The 2007 WIPO Assemblies

The Assemblies of WIPO's 184 Member States met from September 24 to October 3 to review activities over the past year and discuss the future work program. The General Assembly was chaired by Ambassador Martin I. Uhomoibhi, Nigeria's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, who presided over at times protracted discussions, as Member States moved forward on areas of agreement and sought to resolve differences on issues where consensus proved elusive. The following is a summary of the main decisions.

Development Agenda

Sealing what Director General Kamil Idris described as a "milestone decision," the General Assembly adopted a Development Agenda for WIPO, consisting of a series of recommendations to enhance the development dimension of the Organization's activities. These include a set of 45 proposals agreed by the Provisional Committee on a WIPO Development Agenda (PCDA) covering six clusters of activities:

* technical assistance and capacity building;

* norm-setting, flexibilities, public policy and public knowledge;

* technology transfer, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and access to knowledge;

* assessments, evaluation and impact studies;

* institutional matters including mandate and governance.

Member States agreed to establish a new Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) to monitor, assess and report on the implementation of the adopted recommendations, in coordination with relevant WIPO bodies. The Committee, which will be made up of Member States and will be open to all accredited intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, is expected to meet for the first time in the first half of 2008. The General Assembly also approved a set of 19 proposals for immediate implementation, which were identified following informal consultations organized by the Chairman of the PCDA prior to the General Assembly.

Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC)

The General Assembly agreed to extend the mandate of the IGC for a further two years. Member States recognized the significant work done by the Committee to date, and reaffirmed their commitment to achieving greater convergence on the issues. The decision renews the 2005 General Assembly's directions to the IGC to accelerate its work, and to focus in particular on the international dimension. The mandate excludes no outcome, including the possible development of international instruments in this field without prejudice to the work pursued in other fora.

Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP)

Delegates unanimously agreed to commission a report by WIPO on issues relating to the international patent system, covering the different needs and interests of all Member States. They agreed a draft outline for the report and specified that it should contain no conclusions. The report will constitute the working document for a session of the SCP to be held in the first half of 2008, and will be made available to all SCP members and observers by the end of March 2008.

Protection of Broadcasting Organizations

Delegations noted that, following two special sessions of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), progress had been made towards a better...