The WIPO Development Agenda (WDA) recommends (Recommendation 22) that “WIPO norm-setting activities should be supportive of the development goals agreed within the UN system, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration” otherwise known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Recommendation goes on to ask the WIPO Secretariat, without prejudice to the outcome of Member States considerations, and subject to specific Member States’ instructions and the appropriateness of each case to, among other things, address a range of issues, such as flexibilities, exceptions and limitations, in the norm-setting working documents prepared by it. This recommendation links to Recommendation 12 which requires WIPO to further mainstream development considerations into its substantive and technical assistance activities and debates.  Read the rest of this entry »

A proposal to implement the WIPO Development Agenda through thematic projects (grouping recommendations which address the same or similar subject matter into coherent projects) is a promising approach.  The proposal contained in document CDIP/3/4 dated 1 April 2009  (it is not an April Fool’s Day joke, I am sure)  is the initiative of the Secretariat of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Initially, a set of four projects covering 11 of the 45 Development Agenda Recommendations are proposed. Further projects would be developed once the approach is endorsed by Member States.  Read the rest of this entry »

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Secretariat appears to be making steady progress towards addressing the development dimension of intellectual property (IP) protection in response to the range of Recommendations that make up the WIPO Development Agenda (WDA). Important questions, however, remain regarding the real impact of the WDA; the manner in which some of the key recommendations, such as on public domain, are being implemented; and the role of WIPO Member States and other stakeholders, including civil society organisations and other international organisations, in contributing to the effective implementation of the WDA. This is the conclusion I reach after reading a WIPO a Secretariat document titled “Progress Report on Recommendations for Immediate Implementation” (WIPO doc. CDIP/3/5) which will be discussed at the third session of the organisation’s Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) in Geneva (27 April  – 1 May 2009).  Read the rest of this entry »

As the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) prepares to meet in Geneva for its third session from 27 April to 1 May 2009, the question as to whether the WIPO Development Agenda (hereinafter “WDA” or “the Agenda”) was a force for reform or not remains. 17 months since the adoption of the Agenda, in October 2007, it is time to start a critical appraisal of what we have to show for it, what is working, what is failing and what else should be done.  Read the rest of this entry »