WIPO Development Agenda
Led by the "Group of Friends of Development" developing nations have called for reform at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and adopted a "Development Agenda" in an effort to replace WIPO’s mission of automatically maximizing intellectual property rights without examination of the impact of policies.
Global civil society actors issued the "Geneva Declaration on the Future of WIPO" in 2004. Support for a development dimension to WIPO’s activities continues to grow.
In essence, the proposal for a Development Agenda at WIPO focuses on the fact that a “knowledge gap” as well as a “digital divide” separated wealthy nations from the poorer ones. Recognizing that intellectual property is intended to promote technological innovation, wealth transfer and dissemination of knowledge, the proposal asserted that greater protection for intellectual property rights alone, without any focus on improving developmental structures within these countries would be detrimental in the long run. The proposal recognizes the need to “integrate development dimensions into policy making for intellectual property protection.”
IP Justice has regularly participated at WIPO Development Agenda discussions and delivered a Group NGO Statement, in which 138 public-interest groups indicated support for the Friends of Development Proposal and reform at WIPO.
2007 WIPO General Assembly Accepts 45 Proposals
The WIPO General Assembly originally adopted the resolution for a "Development Agenda" at its Fall 2004 meeting and the 2007 General Assembly finally passed 45 substantive recommendations for implementation.
WIPO Committee on Intellectual Property and Development (CIPD)
After the WIPO 2007 General Assembly resolution, discussion on the Development Agenda has moved to the newly created Committee on IP and Development (CIPD), which held its first meeting from 3-6 March 2008 at WIPO headquarters in Geneva (agenda). The CIPD will meet again from 7-11 July 2008 before reporting back to the 2008 WIPO General Assembly in the fall.
More documents below and in IPJ DA archive. See also IPJ Development Agenda background info and 2007 Global Information Society Report on WIPO by Robin Gross.
19 Jun, 2010: Sign the International Civil Society Declaration on the Public Interest Concerns of the Proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
Please consider endorsing the International Civil Society Declaration, which was the result of a meeting in Washington, DC (16-18 June 2010) of over 90 academics from 5 continents, public interest organizations and other legal experts concerned with the public interest aspects of ACTA. ACTA is a dangerous proposal to radically expand intellectual property rights at the global level. ...
14 Jul, 2008: WIPO Development Agenda committee deliberations on norm-setting, open source and creative commons (KEI) 
"The WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) had rich discussions on Thursday afternoon (July 10, 2008) on norm-setting, open source and creative commons as they related to recommendations 22 and 23 of the Development Agenda. Recommendation 22 states: WIPO’s norm-setting activities should be supportive of the development goals agreed within the UN system, including those contained ...
14 Jul, 2008: WIPO Enriched by In-Depth Discussion of Public Domain (KEI)
"With respect to the public domain, Richard Owens (WIPO Secretariat) noted that there is a fundamental question of definition that frames the policy debate on this issue. The classical definition of the public domain (in the copyright context) is “what is not protected by copyright, i.e. rights that have expired, works that have not been deemed worthy of protection, and ...
12 Jul, 2008: WIPO Development Committee Ends First Year On Mostly Agreeable Note (IP-Watch)
"While the 7 to 11 July meeting of the Committee on Development and IP (CDIP) did not make any profound changes in the operations of WIPO yet, discussions revealed some of the areas where change may be coming. And while there were moments of tension, the overall spirit of the meeting appeared more agreeable than meetings of the past years. ...
9 Jul, 2008: EFF Statement at WIPO Development Agenda Meeting in Geneva
"We support the call for WIPO to initiate discussions on how to facilitate access to knowledge and technology for developing countries and LDCs to foster creativity and innovation, and to facilitate IP-related aspects of ICT for growth and economic, social
and cultural development. It is essential that national and international copyright and patent laws provide an environment that is ...
8 Jul, 2008: Development Agenda discussions focus on costing of consultants and Business Analysts (KEI)
The second session of the the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) is meeting this week in Geneva (July 7-11, 2008). The first meeting of this development committee (March 2008) examined Cluster A (Technical Assistance and Capacity Building) of the 45 approved Development Agenda recommendations. ...
21 Mar, 2008: ACTA’s Misguided Effort to Increase Govt Spying and Ratchet-Up IPR Enforcement at Public Expense
IP Justice Comments to the U.S.T.R. on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). IP Justice firmly believes that ACTA’s costs to the public far outweigh any public benefit it might provide. The financial expense to tax-payers to fund ACTA would be enormous and steal scarce resources away from programs that deal with genuine public needs like providing education ...
20 Mar, 2008: “UNESCO Policy Guidelines on the Development and Promotion of Governmental Public Domain Information” (Paul Uhlir) 2004
15 Mar, 2008: 7-11 July 2008: WIPO Development Agenda Meeting: Committee Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) (2nd session)
The WIPO 2nd session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) will meet in Geneva from 7-11 July 2008.
4 Mar, 2008: WIPO: Discussion begins on implementing the Development Agenda (SUNS)
"Discussion on defining a work programme for implementation of the 45 adopted recommendations on the WIPO Development Agenda began on Monday in the newly-established WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP). Much of the first day of the CDIP was spent discussing procedural issues such as the adoption of the rules of procedure of the committee and how ...
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