Knowledge Ecology International

In May 2009, at the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) 18th session, the governments of Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay formally tabled a proposal (SCCR/18/5) to WIPO endorsing the World Blind Union’s Treaty for Reading Disabled Persons. The States’ proposal has generated a flurry of activity including meetings scheduled in Belgium, Egypt, India and the United States related to the Treaty, norm setting, orphan works and limitations and exceptions to copyright. Continue Reading →

WIPO has elected two vice-chairs for the GA, Tunisia and Turkey. Tunisia now chairing.

Chile made a very nice statement on the public domain, copyright L&E, and access to knowledge.

The Tunisia chair just ruled that NGOs cannot speak today, and may only submit written statements. We may have opportunity later this week. The excuse was the “long list” of NGOs, but that not true. There were only about 4 or 5 on the list, including KEI, TWN and the WBU.

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The following is the statement that the United States asked be included in the record for Agenda item 5 (General Statements) of the 2009 WIPO General Assembly.

Brazil’s General Statement to the WIPO General Assemblies was delivered by H.E. Ambassador Roberto Azevedo, Head of the Delegation of Brazil. The statement broached many topics including the treaty for the sharing of accessible works for persons who are blind or have other reading disabilities, the legitimate trade of generics and the Development Agenda.

Here is an excerpt of the intervention dealing with the treaty for reading disabled persons:

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Today, KEI as a member of the TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) participated in a meeting of the EU-US IPR Enforcement Working Group in Washington DC. Attendees included several government and industry representatives, and only a handful of civil society participants.

The agenda addressed several IPR enforcement topics such as ACTA, seizure of generic medicines in transit, WHO Resolution WHA 61.21, climate change, customs regulations and country/region specific issues.

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This is a semi-live blog that will be edited during the day.

It’s Wed, September 23rd, and WIPO is winding up a relatively boring two days of a high level Ministerial segment. Many delegates felt this was poorly organized, with notices going out fairly late, and not much preliminary work or focus. Tomorrow begins the more substantive agenda.

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Every year at the end of September, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) holds a General Assembly (GA). The GA hears reports from all WIPO committees, approves budgets and top staff appointments, and sets the agenda for the next year. This year’s GA started today, with a large number of patent and copyright office heads, trade negotiators and NGOs in attendance.

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In the run up to WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights meeting from December 14 to December 18, 2009 (SCCR 19), there is a spate of activity in Europe, Egypt, India and the United States related to the right to read, a treaty for reading disabled persons, orphan works, limitations and exceptions to copyright and norm setting. Continue Reading →

In a February 2009 article, I described why we need a Word Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaty for people with reading disabilities and why the US delegation at WIPO should support the WBU proposal and even become a leading force promoting it in its new form, a proposal by the governments of Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay tabled at WIPO in May 2009. Continue Reading →