Flurry of upcoming meetings at international organizations in Geneva (WHO, WIPO and WTO)

The final stretch of 2009 ushers in a host of meetings at Geneva based institutions including the WIPO Advisory Committee on Enforcement, the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property, the WTO Ministerial, the WHO Expert Working Group and the Standing Committee on Copyright. To keep abreast of the hive of activity emanating from WIPO, WHO and WTO, here is a roadmap to keep track of the various meetings.

November 2, 2009
African-Arab Seminar on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions: Addressing the Needs of Affected Constituencies

On November 2, 2009, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt will convene an African-Arab Seminar on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions: Addressing the Needs of Affected Constituencies. Participants include government representatives from Algeria, Benin, Brazil, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan and Syria. For a full list of participants, please consult this link. The provisional agenda can be found here.

According to WIPO,

[t]his seminar will provide a forum for a dialogue and exchange of information, views and insights among different participants, in both the African and the Arab regions, in the field of copyright limitations and exceptions, bearing in mind the ongoing discussions at the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights. In addition to general themes related to the topic, discussions will also focus on limitations and exceptions for libraries, archives, museums, dissemination and use of copyrighted works for education and research, and IP and the rights of persons with disabilities.

November 3, 2009
WIPO Stakeholder Platform

The WIPO Stakeholder Platform (Third Meeting with Rightsholders and the Visually Impaired Sector Representatives) will meet at the Library of Alexandria in Egypt on November 3, 2009.

November 2-4, 2009
Advisory Committee on Enforcement

The Fifth Meeting of the WIPO Advisory Committee on Enforcement (ACE) is meeting in Geneva from November 2-4, 2009. Two themes on the agenda include: 1) Contribution of, and costs to, right holders in enforcement, taking into consideration Recommendation No. 45 of the WIPO Development Agenda, and 2) Identifying elements for creating an enabling environment for promoting respect for intellectual property in a sustainable manner and future work.

Recommendation 45 of the Development Agenda states:

To approach intellectual property enforcement in the context of broader societal interests and especially development-oriented concerns, with a view that “the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights should contribute to the promotion of technological innovation and to the transfer and dissemination of technology, to the mutual advantage of producers and users of technological knowledge and in a manner conducive to social and economic welfare, and to a balance of rights and obligations”, in accordance with Article 7 of the TRIPS Agreement.

For the 5th session of the ACE, eight papers have been prepared by experts including Professor Michael Blakeney (Policy Responses to the Involvement of Organized Crime in Intellectual Property Offences), Carsten Fink (Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights: An Economic Perspective) and Sisule Musungu (The Contribution Of, and Costs To, Right Holders in Enforcement, taking into account Recommendation 45).

Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP)
November 16, 2009 to November 20, 2009

The 4th session of the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property, the steward body of the Development Agenda meets in Geneva from November 16 to November 20, 2009. The projects for consideration by Member States include: Intellectual Property and the Public Domain, Intellectual Property and Competition Policy, Project on Intellectual Property, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTS), the Digital Divide and Access to Knowledge, Developing Tools for Access to Patent Information, Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer, Enhancement of WIPO’s Results-Based Management (RBM) Framework to Support the Monitoring and Evaluation of Development Activities, in addition to country proposals by People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, Brazil and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a Group B proposal, and a joint proposal by Japan and the Republic of Korea.

WHO Expert Working Group on R&D Financing
November 30, 2009

The 3rd meeting of the WHO Expert Working Group on R&D Financing meets in Geneva on November 30, 2009. It is unclear at this stage whether this conclave of experts will meet for one, two or three days. This is the final meeting of the Expert Working Group created under the mandate of WHA61.21. As the final report of the EWG is due at the 63rd Assembly “through the Executive Board” which presumably is the 126th session of the WHO Executive Board in January 2010, one wonders when the final report of the EWG will be made made available to the general public.

Seventh WTO Ministerial Conference
November 30 to December 2, 2009

The Seventh WTO Ministerial Conference takes place from November 30 to December 2, 2009 in Geneva. According to the WTO, the “general theme for discussion shall be “The WTO, the Multilateral Trading System and the Current Global Economic Environment”.

Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore
December 7, 2009 to December 11, 2009

The WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC on GRTKF, an acronym that rolls of the tongue) will meet from December 7-11, 2009 in Geneva. The General Assembly (2009) revived the nearly moribund IGC with a new lease of life.

Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights
December 14, 2009 to December 18, 2009

The Nineteenth Session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) meets from December 14 to December 18, 2009 in Geneva. The three themes on the agenda of SCCR 19 include: 1) Limitations and exceptions, 2) Protection of audiovisual performances and 3) Protection of the rights of broadcasting organizations. As part of the conclusions of SCCR 18, the Proposal by Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay on a Treaty for Reading Disabled Persons will be discussed under the Limitations and Exceptions agenda item. On December 14, 2009, WIPO will convene an Information Meeting on Limitations and Exceptions for Educational Activities with the following speakers: Professor Joseph Fometeu, Université de Ngaoundéré, Cameroun, Professor Juan Carlos Monroy, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Bogota, Professor Victor Nabhan, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Professor Daniel Seng, National University of Singapore, Singapore and Professor Raquel Xalabarder, Open University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain. Thus far, the two documents that WIPO has prepared for SCCR 19 include: 1) an Analytical Document on Limitations and Exceptions and 2) a Second Draft Questionnaire on Limitations and Exceptions.

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