Richard Kjeldgaard, a former Senior Counsellor in the Biotechnology and Genetic Resources Division of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and now employed by the U.S. based Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) performed his role as “bouncer” admirably today at a luncheon organized by the Biotechnology Industry Organization.
Walking around the marbled corridors of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) during its 43rd General Assembly, one cannot help but feel a palpable sense of an Organization under siege. Heightened security detail, ostensibly for the protection of the institution and the assembled delegates, was referred by one insider as justification for WIPO maintaining the current levels for patent filing fees.
The outgoing General Assembly Chair, Enrique Manalo (Ambassador, Philippines) commenced the 43th session of the WIPO General Assembly at 10:23 AM (Central European Time). Ambassador Manalo highlighted the success of Development Agenda negotiations as a hallmark of his tenure as Chair over the course of 2 years.
On 23 October 2006, the WHO, as an intergovernmental organization with observer status at the WTO TRIPS Council, presented a seven page report on its technical cooperation activities with respect to “Trade, Intellectual Property Rights and Access to Medicines”.
The full document IP/C/W/478/Add.4 can be found on the WTO document database:
http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/docs_e.htm
In the wake of the recently concluded broadcasting negotiations at WIPO in June 2007 (Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights) where a proposed instrument for the protection of broadcasting organizations was put on cold storage but not terminated, a Chilean proposal on the examination of limitations and exceptions in the copyright area has come to the fore.
At 9:43 PM tonight we hear that the casting discussions are stalling over the United States’ support of the inclusion of the phrase “by any means” in Jukka’s non-paper on Article 7 (Protection of Broadcasts) noting that this would be the “value added” component of any Treaty for the Protection of Broadcasting Organizations. Continue Reading
Informed sources have indicated that not much progress has been made in the morning informal sessions of the SCCR today which commenced at around 11:40 AM and ended at 1 PM for lunch. It is unlikely that the plenary will reconvene today. Delegations have only been able to discuss Article 1 of Jukka Liedes’ (20 April 2007) non-paper on the objective of the proposed treaty. This article states:
PCDA Recommendations to 2007 General Assembly
(As adopted 9:38 pm June 15, 2007)
The PCDA decided to make the following recommendations to the 2007 General Assembly:
1. To adopt the recommendations for action in the agreed proposals contained in the Annex;
2. To immediately implement the recommendations contained in the list submitted by the Chair of the PCDA, in accordance with paragraph X of the Report of the Fourth Session of the PCDA;
3. A Committee on Development and IP be established immediately to: