<div dir="ltr"><h2 class="posttitle">
WIPO Development Committee Kicks Off With Compromise </h2>
<small><a href="http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2011/11/15/wipo-development-committee-kicks-off-with-compromise/">http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2011/11/15/wipo-development-committee-kicks-off-with-compromise/</a><br><br>
Published on 15 November 2011 @ 3:57 pm</small>
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<p>By <a href="http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/author/rachel/" title="Posts by Rachel Marusak Hermann" rel="author">Rachel Marusak Hermann</a> for Intellectual Property Watch</p>
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<p>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. <span id="more-18155"></span></p>
<p>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 (<a href="http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2011/05/07/wipo-committee-on-development-agenda-suspended-discussions-bogged-down/"><em>IPW</em>, WIPO, 7 May 2011</a>).
In particular, developed countries objected to a proposition in the
original project, submitted by Egypt, that included closed-door
South-South meetings.</p>
<p>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.” </p>
<p>The chair’s draft summary of the seventh session is <a href="http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/CDIP-7th-Session-Chair-Summary.pdf">available here</a> [pdf]. </p>
<p>Supporting South-South Cooperation</p>
<p>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.” </p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>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.”</p>
<p>Reports: Technical Assistance and MDGs</p>
<p>This CDIP session, which meets until 18 November, has a <a href="http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_8/cdip_8_1.pdf">hefty agenda</a>
[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. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_8/cdip_8_inf_1-annex1.pdf">external review report</a>
[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.</p>
<p>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 <a href="http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/CDIP-8-Opening-Statement_Group-B.pdf">opening statement</a>
[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.”</p>
<p>Another <a href="http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_8/cdip_8_4.pdf">external report</a>
[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. </p>
<p style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><b>The African Group took interest in the report during its opening remarks, <a href="http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/CDIP-8-Opening-Statement-of-the-African-Group.doc">available here </a>[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.”</b></p>
<p>IP and Development Proposal</p>
<p>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.”</p>
<p>The Brazilian delegation made <a href="http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_6/cdip_6_12_rev.pdf">the proposal</a>
[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.”</p>
<p>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.</p>
<div class="related"><h3>Related Articles:</h3><ul><li><a href="http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2011/05/07/wipo-committee-on-development-agenda-suspended-discussions-bogged-down/" rel="bookmark" title="WIPO Committee On Development Agenda Suspended, Discussions Bogged Down">WIPO Committee On Development Agenda Suspended, Discussions Bogged Down</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2011/04/29/wipo-delegates-meet-on-ip-and-development-implementation/" rel="bookmark" title="WIPO Delegates Meet On IP And Development Implementation">WIPO Delegates Meet On IP And Development Implementation</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2010/11/22/wipo-works-on-its-development-agenda-implementation-this-week/" rel="bookmark" title="WIPO Works On Its Development Agenda Implementation This Week">WIPO Works On Its Development Agenda Implementation This Week</a></li>
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