Key WIPO Body Endorses 2004-2005 Program and Budget
Geneva, September 10, 2003
Press Releases PR/2003/353
Member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) endorsed on Wednesday, September 10, 2003, the 2004-2005 program and budget, which proposes a slight decrease as compared to 2002-2003 owing to the completion of major infrastructure projects in the area of information technology and buildings during that financial period. The Program and Budget Committee, which met in Geneva from September 8 to 10, 2003, approved a budget amounting to 638.8 million Swiss Francs (SFr), which reflects a decrease of 30 million SFr or 4.5 % as compared with the revised budget for 2002-2003 of 668.8 million SFr. The program and budget is expected to be formally adopted at the WIPO Assemblies later this month.
The program and budget for 2004-2005 represents a zero nominal growth for activities funded from member states contributions. Contributions by member states amount to less than 10% of the overall budget. WIPO is largely a self-funding agency, financing its activities from revenues acquired through the provision of services to the private sector in the form of international registration/filing of patents, trademarks and designs.
Addressing delegates, Mr. Philippe Petit, Deputy Director General of WIPO, said that the 2004-2005 program and budget exercise, which had been characterized by a highly interactive and transparent process, had resulted in a realistic financial plan that addressed current needs. The consolidated program structure which had emerged was designed to ensure more efficient use of available resources and renewed focus on delivering concrete results. The 2004-2005 program and budget sets out a streamlined and focused program and budget. It will enable the Organization to transform its vision of the role of intellectual property (IP) as a powerful tool for economic, social and cultural development into a practical reality by concentrating on generating specific, tailored outcomes and tangible deliverables that have a positive impact at national, regional and international levels.
The proposals outline measures to provide policy and practical support for the diverse needs of member states. Each program is designed to produce deliverables which contribute directly to supporting strategic goals. The Organization will now capitalize on its past substantial investment in legal, technical and administrative infrastructure areas.
WIPO's activities will concentrate on assisting its member states put into place the necessary policies and mechanisms to enable more effective use of the IP system. WIPO will work towards the establishment of policy settings that respond to the specific needs of member states by addressing both the broader policy environment and the practical needs of the users of the system. There is no one-size-fits-all IP system and no single template for successful management of IP assets. Each country must adapt and adjust its own national IP system and tailor it to serve its own particular needs and interests. The Organization's approach, outlined in the 2004-2005 program and budget, is a response to this reality.
Under the 2004-2005 program and budget, WIPO will emphasize and support the development of an IP culture that enables all stakeholders to play their distinct roles within a coherent, strategic whole and to realize the potential of IP as a tool for economic, social and cultural development. A dynamic IP culture is founded on the maintenance of an effective, balanced IP system, but also requires active, well-informed and diverse users of the system, assisted by lower entry barriers to allow for the astute and successful use of intellectual property rights by a much wider range of constituencies. WIPO's strategic vision recognizes that collective leadership is essential for the creation of an IP culture. Consequently, greater emphasis will be placed on catalyzing partnering arrangements between the private and non-government sectors and the government sector. Much of the practical expertise in the strategic management of intellectual property rights, and skilled capacity to use the IP system to yield tangible benefits, resides in the private sector, and this know-how and practical experience is invaluable in realizing the potential of these rights.
For further information, please contact the Media Relations & Public Affairs Section at WIPO: Tel: + 41 22 338 8161 or 338 9547; e-mail: publicinf@wipo.int.