The WIPO Development Agenda: Toward Intellectual Property Reform
Type de matériel :
91
This paper examines the content and scope of an initiative undertaken by Brazil, Argentina, and other developing countries to reform the international system of intellectual property. The attempts of developing countries to take into account their specific needs in the evolution of the rules of intellectual property go back to their accession to independence. These actions aim at obtaining greater flexibility in the development and application of the rules of intellectual property in order to facilitate the transfer of technologies from North to South and to ensure access to information by their populations. The WIPO Development Agenda falls under the same logic. In 2002, Brazil and Argentina submitted to the General Assembly of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) a plan of action for the setting of an agenda for their development. Contrary to preceding initiatives, this agenda aims at reforming the structure of the organization and redirecting its ambitions and objectives toward taking into account the specific needs of developing countries. A striking feature of this action is the massive support offered to countries of the South by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Following an examination of the proposals of the various affected countries regarding the implementation of this agenda, the General Assembly adopted forty-five (45) recommendations in 2007 and created a Standing Committee in charge of their implementation. The five groups of recommendations relate to: Technical Assistance and Capacity Building (A), Norm-Setting, Flexibilities, Public Policy, and Public Domain (B), Technology Transfer, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Access to Knowledge (C), Assessment, Evaluation and Impact Studies (D), and Institutional Matters, including Mandate and Governance (E). These recommendations revolve around the same idea, namely, including the dimension of development in the operation of WIPO and in its activities of technical assistance and development of rules. All of them advocate access to knowledge through ICT, the use and safeguarding of the flexibilities envisaged by international conventions, and the safeguarding of the public domain.
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