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580 The Delegation of Algeria, on behalf of the African Group, submitted the following written statement:
“In changing world where the impact of the knowledge and skills economy is supplanting the tangible economy, and where IP has become a generator of growth and development, WIPO sits at an unavoidable intersection of the global economic system. IP would remain the vehicle of progress and socio-economic advancement as long as development is a strategic priority for WIPO.
“The IP system must be based on a development dimension to reduce the gap between developed and developing countries. Our century is the century of knowledge, such a knowledge that must be shared for the purpose of promoting the well- being of all and not monopolized for technological dominance by some. This system can be an asset and should not be a constraint for our country.
“The best way to ensure that Development dimension is a priority within WIPO, is to make it a central issue in the debates within various committees and bodies of WIPO. The commitment and mutual understanding of Member States and the Secretariat are essential elements to achieving this goal.
“Regarding the issues on the agenda of the 12th session of CDIP, the African Group would like, first of all, to thank the Secretariat for the preparation of the documents submitted for our consideration. Then, the Group would like to express the following comments:
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The Group reiterates the need to reach an agreement on the terms of reference and the list of experts on the independent review of the implementation of the Development Agenda recommendations. The decision of the General Assembly on the Coordination mechanism requires the launching of this review at the end of the 2012-2013 biennium. In that vein, the Group recalls its joint proposal with DAG and urges Member States to reach an agreement that makes Development considerations at the center of this review.
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The Group welcomes the decision of the General Assembly in 2013 to instruct the CDIP to make recommendations on the implementation of the coordination mechanism and the third pillar of the mandate of this Committee. The African Group welcomes the opportunity to conduct consultations in order to ensure that all of WIPO Committees report on their contribution to the achievement of the Development Agenda, and that such reports are substantial and analytical. In addition, the Group reiterates its support for the proposal of the DAG to include a new item on the agenda of the CDIP, entitled "Intellectual Property and Development."
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The Group recalls that the issue of WIPO's contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, is a priority for the Group. The documents that have been presented so far on this issue should be revised and amended so as to have a substantial analysis of the contribution of WIPO to achieve the UN goals for development. This analysis should be conducted jointly by the Secretariat and Member States, which should create a forum of discussion devoted exclusively to this matter as well as the issue of the participation of WIPO to the post 2015 Development Agenda discussions.
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The Group expresses its desire to advance the discussions substantially on the issue of technical assistance in the area of cooperation for development. The Group believes that the Committee should be more ambitious in adopting recommendations that will have a real and continuous impact on the way that technical assistance activities are provided to our countries. The Joint Proposal of African Group and DAG should be the basis of our discussions on this matter.
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Finally, the Group welcomes the holding of the Second Annual Conference on South- South cooperation and IP. The Group attaches great importance to this issue due to the fact that several developing countries have successful experiences in the establishing national IP system oriented and focused on the economic, social and cultural development. Therefore, the Group emphasizes the importance of carrying out all the activities designed in the project on South-South cooperation and IP that will enable WIPO to be a catalyst in this regard.
“In conclusion and to ensure the success of our work, the Group believes that commitment in good faith, the spirit of compromise and the will to move forward are needed. The African Group will continue to show this spirit throughout our work.”
581 The Delegation of Bangladesh, on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Group, submitted the following written statement:
“We have a rather over-loaded agenda with a day less in number. On the back of it, we will have to deal with unresolved items from the last GA during the same days. Consequently, we would request the Member States to show utmost flexibility and reason so that we can do justice to the agenda items before us. We have progress reports for various important ongoing projects approved by the CDIP for the implementation of the DA recommendations. We also have evaluation reports on the projects on 'Capacity Building in the Use of Appropriate Technology’ (CDIP/12/3) and the project on 'Enhancement of WIPO's Results Based Management (RBM) Framework to Support the Monitoring and Evaluation of Development Activities' (CDIP/12/4). These two evaluations are extremely important to continue with our future endeavour regarding the implementation of the Development Agenda as a whole and using patented technology for the benefit of the LDCs in particular. Then we have further 19 recommendations of the Development Agenda that were identified for implementation through the regular work programme of the Secretariat. Since we have Member States in our group that may hold divergent views on some issues and items, our Members will be constructively engaged at the time of discussion of the respective agenda items. Now, I would like to mention some general issues of interest of the agenda.
