15 July 2007. Geneva-based policy analyst and advisor Sisule F. Musungu published an analysis on his new blog of recent discussions at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the organization’s adoption of a “Development Agenda” to better protect the public interest.
One outcome of the June WIPO Development Agenda meetings is the creation of the new WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property. The new committee will start immediately to “develop a work programme for implementation of the adopted recommendations, monitor, assess, discuss and report on the implementation of all recommendations adopted, and for that purpose it shall coordinate with relevant bodies”.
It was also agreed that the WIPO Development Agenda will encompass discussions regarding an Access to Knowledge (A2K) Treaty. WIPO will also undertake impact evaluation surveys to ascertain the social costs and benefits of proposals, rather than rely on blind faith that creating greater restrictions is the preferred policy objective.
The recent successes at WIPO on the Development Agenda and also from the defeat of the proposed Broadcasting Treaty show some indication that reform may be in the making at the organization. I am encouraged and hope to see more forward-thinking coming out of WIPO in the future.
Take a look at Sisule’s new blog “Thoughts in Color” and his well-stated analysis on the possibilities of the WIPO Development Agenda:
“… as the dust settles, it is becoming clear that the development agenda for WIPO has the potential to significantly transform the organisation in major ways resulting in not only improvements in the attention paid to development issues and the composition of its staff but also to deliver the organisation into the 21st Century. …”