Forwarded for those interested. Robin Gross wrote:
> Dear colleagues, > > Apologies for the cross-posting, but .... > > Attached and below is a statement for publication at next week's WIPO > Development Agenda Meeting. Civil society groups are invited to > sign-on to the statement to show support for reform at WIPO, and > specifically, support for the Friends of Development proposal. > > Background info on the WIPO Development Agenda meeting is posted at: > http://www.ipjustice.org/WIPO/WIPO_DA.shtml > > If your NGO would like to sign-on in support of this statement, please > send me an email ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) and indicate the NGO name and > country in which your NGO is based. > > Please send your support for this statement by TUESDAY 19 JULY so we > can publish this on Wednesday JULY 20th at the beginning of 3rd IIM of > the Development Agenda meeting at WIPO. > > And please distribute this statement as widely as possible and > encourage other groups to please sign-on, so we can show the WIPO > delegates that public-interest groups support reform at WIPO. > > Within the next day or so, this group statement (and translations) > will also be posted to the web at: > http://www.ipjustice.org/WIPO/NGO_Statement.shtml > and supporting NGO names will be added there as they come in. > > Our statement would be much more effective if we had it translated > into other languages - particularly Spanish, French, German, Italian, > and Portuguese. If anyone is able to translate this document into any > of these languages (or others), please let me know asap. We'd like to > distribute hard-copies of these translations at the 20-22 July meeting > also, so will need the translations completed by the 19th so we can > make copies in Geneva for distribution on the 20th. > > Thank you!! > Robin Gross > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > IP Justice > > =============================================== > > We, the undersigned public interest non-governmental organizations > support the adoption of the proposal submitted by the Group of Friends > of Development (FoD) for a Development Agenda at the World > Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). > > Specifically, we call attention to the following principles in the FoD > proposal and recommend that Member States: > > 1. AMEND THE WIPO CONVENTION (1967) TO EXPRESSLY INCORPORATE A > DEVELOPMENT DIMENSION, CONSISTENT WITH WIPO OBLIGATIONS AS A UN AGENCY > > Public interest NGOs fully support Proposal 1 of the adopted Work Plan > (Annex to Summary of Chair), which proposes amending the WIPO > Convention to include explicit language incorporating a development > dimension and the specific language for such change set forth in > WO/GA/31/11, appendix 3. > > The 1974 agreement between the United Nations and WIPO established > WIPO as a specialized agency of the UN family with responsibility for > “promoting creative intellectual activity and for facilitating the > transfer of technology related to industrial property to the > developing countries in order to accelerate economic, social and > cultural development, subject to the competence and responsibilities > of the United Nations and its organs . . . .” > > Amending WIPO’s mandate will enhance and inscribe a development > dimension into the organization’s core, ensuring WIPO will maintain > its responsibility to the UN and promote the public interest, first > and foremost. > > 2. CONSIDER ELABORATION OF A TREATY ON ACCESS TO KNOWLEDGE AND > TECHNOLOGY > > We fully support Proposal 3 of the adopted Work Plan that calls on > Member States to consider elaboration of a Treaty on Access to > Knowledge and Technology. > > Access to knowledge and information sharing are fundamental to > education and research and to fostering innovation and creativity. A > treaty setting out user freedoms would address “the need to maintain a > balance between the rights of authors and the larger public interest, > particularly education, research and access to information, as > reflected in the Berne Convention” as set out in the Preamble to the > WIPO Copyright Treaty. > > A treaty on access to knowledge and technology would be a key > component in policy interventions to alleviate the situation in > disadvantaged countries and would be of benefit to the overall > socio-economic and political development of a country. > > > > 3. ESTABLISH AN INDEPENDENT WIPO EVALUATION AND RESEARCH OFFICE (WERO) > > Public interest NGOs fully support Proposal 5 of the adopted Work Plan > that calls for the establishment of WERO. > > The creation of an independent research office that would report > directly to the General Assembly is an important component to the > reform mandated by the General Assembly’s adoption of the Development > Agenda. The creation of WERO would strengthen the oversight function > of Member States at WIPO, enhance the credibility of WIPO and its > programmess, and would comply with established international practice > in other organizations such as the World Bank and the International > Monetary Fund. > > As set forth in the FoD Proposal, the establishment of WERO would > provide a transparent, independent and objective body that would > evaluate all WIPO programmes and activities with respect to their > development impact in general and their impact on innovation, > creativity and dissemination of knowledge and technology; assess the > development impact of all proposed norm-setting activities in WIPO; > and monitor and evaluate all WIPO technical assistance activities > based on guidelines established by the General Assembly. > > 4. ADOPT PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES FOR THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE > PROGRAMME > > We fully support the proposals which relate to Technical Assistance. > These are Proposal 4 to Formulate and Adopt Principles and Guidelines > for the Development and Implementation of Technical Assistance; > Proposal 10 to Improve Information Sharing on Technical Assistance; > and Proposal 14 to Develop Indicators and Benchmarks for the > Evaluation of WIPO Technical Assistance. > > We believe that these proposals would enhance the value of technical > assistance to developing countries by providing opportunities to > review technical assistance programmes and keep them fresh, to include > new or alternative business and software models and to ensure that a > cross-section of stakeholder interests are represented. Consultation > with a wide range of groups such as libraries, educators, people with > disabilities and consumers, as well as creators and rightsholders > would help to build capacity and improve governance, a key component > of the 2005 Report of the Commission for Africa. > > 5. REFORM WIPO NORMS AND PRACTICES: > > A. Weigh the costs and benefits of copyright, patent and > trademark rights > > Public interest NGOs fully support Proposal 7 of the adopted Work Plan > to formulate and adopt principles and guidelines for norm-setting > activities in WIPO. WIPO must acknowledge the costs and benefits of > both information monopolies and harmonization. > > Continuously expanding the scope and level of copyright, patent and > trademark rights creates real social and economic costs. Norm-setting > activities must follow guidelines that balance public access and > competition policies against monopoly rights in knowledge and > information, and that weigh the economic cost of maintaining and > enforcing these systems against the relative benefits in each country. > > In order to reach effective results that meet the challenges of global > development, internationally agreed upon developmental standards > should serve as benchmarks for WIPO norm-setting activities to meet. > The United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which all 191 UN > Member States have pledged to meet, establish development standards > that copyright, patent and trademark laws should seek to facilitate. > > B. Copyright, patent and trademark rights are not ends in > themselves and must foster the public goals of innovation, > creativity and technical development > > Public interest NGOs fully support Proposal 8 of the adopted Work Plan > to undertake independent, evidence-based “development impact > assessments.” > > International instruments recognize the underlying public goals of > copyright, patent and trademark laws. The WIPO Copyright Treaty > recognizes that copyright law serves “to maintain a balance between > the interests of authors and the larger public interest, particularly > education, research, and access to information.” Trade Related > Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) Art. 7 explicitly stipulates > a balanced and harmonious outlook between these rights and the public > interest. > > It is essential that copyright, patent and trademark rights foster > innovation, creativity and technical development. WIPO must adopt a > framework that can ensure that these information monopolies advance > public goals in developing countries. The FoD proposal for a > Development Agenda at WIPO provides an excellent blueprint to begin > this reform. > > C. “One size (XL) fits all” approach to copyright, patent and > trademark rights does not foster development in all countries > > International norms for copyright, patent and trademark rights need to > take into account different levels of development to ensure that the > primary rationale for granting the rights, to promote societal > development by encouraging technological innovation, is actually > accomplished. > > Expansive copyright, patent and trademark rights disproportionately > favor wealthy developed countries and perpetuate the current imbalance > in access to and control of knowledge and information. Copyright, > patent and trademark laws must reflect each country’s development > needs to better facilitate access to information and knowledge > throughout the world. Such access is strongly called for in the “Doha > Plan of Action” agreed by the Heads of State and Government of the > Group of 77 and China and in the “Declaration of Principles” of the > World Summit on the Information Society . > > All countries have a right to make their own economic development > strategies, which are inherently value based. Articles 1 and 8 of > TRIPS recognize both national sovereignty concerning development > strategies and national values. WIPO’s “one-size-fits-all” approach > improperly assumes that western intellectual property policy embodies > universal values. > > D. Copyright, patent and trademark laws need to protect > flexibilities and limitations > > International instruments and developed countries’ own copyright, > trademark and patent laws provide for flexibilities and limitations > that ensure the promotion of social values. Competition policy, > compulsory licenses for medicine, and fair use exceptions demonstrate > that monopoly rights can be curtailed to achieve public benefits. > > Countries need to have policy space to meet national developmental > priorities. Creative expression is value driven and copyright, patent > and trademark law governs what type of creative expression is either > permissible or infringing, and what type of creative expression is > “protectable” and to what extent. Since all Member States have a > natural right to exercise their own values and the legal system is the > principal means through which society can assert its values, all > nations have a natural right to make value choices regarding their own > level of copyright, patent and trademark rights. > > WIPO technical assistance should promote the full range of > flexibilities provided by TRIPS, including education and promotion of > non-proprietary free and open access development models. > > E. More transparent and Member driven with ongoing public > interest participation > > Public interest NGOs fully support Proposals 6 and 9 of the adopted > Work Plan which, respectively, seek to ensure wider participation of > public interest NGOs at WIPO, and to establish a system of holding > public hearings prior to the initiation of norm-setting activities. > > The FoD proposal initiates an important dialogue on making fundamental > changes to ensure that WIPO is truly Member driven, as the majority of > WIPO constituents are from developing countries. In order to progress > as a Member-driven organization, WIPO must address the development > concerns of its Members in all aspects of its work. > > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >_______________________________________________ >WSIS-PCT mailing list >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/wsis-pct > > -- Taran Rampersad Presently in: Georgetown, Guyana [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.knowprose.com http://www.easylum.net http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/Taran "Criticize by creating." — Michelangelo _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