“Remembering that CDIP being a permanent committee mandated by GA to discuss issues of IP and development, we are concerned at the lack of proper implementation of all the three pillars of the mandate of CDIP. It may be mentioned that the underlying principles and beliefs that made the Member States to come up with the idea of the Development Agenda in 2007, were that, IP and innovation were beneficial as tools for enhancing economic growth and social development according to specific needs and situations of a country. Likewise, the Member States of Asia Pacific group would like to see the establishment of a regular opportunity to discuss the issue of 'IP and Development' at the CDIP on general terms in addition to the existing focused project and recommendation based discussion.
“Coordination mechanism was unanimously agreed to by all the Member States to enhance better and effective coordination among different WIPO committees in the field of development activities. In this context, we would like to mention it again that the decision on the coordination mechanism has not yet been settled with respect to the PBC and the CWS, which are very important Committees for realization of DA goals.
“The Asia Pacific Group is ready to be engaged as a group and by the individual Member States in the deliberations on important items like 'Independent Review of the Implementation of the Development Agenda Recommendations' (CDIP/11/8), 'External Review of WIPO’s Technical Assistance in the Area of Cooperation for Development', the 'Measurement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in other United Nations agencies and the contribution of WIPO to the MDGs' (CDIP/12/8) etc. The group looks forward to discuss on the study on the feasibility of integrating MDGs related needs and outcomes into the WIPO biennial results framework and identifying specific indicators to measure WIPO’s contribution to the MDGs.
“Technical assistance is provided to the countries for supporting them to achieve socio-economic development. Thus we want the provision of WIPO's technical assistance to be development oriented at the optimum level as we feel that there is room for further improvement.
“We also thank the Republic of Korea for the new pilot project on 'Intellectual Property and Design Management for Business Development in Developing and Least Developed Countries' (CDIP/12/6). We hope that based on consensus, this will be an effective and useful project supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to actively create and commercialize designs through active use of the IP system and the development of strategies that will encourage investment in design.”
582 The Delegation of Benin, on behalf of the Group of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), submitted the following written statement:
“The Delegation of Benin, speaking on behalf of the Group of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), wishes to express its pleasure at seeing Ambassador DOUALEY chair the work of our Committee.
“The Group of LDCs will contribute to the achievement of satisfactory results during the course of our discussions.
“The Group wishes to congratulate WIPO for the efforts made to mainstream the issue of development into the Organization’s activities.
“The Group reaffirms its support for the implementation of the WIPO Development Agenda recommendations. In that regard, the Group fully appreciates the proposals made in the Progress Reports and the evaluation of the projects launched to that end.
“The Group welcomes the progress made in efforts to make available to its Members, and to other developing countries, relevant intellectual property (IP) information and tools through the creation and development of Technology and Information Support Centers (TISCs) and related networks, as well as the holding of training workshops in the field at both the national and regional levels. The Group notes with satisfaction that 37 TISC networks have been established to date, and encourages WIPO to continue to expand these networks.
“The Group also welcomes the success of the Project on Capacity Building in the Use of Appropriate Technology – Specific Technical and Scientific Information as a Solution for Identified Development Challenges and wishes to see this project extended to cover the other Members of the Group of LDCs.
“The Group of LDCs wishes to highlight that the regular monitoring and evaluation of WIPO development activities through the framework of results-based management will provide improved visibility of WIPO development cooperation actions and will enable appropriate corrective action that takes into account the needs of the beneficiaries, including the LDCs.
“Consequently, the Group welcomes the independent study on the implementation of the Development Agenda recommendations, which, together with the effective
evaluation of WIPO’s contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), will measure WIPO’s efforts in terms of development cooperation.
“With regard to the technical assistance provided by WIPO in the field of development cooperation, the Group of LDCs welcomes the handbook prepared by the Secretariat, which lists the activities and projects carried out. However, the Group wishes to see improvements made concerning those activities, taking into account the recommendations made at the time of publication of the external study carried out in this regard.
“Finally, the Group of LDCs wishes to reiterate, Chair, its support and commitment to working with you in a constructive manner in order to ensure that significant progress is made within the Committee.”
583 The Delegation of Lithuania, on behalf of the European Union and its Member States, submitted the following written statement:
“It’s clear we have a sizeable agenda in front of us, which will require intensive work, much co-operation and flexibility to ensure that we complete everything within the time constraints. “Accordingly, we call on you Mr. Chair to ensure our work is completed within the planned timeframe.
