World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) The WIPO (World Intellectual Property Rights Organization) was established in 1970 with the signing of the WIPO Convention in 1967.[1] It is one of the specialized bodies of the United Nations with a mandate to promote the protection of the intellectual property throughout the world, by way of facilitating cooperation between member states and other international organization. Currently WIPO has a membership of 184 countries and almost all the UN members have the membership of WIPO, with its secretariat based in Geneva. The establishment of WIPO was preceded by BIRPI, the French acronym for the United International Bureau for the Protection of Intellectual Property that was set-up in 1893 for the purpose of administration of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Artistic Works and the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. Along with these two conventions, WIPO also administers 22 other treaties and agreements spanning an entire range of intellectual property protection and classification services. The strategic direction of WIPO is determined by its member states that approve all the decisions and oversees its overall functioning. The primary decision making body is the WIPO general assembly, the WIPO Conference and the WIPO Coordination Committee. This trio along with the member states of each of the Unions[2] are the main decision making bodies of the WIPO. WIPO is unique amongst the UN institutions in two very significant ways. First, its wide mandate that ranges from promotion of a balanced system of intellectual property protection while realizing the developmental protection to that of providing global IP protection services like the international registry. In this regard WIPO provides services arbitration and mediations services, hosts the international registration systems for the various IP systems under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), Madrid and Hague and the WIPO Academy through which it builds capacity of IP personnel from member countries. Second, unlike most UN organizations, WIPO is largely financially self-sustained, primarily because of the commercial services it provides through the registry[3] and the through the arbitration and mediation centre. Recent Development: World Patent Report and Development Agenda One of the ways in which WIPO contributes is through its publications that not only tracks the activities that it has undertaken but also provides a detailed overview of the nature and content of the intellectual property rights that are being applied for and granted around the world. The World Patent Report, which WIPO started publishing three years back, is an important document. It is an annual review of the patents filings around the world. This report is largely based on a statistical review of the distribution of patent filings and grants across countries and sectors. With every yearly publication, the review has added new issues and perspectives. The World Patent Report - A Statistical Review 2008 has undertaken extensive research on patent activity including in new and emerging sectors like "nanotechnology". Thus the report entails not just tracking of filings and grants made but also in developing and providing new indicators. This has also made possible inter institution and inter country comparisons of the level of innovation activity. Significantly the report has been able to keep abreast of current trends in devoting more focussed research on emerging markets like China, India, Brazil and South Africa.[4] The report has become one of the main research databases on worldwide patent information. In that last few years WIPO has been the forum of several international policy developments within the IP area.[5] One such has been the establishment of a development agenda for WIPO.[6] The proposal for a launch of the development agenda within WIPO was brought by Argentina and Brazil with the support of several developing countries.[7] The initial impetus was to bring forth in concrete terms the developmental goals of WIPO. Following the adoption of the 45 recommendations the "Development Agenda" was formally accepted as a part of the WIPO work program. Thereafter the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) was established by the General Assembly[8] to develop the work program and to oversee the implementation of the Development Agenda. In its first session, the CDIP adopted the rules of procedure for the functioning and the preliminary implementation report for the 19 recommendations that have been put on a fast track implementation,[9] out of the total of 45. The first session witnessed large attendance with more than half of the member states, and a large number of non-governmental organizations and prominent intergovernmental organizations participating.[10] This is evidence of the immense interest and the underlying the currency of the Development Agenda, not only amongst the members but also for the international civil society. In the recently concluded second session of the CDIP, the work program and proposed activities for both the sets of 19 and 26 recommendations[11] were adopted. These included assistance to developing countries particularly LDCs in the formulation and implementation (through capacity building) of nationally focused action plans (NFAPS) on intellectual property policy and strategy. This is aimed to make development oriented assistance more target specific and transparent. The focus also included reiteration of professional ethics of WIPO staff and consultants in terms of their neutrality and accountability and following the existing Code of Ethics, in circumstances wherein the clash of interest may occur. Technical assistance and skill enhancement of SME's in terms of development of IP assets was also singled out in for emphasis. Member countries have however reiterated that the Development Agenda goes much beyond these 45 recommendations and the technical assistance agenda that has been unveiled to implement them. The Development Agenda is in a sense meant to illustrate the shifting culture of the organization itself from a "the promoter of greater IP protection for right-holders, as an organization that considered itself in a clearer fashion and inserted itself within the overall goals of the United Nations (UN) system".[12] **** Interestingly, the launch of the negotiations for the formulation of WIPO Development Agenda was in concomitance with the launch of the Doha Developmental Round within the WTO in 2004. That year witnessed the emergence of leadership of several developing countries in international negotiating forums, in being able to support a cross section of developmental issues to be considered by these institutions. The launch of the WIPO Development Agenda[13] is also an illustration of the developing country concerns with IP regimes itself and the need to balance IP protection taking into account developmental concerns. The Development Agenda, along with the Doha Declaration on TRIPS Agreement and Public Health and the WHO mechanism of the IGWG (Intergovernmental Working Group) on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property are all signposts of the emerging international consensus on the need to develop sustainable and globally equitable intellectual property system. Nupur Chowdhury Associate Fellow The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) 1 December 2008 Footnotes: 1 Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, 14 July 1967 (as amended in 28 September 1979) http://www.wipo.int/clea/en/text_html.jsp?lang=EN&id=4046. 2 Madrid System for the International registration of marks, Hague System of registration of industrial designs, Lisbon System for the protection of appellations of origin and their international registration. 3 Under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, Madrid System, Hague System and Lisbon System, international registration is provided by the WIPO that allows simultaneous application for IP titles in all the member countries where IP protection is required. 4 WIPO Patent Report 2008, "confirms the increasing internationalization of innovation activity", http://www.wipo.int/ipstats/en/statistics/patents/wipo_pub_931.html accessed, 12 October 2008. 5 Includes the successful negotiations for the Patent Law Treaty and accompanying regulations on the harmonization of patent formalities and procedures. It was adopted in 2000 and entered into force in 2005. Further the Singapore Treaty on the harmonized system of registration of trademarks was also adopted in March 2006. 6 WO/GA/31/11, Proposal by Argentina and Brazil for the establishment of a Development Agenda for WIPO, August 27, 2004. http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/doc_details.jsp?doc_id=31737 . 7 These included Bolivia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Iran, Kenya, South Africa, Venezuela, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and India amongst others. 8 WIPO General Report of the Forty Third Series of Meetings, Geneva, 24 September- 3 October 2007, A/43/16; http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/govbody/en/a_43/a_43_16-main1.doc , accessed 12 October 2008. 9 The 45 recommendations have been divided into 19 and 26 work programs, with the former being put on a fast track for immediate implementation since they did not require any additional human and financial resources, while the progress on the latter being made contingent to availability of such resource allocations. Refer to http://www.wipo.int/ip-development/en/agenda/cdip/cdip_1.html, accessed 12 October 2008. 10 An increased number of member states and non-governmental organizations participated in the second session of the CDIP held in July 2008. 11 Ibid 12 Comment by Brazil in the Second Session of the CDIP. http://www.wipo.int/edocs/mdocs/mdocs/en/cdip_2/cdip_2_4_prov.pdf accessed 12 October 2008. 13 WIPO General Assembly 2007 adopted 45 recommendations under the WIPO development Agenda. |
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