation processes and to continue to br=
ing research-based feedback to this Committee as a contribution to ensuring=
 that the WIPO Development Agenda produces concrete development outcomes to=
 the benefit of people in developing countries.



To this end, in addition to the work that has already been undertaken on co=
pyright and access to knowledge, a number of ACA2K researchers have began, =
taking into account the WIPO Development Agenda and other processes, to exp=
lore new research directions. In particular, I would like to flag work towa=
rds exploring the potential of open innovation in both the formal and infor=
mal sectors in Africa. This work has relevance to, and will benefit from, a=
 number of the WIPO Development Agenda projects, including the project on I=
P and technology transfer.



Thank you Mr. Chairman.



Sisule F. Musungu
President
IQsensato
Rue de Vermont 37 - 39
1202 Geneva, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 332 2560 (main)
Tel: +41 22 332 2562 (direct)
Tel: +41797848253 (mobile)
Fax: +41 22 332 2561
E-mail: sisule@iqsensato.org
Website: http://www.iqsensato.org
Blog: http://www.iqsensato.org/blog/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Sisule
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sisule
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