IP JUSTICE STATEMENT on the GROUP of FRIENDS of DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL for a DEVELOPMENT AGENDA at WIPO by IP Justice Executive Director Robin D. Gross at the 1st Session of the Provisional Committee on Proposals Related to a WIPO Development Agenda 23 February 2006 - Geneva, Switzerland Thank you, Mr. Chairman for this opportunity to comment on the Friends of Development proposal. I represent IP Justice, an international civil liberties organization that promotes balanced intellectual property law. Mr. Chairman, IP Justice has coordinated a group statement that has been endorsed by 138 public-interest NGOs from all four corners of the world to express our complete and united support for the Friends of Development proposal. The vast majority of these groups could not be here today to express their concerns, so we carry their message to this forum with this group statement, which is available on the floor table outside in 4 languages. 1. We fully support amending the WIPO Convention to include explicit language incorporating a Development Dimension. As a UN Specialized Agency, WIPO has an obligation to promote the application of intellectual property rights in a manner that promotes economic, social and cultural development in both developed and developing countries. 2. We fully support consideration of a Treaty on Access to Knowledge and Technology. A specification of user freedoms [...]

IP JUSTICE STATEMENT on CHILE'S PROPOSAL FOR A DEVELOPMENT AGENDA AT WIPO by IP Justice Executive Director Robin D. Gross at the 1st Session of the Provisional Committee on Proposals Related to a WIPO Development Agenda 21 February 2006 - Geneva, Switzerland Thank you, Mr. Chairman and congratulations on your re-election.  I represent IP Justice, an international civil liberties organization that promotes balanced intellectual property law. IP Justice welcomes the thoughtful and constructive proposal put forth by Chile.  Chile’s proposal contains three specific and concrete measures that would greatly aid in bringing knowledge and innovation to the developing world. Chile’s first proposal recognizes the significant social value of the public domain, which supports the public policy objectives behind intellectual property laws. As noted by the US delegation in its intervention this morning, copyrights and patents are intended to create a rich public domain that all may access -- by providing a temporary economic incentive to encourage creativity. In addition to ordinary consumers, creators themselves are particularly dependent on access to a robust public domain for education and inspiration.  The works of Mozart and Shakespeare are prime examples of public domain works that have enriched humanity for generations, something only possible if a work in the public domain. Chile’s second proposal to examine complementary incentives for creativity, recognizes that exclusive monopoly [...]

IP Justice Media Release 20 February 2006 Contact: Robin D. Gross, IP Justice Executive Director Telephone: +1.415.553.6261 Email: robin@ipjustice.org WIPO Resumes "Development Agenda" Talks Developing Countries Continue Push for Balance at WIPO IP Justice is in Geneva this week as the second year of talks resume to debate a “Development Agenda” at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the UN Specialized Agency that over-sees the formulation of international intellectual property law treaties. In October 2004, the WIPO General Assembly voted to enact a “Development Agenda”, intended to reform the agency’s practices that favor large intellectual property owners at the expense of the greater public interest. Led by Brazil and Argentina, a coalition of fourteen developing countries, “the Group of Friends of Development”, submitted a number of concrete recommendations for reform at WIPO and a re-balancing of IP rights in line with the global public interest. In July 2005, IP Justice published a statement that was signed-on to by 138 public-interest NGO’s from all corners of the globe to support the Friends of Development (FoD) proposal for much needed reform at WIPO. “As a United Nations organization, WIPO must re-focus its work to promote the global public interest,” said IP Justice Executive Director Robin Gross.  “Awareness is growing, particularly in developing countries, about the harm to creativity and innovation caused by [...]