One of the ironies of this entire development
agenda debate at WIPO has been that there is ALREADY a permanent committee
at WIPO tasked with considering the role of IP in development, the Permanent
Committee on Intellectual Property and Development (PCIPD).
One reaction to the "Friends of Development," i.e., the group of IP-skeptic countries who are seeking to weaken WIPO's mandate, has been "Why? There is already a PCIPD."
Put simply, the anti-IP forces have been seeking to weaken the basic mandate of the organization, and in fact to rewrite the mission of the organization, rather than having development discussions "cordoned off" in the Permanent Committee.
Well, this morning the UK has introduced a proposal that is designed specifically to keep development discussions within the PCIPD, and to "reinvigorate" the committee. The proposal calls for the Director General of WIPO to convene a meeting of the PCIPD at the earliest possible time, in order for the committee to consider its work plan and to consider new mechanisms for making progress.
For those of us who favor strong IP protections, and don't want to see WIPO hijacked, this seems like a wise strategic move. More later after we've had time to digest it.
One reaction to the "Friends of Development," i.e., the group of IP-skeptic countries who are seeking to weaken WIPO's mandate, has been "Why? There is already a PCIPD."
Put simply, the anti-IP forces have been seeking to weaken the basic mandate of the organization, and in fact to rewrite the mission of the organization, rather than having development discussions "cordoned off" in the Permanent Committee.
Well, this morning the UK has introduced a proposal that is designed specifically to keep development discussions within the PCIPD, and to "reinvigorate" the committee. The proposal calls for the Director General of WIPO to convene a meeting of the PCIPD at the earliest possible time, in order for the committee to consider its work plan and to consider new mechanisms for making progress.
For those of us who favor strong IP protections, and don't want to see WIPO hijacked, this seems like a wise strategic move. More later after we've had time to digest it.
As I'm typing this, the group of Baltic countries is speaking favorably about the UK proposal.