[WSIS CS-Plenary] WIPO's Development Meeting - Day Two (April 12)

[Sasha Costanza-Chock]

[From Media Trade Monitor (www.mediatrademonitor.org)]

WIPO's development meeting started with a clear clash of positions 
opposing developed countries and non-developed countries aligned with 
the "friends of development" group. The proposal put forward by Brazil 
and Argentina and backed by 12 other countries (Bolivia, Cuba, Dominican 
Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Iran, Kenya, Peru, Sierra Leone, South Africa, 
Tanzania and Venezuela) aims at a deep reform in WIPO's structure so as 
to take into account public interests and the needs of the non developed 
countries. The group of friends of development proposal includes 
allowing for greater flexibility of patent laws, reviewing the role and 
influence of right holders, allowing greater participation of public 
interest groups in the organization and increasing the measures for the 
transfer of technology and access to knowledge to non developed 
countries. This is the first time that the needs of non developed 
countries and public interests are seriously addressed in the WIPO.

In day two, developed countries, specially the US and the EU countries, 
have responded to the friends of development proposal by stating that 
development issues are already addressed in the WIPO by means of 
technical assistance programs and the Permanent Committee on Cooperation 
for Development. Non developed countries have responded to that by 
highlighting that technical assistance programs are not enough and that 
development issues should not be dealt in a committee but should be 
incorporated in the overall structure of the organization [...]

Full text: http://www.mediatrademonitor.org/node/view/195