“The EU and its Member States have come here this week with a firm commitment to continue working in a positive and cooperative manner
“Finally, Mr. Chair, under future work, we stand ready to constructively discuss possible ways to improve the work of this committee for the benefit of all the delegations.”
584 The Delegation of Japan, on behalf of Group B, submitted the following written statement:
“The draft agenda includes 15 documents to be dealt with at this session, and some agenda items have a long history and are complex. We need to address these issues over 4 days during this session and finish our work of this session at 18:00 sharp on Thursday. In this regard, it is important that the session be advanced in an efficient and disciplined manner respecting the time-frame proposed by the Secretariat at the information session preceding the committee. Group B recognizes the importance of the development agenda, in particular, the positive use of intellectual property for development. However, the development work of WIPO should be balanced in the context of WIPO as a whole.
“Leaving detailed comments to be delivered under each agenda item and reserving the right for further elaboration at a later stage, Group B would like to take this opportunity to touch upon some issues.
- We welcome the topics to be discussed at this meeting including the project evaluations and progress reports, studies and new project proposals.
- We recognize the importance and complexity of the following 3 items that the Secretariat mentioned at the information session, namely the “Independent review of the implementation of the DA recommendations”, ”WIPO General Assembly decision on CDIP related matters”, and “The international Conference on Intellectual Property and Development”. We are ready to engage in those discussions in a constructive spirit and believe we will be able to see some progress within the allocated amount of time,
- We appreciate the Secretariat’s work on the “Manual on the Delivery of Technical Assistance” and “The Measurement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in other United Nations agencies and the contribution of WIPO to MDGs”. These will help inform any future work on these topics.
“Finally, Mr. Chair - please stand assured that you can count on the constructive spirit and support of our delegations during this session of the committee.”
585 The Delegation of Poland, on behalf of CEBS submitted the following written statement:
“The CEBS has every confidence in the Chair’s ability to ensure that this short week's discussions are undertaken in a fair and balanced manner, and all the projects are treated on an equal footing.
“There are a number of issues to be discussed during the upcoming four days, including Independent review of the implementation of the DA recommendations and WIPO General Assembly decision on CDIP related matters. Discussions will also continue on the Study on patent and public domain, as well as on the Study on IP and brain drain.
“An element worth noting of as an achievement of this Committee are: the Manual on the delivery of Technical Assistance, Update on WIPO website upgrade and the Technical Assistance Database.
“The CEBS Group is looking forward to concluding the discussions on modalities of the coordination mechanism for the Development Agenda which distracts this Committee from delivering its substantive work.
“CEBS is ready to work in a constructive spirit to ensure a fruitful, balanced and satisfactory outcome. We are looking forward to substantive discussions regarding the progress made on recommendations currently under implementation as well as on the revised and new project proposals.
“The amount of work and a number of issues which this Committee has to discuss this week require us to work intensively. The CEBS reiterates its firm commitment to continue working in a constructive and cooperative manner.”
586 The Delegation of Paraguay submitted the following written statement:
“We wish to take this opportunity to highlight that the Delegation of Paraguay attaches particular significance to the present Session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP), an event which marks the first occasion on which representatives of the entity that I have the honor of presiding over, the recently-created National Directorate of Intellectual Property, have participated in a meeting of a WIPO body.
“As we stated at the last WIPO General Assembly, the Government of Paraguay attaches great importance to intellectual property as a tool for the promotion of economic, social and cultural development and the elimination of poverty in our country. The main task facing my Government is the elimination of poverty and, in this regard, the projects presented during this Session constitute clear examples of how intellectual property can and must be used to this end.
“We both welcome and take note of the information provided concerning the pilot project for the creation of national intellectual property academies, as well as the results of the “Project on Intellectual Property and Product Branding for Business Development in Developing Countries and Least-Developed Countries (LDCs)”. Likewise, we shall carefully study those reports related to, inter alia, technology transfer, patents and copyright, with a view to assessing the possibility of setting up a similar project in Paraguay.
“Finally, it should be pointed out that, in cooperation with WIPO, we have begun the process of drawing up a national intellectual property strategy, this being the first time that such an initiative has been undertaken in Paraguay. We hope that we will be able to report to the Committee on the progress made in this regard in the near future.”
