Questions linger on WIPO copyright committee’s leadership race

It is 10:25 AM here in Geneva and the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) has yet to begin. The buzz in the hallways indicates that Finland, Italy, Senegal and Canada are vying for leadership of this Committee which will have important ramifications for WIPO’s work on limitations and exceptions, the public domain, competition and access to knowledge. From our perspective, we hope that the this Committee will augur in the fresh winds of change that will change the direction of WIPO’s work on copyright and related rights towards a positive agenda.

The leadership question is contained in item 2 of the SCCR agenda “Election of a Char and two Vice-Chairs”. Equally as important are agenda items 6 (Protection of broadcasting organizations), 7 (Exception and limitations), 8 (Future work of the Committee) and 9 (Other matters).

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Thiru

Thiru Balasubramaniam is the Geneva Representative of Knowledge Ecology International. Prior to his post as KEI’s Geneva Representative, Mr. Balasubramaniam worked at Health Action International in Colombo and at the World Health Organization in Geneva as a technical officer in the Department of Essential Drugs and Medicines Policy dealing with access to medicines and intellectual property. He began his career with CPTech working on issues related to health care and intellectual property. Mr. Balasubramaniam holds a B.A. in Economics and a Minor in European History from the University of Pennsylvania.