Sisule F. Musungu – The World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) meets in Geneva this week for its Fourth Session. The two key items on the agenda relate to the approval of a number of thematic projects and a discussion on the mechanisms for coordination of implementation.

The Development Agenda can be best described as a mandate for the organisation undertake  a range of measures to ensure that development imperatives forms a basis its governance and all its programming and activities. Initial efforts to implement the Agenda are already reshaping the way WIPO works. In this context, unlike previous failed efforts to integrate intellectual property (IP) and development policy, the WIPO Development Agenda stands a good chance of succeeding.

Overall, however, important challenges remain. More than two years since the Development Agenda was approved by the WIPO General Assembly, the challenge for WIPO Members at this Session, will be showing concrete movement towards concrete implementation at the national and regional level in Developing countries. During the week, we will, on this blog, be offering some critical reflections on what has been done so far and what needs to be done to turn the aspiration of the Agenda into outcomes in due course.