[AfrICANN-discuss] WIPO Development Committee Kicks Off With Compromise - PLEASE READ

[Anne-Rachel Inné]

 WIPO Development Committee Kicks Off With Compromise
http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2011/11/15/wipo-development-committee-kicks-off-with-compromise/

Published on 15 November 2011 @ 3:57 pm


<http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2011/11/15/wipo-development-committee-kicks-off-with-compromise/print/>

By Rachel Marusak Hermann
<http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/author/rachel/>for Intellectual
Property Watch

The eighth session of the World Intellectual Property Organization
Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) opened this week
with the close of its seventh session. Committee coordinators were still
gathered in negotiations as the eighth session was due to begin on 14
November, hammering out a compromise on proposed meetings on South-South
cooperation among developing countries.

The CDIP’s seventh session was suspended on 6 May, as member states could
not agree on various parameters of the project meant to bolster
collaboration between developing and least developed countries (*IPW*,
WIPO, 7 May 2011<http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2011/05/07/wipo-committee-on-development-agenda-suspended-discussions-bogged-down/>).
In particular, developed countries objected to a proposition in the
original project, submitted by Egypt, that included closed-door South-South
meetings.

According to a delegate from Group B developed countries, this was the
group’s “redline issue. We support South-South cooperation, but some states
should not be excluded.” The sticking point was smoothed over with an
amendment allowing meetings to be open to “developing countries, least
developed countries and other interested Members.”

The chair’s draft summary of the seventh session is available
here<http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/CDIP-7th-Session-Chair-Summary.pdf>[pdf].

Supporting South-South Cooperation

Several delegates from developing countries said that they were pleased
that the project was finally adopted. One such delegate said that it was
important that the decision was made by consensus and that it didn’t have
to go to a vote. “It’s now open to all countries, which is part of the
principle of the Development Agenda.”

“But that should not be the critical question here,” the delegate said.
“What’s important is the actual exchange between South-South countries.
These meetings will provide an important opportunity for developing
countries to share common challenges and common solutions.” According to
the chair’s draft summary, the meeting modalities should be decided upon at
the regional coordinators level before the end of 2012.

Kicking off the meeting in compromise seemed to set a tone of country
cooperation for the rest of the day. Many groups’ opening statements
commented on the committee’s renewed commitment to move forward as a united
front. For example, the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries
(GRULAC) said in its opening remarks, “Mr. Chair, our organisation is based
on the principles of multilateralism, inclusion and not exclusion. This
week we will require the flexibility of all delegations and also your
leadership in achieving positive outcomes for the benefit of developing
countries on the items of this committee’s agenda.”

Reports: Technical Assistance and MDGs

This CDIP session, which meets until 18 November, has a hefty
agenda<http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_8/cdip_8_1.pdf>[pdf]
with a number of substantial reports up for review. A new independent
external review of WIPO technical assistance received widespread
acknowledgement from member states, but when it will be reviewed is
unclear.

The external review
report<http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_8/cdip_8_inf_1-annex1.pdf>[pdf]
was submitted to WIPO in summer by authors Carolyn Deere (Oxford
University Global Governance Project and Board Chair of Intellectual
Property Watch) and Santiago Roca (Professor of Economics at the ESAN
Graduate School of Business in Lima and former director of Peru’s
Industrial Property Office). The first document of its kind, the report
looks at the effectiveness, impact, efficiency and relevance of WIPO
technical cooperation activities from 2008-2010.

Made available to member states in early September, some countries called
for extra time to review the report given its exhaustive nature. Group B
noted in its opening
statement<http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/CDIP-8-Opening-Statement_Group-B.pdf>[pdf]
that the review is “280 pages long, with a 35-page summary.” They
suggested “it would be wise to allow for a detailed review and analysis of
the paper before we undertake discussions. We also think that it is
premature to decide upon convening a working group to discuss the
recommendations.”

Another external
report<http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_8/cdip_8_4.pdf>[pdf]
that garnered particular attention was “Assessing WIPO’s Contribution
to the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)” submitted
by Sisule Musungu, president of IQsensato, a non-profit research group on
international policymaking on development-related issues.

*The African Group took interest in the report during its opening
remarks, available
here
<http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/CDIP-8-Opening-Statement-of-the-African-Group.doc>[doc],
saying, “The findings of the report necessitate WIPO to implement them
urgently considering the overall assessment of the MDGs implementation is
in four years time.”*

IP and Development Proposal

The African Group also noted its support of a proposal for a new CDIP
agenda item on IP and development. “The African Group is also concerned
that the third pillar of the mandate of the CDIP on discussing IP and
development is yet to be included in its regular work program. As we have
suggested in the previous sessions of the Committee, we propose that a
standing agenda item entitled intellectual property and development be
added on the agenda of the CDIP.”

The Brazilian delegation made the
proposal<http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_6/cdip_6_12_rev.pdf>[pdf]
on behalf of the Development Agenda Group (DAG) during CDIP’s sixth
session in November 2010. According to the African Group, the agenda item
would “discuss how WIPO would address Development Agenda Recommendation 40,
which instructs WIPO to intensify its cooperation on IP-related issues with
other United Nations Specialized Agencies and organisations such as the
WHO, UNEP and UNCTAD as well as other international organisations such as
the WTO in order to strengthen coordination for maximum efficiency in
undertaking development programs.”

Other topics up for discussion this week include modalities of a
Development Agenda reporting mechanism, patents and the public domain, a
future work program for flexibilities in the IP system, and contributions
of relevant WIPO bodies’ implementation of the Development Agenda
Recommendations.
Related Articles:

   - WIPO Committee On Development Agenda Suspended, Discussions
Bogged Down<http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2011/05/07/wipo-committee-on-development-agenda-suspended-discussions-bogged-down/>
   - WIPO Delegates Meet On IP And Development
Implementation<http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2011/04/29/wipo-delegates-meet-on-ip-and-development-implementation/>
   - WIPO Works On Its Development Agenda Implementation This
Week<http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2010/11/22/wipo-works-on-its-development-agenda-implementation-this-week/>
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