TWN Info Service on Intellectual Property Issues (Feb07/8)

15 February 2007


Flurry of activity before next week’s development meeting

Please find below a news report on the activities that have been taking place in preparation of the upcoming first session in 2007 of the Provisional Committee on the WIPO Development Agenda.

Best Wishes
Sangeeta Shashikant
Third World Network
Tel: +41 (0) 22 908 3550
Fax: +41(0) 22 908 3551


SUNS #6190 Wednesday 14 February 2007

WIPO: Flurry of activity before next week's Development meeting

Geneva, 13 Feb (Sangeeta Shashikant) -- A meeting in New Delhi to prepare for next week's session on the WIPO Development Agenda has come up with a document on "Development Agenda Proposals" which cuts down the number of proposals that are on the session's agenda.

However, it is unclear what status the Delhi document will enjoy if it is tabled next week, as several of the participants indicated that they took part in their personal capacity, stressing that they could not commit their governments to it.

The Delhi meeting, held on 5-7 February, was organized by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and National Intellectual Property Organisation (NIPO).

A government press release indicated that it was attended by representatives from around 22 countries including Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Indonesia, Iran, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, UK and USA.

Various presentations were heard on the six clusters of issues that WIPO members are discussing on the Development Agenda. However, the New Delhi meeting only discussed one set of proposals (known as "Annex A") because the WIPO meeting next week will be confined only to this set.

Annex A (of the WIPO General Assembly decision on the Development Agenda) contains 40 proposals listed in a paper presented by the Chair of the last PCDA Ambassador Rigoberto Gauto Vielman of Paraguay and when rejected by several members was adopted by the Kyrgyz Republic and supported by several developed countries (see SUNS #6061 dated 5 July 2006).

Another set of 71 proposals, placed in Annex B, and containing many of the proposals of the Friends of Development (coordinated by Argentina and Brazil), will be discussed at the second session on the Development Agenda in June.

It was agreed at the General Assembly that WIPO members would reduce the proposals to avoid repetition, and to separate proposals which are "actionable" from those which are declarations of general principles and objectives.

The New Delhi document (entitled "Development Agenda Proposals Annex A, 7 Feb 2007, New Delhi") contains 22 proposals, which was reduced from the 40 proposals in Annex A.

The Delhi document has 8 proposals on technical assistance; 2 on norm-setting, flexibilities and public policy; 5 on technology transfer, ICT and access to knowledge; 2 on assessments and impact studies; 4 on institutional matters; and 1 on "other issues."

Some Geneva delegates, who were present at the Delhi meeting, indicated privately that there was very little time to consider and discuss the outcome document that was prepared by the WIPO Secretariat.

In any case, some participants indicated clearly during the meeting that they were participating in their personal capacity, and viewed the meeting as an informal meeting, wherein any outcome of the meeting would not be binding on the member states as it was not a negotiated document.

It is unclear at this stage what is the basis of the Delhi document, who if anyone will table it when the Provisional Committee on Development Agenda (PCDA) meets, or what the response will be.

Dr. Ajay Dua, of the Indian Ministry of Commerce & Industry who inaugurated the meeting, underlined the importance of working out an actionable plan to mainstream development into the agenda of WIPO.

He called the proposal to establish a Development Agenda for WIPO one of the most important initiatives taken by developing countries to ensure that the international intellectual property system evolves in a manner which is favourable for developing countries and reflects their concerns.

He also stressed the need for consolidating the diverse proposals into a cohesive doable agenda and hoped that by facilitating exchange of views the meeting would help in promoting a better understanding of these issues, and facilitate the building of a consensus.

Next week's WIPO meeting (19-23 February) will take place as the first 2007 session of the Provisional Committee on Development Agenda (PCDA).

The Chairman of the 2006 WIPO General Assembly (GA), Ambassador Enrique Manalo from Philippines, has produced a working document for the meeting, attached to his letter to WIPO member states dated 26 January.

Ambassador Manalo's letter stated that the working document is a revised version of a document he circulated in November 2006 to the Group coordinators.

The document, which has the format of a matrix, deals with Annex A and Annex B proposals. Each Annex addresses the 6 clusters of issues - Technical Assistance (Cluster A); Norm Setting, Flexibilities, Public Policy and Public Domain (Cluster B); Technology Transfer, Information and Communication Technology and Access to Knowledge (Cluster C); Evaluation and Impact Studies (Cluster D); Institutional Matters including Mandate and Governance (Cluster E); and Other Issues (Cluster F).

Each issue is dealt with in four columns. The first column contains the proposals as found in the Annexes attached to the WIPO General Assembly decision. The second column is titled "Similar Proposals (with possible repetition or duplication)" and the third column is titled "Actionable or Declarations of General Principles/Objectives". The fourth column gives information on existing WIPO activities relating to the proposal, based on the information provided by the Secretariat.

According to the Chairman, the second column provides "information on proposals that are similarly worded or have similar goals and objectives" and the proposals are cross referenced. His letter states that ideas contained in each set of proposals can be captured in a single proposal or single cluster of proposals, thus giving a basis for eliminating repetitive or duplicative ones and reducing the total number of proposals in the two annexes.

In relation to the third column (which places a category of "actionable" or "declaration of principles" on the proposals), Ambassador Manalo recognized that there may be a "fine line between what can be considered actionable and a declaration of principle" and much depends on "how a proposal is drafted and interpreted".

His characterization of a proposal as "actionable" or "declaration of a general principle or objective" is based on the proposals as they are presently drafted. The intention, according to the letter, is not to imply any order of priority of the proposals nor is it intended to suggest how each proposal is to be considered, which is entirely up to the PCDA.

The Ambassador also states his understanding that when the PCDA takes up individual proposals for consideration, it will examine each proposal comprehensively, taking note of all factors previously presented by the respective proponents in the different session of the DA meetings.

The final column contains "information on existing related WIPO activities" on the special specific proposals, provided by the WIPO Secretariat on the Ambassador's request.

Next week's PCDA meeting is the first of the two meetings mandated to be held in 2007 by a decision of the WIPO General Assembly in 2006. The second is to take place on June 2007.

The WIPO Development Agenda was one of the most difficult issues to be resolved at the 2006 WIPO GA (see SUNS #6111 dated 3 October 2006), as there was a conflict of views on how to take forward the 111 proposals of Member States.

Some delegations (in particular the developed countries) favored moving forward with the 40 proposals contained in a proposal put forward by the Kyrgyz Republic. However, the sponsors of the Development Agenda initiative (comprising many developing countries) disagreed with that approach as it sidelined the many other crucial proposals by the Group of Friends of Development which they consider the core of the Development Agenda.

In the end, the General Assembly decided that the first PCDA meeting will consider the proposals in Annex A while the second session would consider the Annex B proposals.

It also decided that the PCDA should undertake an exercise (a) to narrow down the proposals, in order to ensure that there is no repetition or duplication; (b) to separate the proposals which are actionable, from those which are declarations of general principles and objectives; and ( c) to note those proposals which relate to existing activities in WIPO and those which do not.

As some WIPO members were sceptical that the Secretariat would prepare initial working documents that are objective, the task was entrusted to the Chair of the General Assembly, in consultation with Member States.

The decision also states that the PCDA will report to the 2007 GA with recommendations for action on the agreed proposals, and on a framework for continuing to address, and where possible to move forward, on the other proposals following the 2007 General Assembly.