587 The Delegation of Peru submitted the following written statement:
“Statement on the importance of Intellectual Property (IP) and development for Peru
“Intellectual property (IP) protection is one of the mainstays of modern, competitive economies, promoting national creativity and talent from an economic point of view, as well as encouraging investment in development and innovation. In this regard, efforts are ongoing to bring about the conditions that will enable Peru to generate adequate incentives for the development of intellectual property through the effective protection of intellectual property rights in their various forms.
“Intellectual property constitutes a way of recognizing and promoting human creativity. The exploitation of IP rights represents a source of wealth for creators and innovators, strengthening business competitiveness by granting them exclusive rights that improve their position in the market.
“IP is vital to national economic development as it protects innovation, strengthening the country’s technological platform, opening up new markets and creating jobs. Foreign investors see the assessment of the IP system as an indicator, with a strong IP system attracting investment to the country.
“Likewise, the statistics on the filing of applications provide important information. In the case of marks, for example, such figures represent a source of data for both the Government, concerning foreign companies entering the national markets, and for local companies with regard to new competitors.
“It should be remembered that a direct relationship exists between trade and mark applications, given that, when levels of trade increase, so does the number of mark applications. Patent statistics are also an indicator of national technological development and provide relevant information on those foreign companies wishing to introduce new technologies into the country.
“The entertainment market and the development of cultural industries are also vital to the development of any society, with IP consequently also playing a major role in terms of culture.
“Peru is currently experiencing a boom in terms of economic and social development, with an average annual GDP growth rate of 5.6 per cent for the period 2000-2012. The State’s commendable performance in terms of maintaining stability and conditions conducive to progress has undoubtedly been accompanied by the dramatic rise of an ever-more stable business sector. Thus, the number of formal companies operating in Peru rose from 620,000 in 2006 to over 1.3 million in 2012, more than doubling in only six years. However, new challenges have arisen against a background of national development in a globalized world, some of which are linked to the competitiveness and sustainability of companies in the market.
“More precisely, the intellectual property system has, in practice, become a tool that enables companies of all sizes to add value to their creative, productive, innovative or marketing process; a development which has had a positive impact on society.
“Industrial secrets, patent information, patent or utility model registration, industrial designs, traditional knowledge, copyright, mark registration, inter alia, are all deemed to be both strategies and intangible assets that must be developed and used by companies during the various stages of the business process (birth, growth, maturity, etc.). For example, inventors who obtain patent protection for inventions with significant market potential enjoy exclusive rights over the commercial exploitation of said products, differentiating themselves from other international competitors. Likewise, valuable information concerning the development of new technologies that have a commercial and/or social impact can be obtained through access to patent documents. Such information also encourages the emergence of technology-based companies.
“Despite these obvious advantages and the spectacular development of the business sector in Peru, in general, use of the intellectual property system has not yet reached the levels hoped for. This situation is the result of the fact that Peru does not have a culture of use of intellectual property and of awareness concerning its advantages and benefits. Another obstacle in this regard is the general lack of faith in the relevant institutional processes (for example: how can rights be enforced in the face of the counterfeiting of marks, the copying of products, etc.). The National Institute for the Defense of Competition and Intellectual Property (INDECOPI) has made significant efforts to tackle these issues by promoting the need to incorporate intellectual property into business activities and innovation processes currently under development in Peru, as well as into education processes aimed at future entrepreneurs, inventors, innovators and policy makers in general.
588 The Delegation of Trinidad and Tobago, on behalf of GRULAC, submitted the following written statement:
“We look forward to working constructively with the Chair and other Groups this week in order to make progress on our work.
“The Group of countries of the Latin America and the Caribbean would like to recall that Member States are required to make two important decisions during this 12th Session of the CDIP. These decisions are: (i) the definition of terms of reference for an independent examination of the implementation of the Development Agenda recommendations and
(ii) the implementation of the decision of the 51st session of the Assemblies of WIPO regarding the work of the CDIP.
“Regarding the definition of terms of reference and methodology for the independent review of the implementation of the Development Agenda Recommendations, the GRULAC recognizes that the document CDIP/11/8, presented by the Development Agenda Group and the African Group in the 11th session of the CDIP, provides a good working basis and offers a practical framework for our discussions. For our Group, the expected result of this important exercise is to produce a document which analyzes whether or not IP as a tool for development is mainstreamed in all WIPO activities. This document should serve as a reference for all CDIP future discussions and guide future work on IP and Development.
