Sisule F. Musungu – On 1 October 2009, the last day of the 47th Series of Meetings of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) General Assemblies, a new mandate for its Intergovernmental Committee on Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (commonly known as ‘the IGC’) was agreed by the Member States. The last minute agreement, following a year of wrangling, was hailed by many as a major breakthrough (see IP-Watch story), particularly for the African Group. WIPO’s Director General called it “a real step forward”. The African Group, with the support of many developing countries, had insisted on a mandate that would deliver a ‘binding’ treaty on these issues in two years time.
Archive for the ‘WIPO’ Category
Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge: Can the New WIPO Mandate Deliver on Biopiracy?
Thursday, October 15th, 2009WIPO General Assemblies 2009: Reflections on the Report of the Director General
Sunday, September 27th, 2009Sisule F. Musungu – Dr. Francis Gurry’s Report to the Members States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) at the opening of the 2009 General Assemblies can be summed up as a call to rethinking and reshaping culture, systems, governance, norms and strategy. How WIPO’s culture evolves, how the global intellectual property (IP) system is governed and reshaped for the 21st Century, the balance in the norms that are generated by the organization and the strategy for engagement and dialogue will determine the contribution of WIPO to addressing today’s pressing global challenges; from development through to tackling climate change. In this post, I offer some reflections on where WIPO is one year into the new administration and on the DG’s thoughts on the challenges going forward.
WIPO General Assemblies 2009 – High Level Ministerial Segment
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009Sisule F. Musungu – The 2009 WIPO General Assemblies opens today with, for the first time, a highly anticipated high level ministerial segment. According to a press statement released by WIPO, this segment of the Assemblies will bring together over forty ministers to discuss “national IP priorities”. WIPO argues that this high level segment reflects the importance of intellectual property (IP) in senior-policy making levels. It is worthwhile to look abit deeper and think about the implications of this new development at WIPO.
