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.
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 ...
4 Mar, 2008: WIPO Development Agenda Proposals CDIP/1 
Documents for discussion at the WIPO CDIP/1 Meeting in March 2008: (a) Preliminary Implementation Report with respect to the 19 proposals identified for immediate implementation by WIPO; and (b) Initial Working Document regarding the implementation of the 26 agreed proposals....
3 Mar, 2008: “Less Difficult” First WIPO Development Committee Meeting Begins (IP-Watch)
The “historic” first day of the new World Intellectual Property Organization Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) opened with a focus on procedure, a focus likely to carry through the whole first week, according to participants. “The goal [of this week’s meeting] is to progress on the first and most important item agreed in the General Assembly last year: ...
2 Mar, 2008: Exploring Options and Modalities to Move the New Development Agenda Forward, 2005 (Oxford)
23 Feb, 2008: Background Information on the WIPO Development Agenda
Background Information on the WIPO Development Agenda
Development Agenda in 2004...
4 Feb, 2008: WIPO Development Agenda Meeting (CDIP/1) 3-7 March 2008
WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP): First Session. "The Development Agenda" talks continue in Geneva.
29 Jan, 2008: “It’s Time to Overhaul Copyright Law”: Law Should Distinguish Between Cultural and Commercial Uses (Guardian UK)
By Cory Doctorow. "We need to stop shoe-horning cultural use into the little carve-outs in copyright, such as fair dealing and fair use. Instead we need to establish a new copyright regime that reflects the age-old normative consensus about what's fair and what isn't at the small-scale, hand-to-hand end of copying, display, performance and adaptation. A diverse and ...
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