“On the subject of the implementation of the decision of the General Assembly, which requests the discussion and a recommendation of the CDIP on the implementation of the GA past decisions, the GRULAC suggests that discussions be divided in two sessions of the CDIP due to time constraints. In the present session we should therefore focus on the implementation of the third pillar of the CDIP mandate, as already agreed in the last session. In the 13th Session of the CDIP, we would then discuss the implementation of a strong and effective coordination mechanism with oversight over the mainstreaming of Development Agenda recommendations in WIPO.
“The implementation of the third pillar of the 2007 GA decision is of utmost importance to developing countries. So far, the Development Agenda recommendations have offered us the only framework to discuss and decide on IP and Development issues. Nonetheless, new issues, debates and ideas on the relation between IP and Development should also be taken into account. On this point, the GRULAC considers that it is time to take stock of concerns raised in the past six CDIP sessions and urge Member States to adopt a decision.
“The GRULAC also thanks the Secretariat for document no. CDIP/12/2, especially the Project on Intellectual Property and Product Branding for Business Development in Developing Countries and Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) Report. Mr. President one of the countries which has benefited from this project is Panama where three products which presented strong branding potential and unique qualities linked to their geographical origin were identified. This project had been very successful in this country and we encourage the Secretariat to continue developing these types of projects in other Member States.
“In concluding, my Group will like to thank the Chair especially with respect to your efforts in facilitating a WIPO Conference on IP and Development which was carded to take place within the margins of this CDIP. As this Conference is important for imparting knowledge to all Member States and stakeholders on IP and Development, we therefore encourage all Groups and Member States to work together in the future in order for us to arrive at a consensus on the list of speakers.”
589 Statement on behalf of the Secretary of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA):
“The objectives of the International Treaty are the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their use, in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity, for sustainable agriculture and food security. The International Treaty’s truly innovative solution to access and benefit sharing is its so-called Multilateral System, which puts 64 of our most important crops – crops that together account for 80 percent of the food we derive from plants – into an easily accessible global pool of genetic resources that is freely available to potential users for specific usages. Currently this genepool includes more than 1.6 million documented samples of genetic material and in the first eight months of operation, the System facilitated more than 440,000 transfers of genetic material. Today, the System facilitates the transfer of about 600-800 samples of genetic material every day worldwide. The exchange of plant genetic material within the Multilateral System is based on a Standard Material Transfer Agreement, which comprises the terms and conditions of both the access to the plant genetic resources as well as the benefit-sharing from their utilization.
“According to the provisions of the Standard Material Transfer Agreement, the obligation to share financial benefits arising from the utilization of plant genetic resources is triggered amongst other by the granting of IP rights in products which incorporate such material and which are then under restriction for further research and breeding because of the IP right over the product. An equitable share of the benefits arising from the commercialization of any such product has to be paid to the International Treaty’s “Benefit Sharing Fund”.
“The Benefit Sharing Fund was established as a fund to invest in high impact projects supporting farmers in developing countries to conserve crop diversity in their fields and assisting farmers and breeders globally to adapt crops to changing needs and demands.
“The Benefit Sharing Fund, thus, provides financial support to the implementation of projects, which generate further innovation in the field of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, in the form of technology, new varieties and the like.
“Under the current project cycle, 19 strategic planning and immediate impact projects are being funded. Their innovations range from building resilience to climate change of high yielding and locally adapted rice varieties, the strengthening of water source irrigation facilities to adapt to varying rainfall patterns and drought, the development of a mechanism that shall allow access to locally adapted varieties of durum wheat and barley in order to ensure food security for local farmers, to multiplying wheat and barley landraces with drought- and disease-resistance in order to positively impact the food security, income, and resilience of poor farming communities.
“The International Treaty’s Multilateral System is therefore a source of innovations in the field of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, while at the same time guaranteeing the achievement of its core objectives of conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their use.
“Finally, let me briefly mention that at the most recent session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty, which convened from 24 to 28 September 2013 in Muscat, Oman, the Contracting Parties decided to establish an “Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group to Enhance the Functioning of the Multilateral System of Access and Benefit Sharing”. The Working Group shall, amongst other, consider the further expansion of the benefit sharing mechanism of the International Treaty, including in particular new and innovative ways to create long-term flows of financial resources for the Benefit-Sharing Fund. It will also explore other means of enhancing the functioning of the Multilateral System.
[Annex follows]
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