The second in a series of joint - technical level - symposia organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) will be held at the WHO on February 18, 2011. This meeting, which will be opened by the Directors General of the three co-organizers – Mrs. Margaret Chan, Mr. Francis Gurry and Mr. Pascal Lamy – will be preceded on February 17, 2011 by a workshop at WIPO on patent searches and freedom to operate.
WIPO Director General Francis Gurry will be joined by his counterparts at INTERPOL, Mr. Ronald K. Noble, and the World Custom’s Organization (WCO), Mr. Kunio Mikuriya, as well as France’s Minister of Economy, Mrs. Christine Lagarde, at the opening of the Sixth Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy in Paris on February 2, 2011 to address the question of building respect for intellectual property in a balanced and sustainable way. A number of ministers from around the world are expected to attend the Congress, in addition to other top government officials and corporate leaders.
WIPO launched on December 20, 2010 an on-line tool - the Madrid System Goods & Services Manager (G&S Manager) - that will help trademark applicants in compiling the list of goods and services that must be submitted when filing an international application under the Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks.
Negotiators from WIPO’s 184 member states and other stakeholders made significant progress this week during a session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC). In addition to advancing on key substantive issues, the IGC defined the work to be undertaken by two intersessional working groups on traditional knowledge (TK) and genetic resources (GRs) that will meet in February 2011.
During an official visit to Guatemala from December 1-2, 2010, WIPO Director General Francis Gurry met with Vice President Rafael Espada, top Government and IP officials, as well as ministers responsible for intellectual property from six Central American countries.
WIPO Director General Francis Gurry met on November 30, 2010 with the President of the Dominican Republic, Mr. Leonel Fernández and addressed an audience of 200 people in the National Palace of the Republic. He focused on the innovation potential of the Dominican Republic and the strong collaborative initiatives that are underway in conjunction with WIPO, including in particular, support in designing and implementing a national innovation and intellectual property strategy, significant office automation and digitization projects, better use of trademarks and appellations of origin, and the development of a Start-up Intellectual Property Academy.
WIPO Director General Francis Gurry undertook an official visit to Beijing on November 18-19, 2010 during which he met Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan to discuss a range of issues relating to intellectual property. During his visit, Mr. Gurry also opened a major International Copyright Forum and Expo on music at which he addressed the challenges confronting the music sector in the digital environment. These events were organized by WIPO in cooperation with the National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC).
WIPO’s top copyright negotiating body this week continued discussions on limitations and exceptions to copyright law, as well as updating the rights of broadcasting organizations and the rights of performers in their audiovisual performances. The Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), meeting from November 8-12, 2010, took stock of the status of discussions in each of these three key areas and agreed on a road map for future negotiations.
WIPO’s Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) met from November 1 to 4, 2010 and made progress on work relating to industrial design law and practice, in addition to matters relating to the Internet and trademarks.
WIPO Director General Francis Gurry and Harvard University professor Lawrence Lessig will open a meeting hosted by WIPO in Geneva on November 4 and 5, 2010 on copyright licensing that will feature a range of eminent speakers from government, business and civil society. The global meeting on “Facilitating Access to Culture in the Digital Age” will explore different approaches to licensing creative content in the rapidly evolving on-line marketplace and in view of the proliferation of new forms of on-line distribution.