360 Applicants Bid For Top WIPO Posts; Selection Process Underway

The World Intellectual Property Organization is currently engaged in an unprecedented process for the selection of the new top management team to serve under recently re-elected Director General Francis Gurry. The open call for applicants resulted in some 360 applications from around the world, including from the upper echelons of WIPO itself, according to sources.

But as open as the call for applications was, the process for choosing from among the deep pool of applicants appears to be less than transparent, according to some observers. The list of applicants is not public, and while some candidates have appeared to be campaigning for support, others have sought to keep their names from becoming widely known in the early stages.

“Some are in a campaign, but not everyone,” a developing country delegate told Intellectual Property Watch. “It’s a different kind of process.”

Numerous applications were put in by individuals on their own behalf. Many others were put forward by or are backed by their governments, sources said. Based on discussions with sources, the list ranges widely from senior officials in WIPO, to industry representatives, to past candidates for the DG post who lost to Gurry, and others. Existing top officials were free to apply for posts as well.

Intellectual Property Watch knows the identity of numerous candidates but has chosen not to publish them at this point without their consent or unless the entire list is made public. Clues to some perennial hopefuls can be found in IP-Watch reporting from the last round of appointments in 2009, see here (IPW, WIPO, 5 May 2009).

The call for applications, which closed on 22 June, is available here.

“A large number of applications, including nominations by governments, has been received,” said a WIPO press officer. “Applicants will be selected on the basis of technical and managerial competence, with due regard to equitable geographic and gender balance.”

The director general is engaging in consultations with member states with respect to the appointments prior to the September session of the WIPO Coordination Committee, which will meet during the annual WIPO General Assemblies, from 22-30 September. His recommendations will go before the committee for approval.

“Shortlisted candidates (with the exception of any currently serving DDG or ADG) will be assessed through an external assessment center and may be invited for interview,” the vacancy announcement states.

All candidates were required to complete the personal history form in WIPO’s e-recruitment system, and attach a motivation letter indicating which portfolio(s) they wish to apply for, it said. The criteria for selection as stated in the announcement are rather broad, such as demonstrating leadership and having significant management experience.

Gurry was re-elected in March for a second term of six years, and has to choose his management team of deputy directors general and assistant directors general. Gurry’s term runs from 1 October 2014 to 30 September 2020, and the new officials are expected to begin on 1 December, as the current terms expire on 30 November.

Current Team

The current management team is:

• Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama (Nigeria), Deputy Director General, Development Sector
• Mr. James Pooley (US), Deputy Director General, Innovation and Technology Sector
• Ms. Binying Wang (China) Deputy Director General, Brands and Designs Sector
• Mr. Christian Wichard (Germany) Deputy Director General, Global Issues Sector
• Mr. Trevor C. Clarke (Barbados), Assistant Director General, Copyright
• Mr. Ambi Sundaram (Sri Lanka), Assistant Director General, Administration and Management Sector
• Mr. Yoshiyuki (Yo) Takagi (Japan), Assistant Director General, Global Infrastructure
• Mr. Naresh Prasad (India), Chief of Staff

The New Positions

There are some changes in the positions from last time, at least in name, such as “Innovation and Technology Sector” to “Patents and Technology Sector,” and “Copyright Sector” to “Culture and Creative Industries Sector” (though this latter name change may have already been made during the current term). Also, the Chief of Staff is not listed (this is typically an appointment of the director general, not by applications).

Deputy Director General – Development Sector ↓

The Sector’s key objective is to facilitate cooperation for the use of IP for social, cultural and economic development to enable greater participation by developing and least developed countries (LDCs) in innovation and the IP system. It includes:

• Coordination of the WIPO Development Agenda;
• Cooperation with African, Arab, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean countries, and LDCs;
• The WIPO Academy.

Deputy Director General – Patents and Technology Sector ↓

The Sector’s priorities are to ensure the continued improvement and expansion of the PCT to the benefit of all of its users, to help implement national innovation strategies, and to support member states in their continued search for a balanced and productive way forward in norm-setting in the area of patents. It includes:

• Operation of the international patent system through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which employs a third of WIPO’s staff and generates some 75% of its income;
• Support for the work of the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP), the body responsible for development of international patent law;
• Advice on development of national legislation and patent systems.

Deputy Director General – Brands and Designs Sector ↓

The Sector’s responsibilities include:

• Administration of the Madrid System for International Trademark Registrations;
• The Hague System for International Design Registrations;
• The Lisbon System for International Registrations of Appellations of Origin;
• Supporting the work of member states in the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT).

Deputy Director General – Global Issues Sector ↓

The Sector’s responsibilities include:

• Managing the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (AMC);
• Providing the secretariat for the Intergovernmental Committee on Traditional Knowledge (TK), Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs) and Genetic Resources (GR);
• Building Respect for IP;
• IP and Global Challenges;
• Communications;
• External Relations.

Assistant Director General – Culture and Creative Industries Sector ↓

The Sector manages WIPO’s program on copyright. It includes:

• Providing the secretariat for the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR);
• Providing support for collective management in developing and least developed countries;
• Facilitating cooperation and capacity-building programs for developing and least developed countries;
• Providing legislative and policy advice.

Assistant Director General – Administration and Management Sector ↓

The Sector brings together programs related to the administration and management of WIPO. It includes:

• Finance;
• Results, budget and performance, including the Program and Budget Committee (PBC);
• Procurement and travel services;
• Information and Communication Technology;
• Conference and language services;
• Safety and security;
• Premises and infrastructure.

Assistant Director General – Global Infrastructure Sector ↓

The Sector coordinates and develops the technical architecture of the global IP system. It brings together a range of key WIPO services and assets, and coordinates and develops new components, including search tools, global databases and common platforms. It focuses on facilitating knowledge-sharing through sustainable knowledge infrastructures and by establishing a network of interconnected IP Offices that share a common platform. This will support the protection and use of IP assets, knowledge and information by all countries. It includes:

• Global IP databases (PATENTSCOPE, Global Brand Database);
• The international classification systems and WIPO IP standards;
• International IP information services and institutions (partnerships projects for access to technology such as ARDI, ASPI, patent landscape reports, Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISCs));
• The modernization of infrastructure and business solutions at IP offices and the establishment of common platforms such as WIPO CASE;
• WIPO External Offices.

 

Analysis of Positions

Note that responsibilities for top management may shift “to accommodate special competences or experiences of applicants or incumbents, or to meet the organizational needs,” as stated in the call for applications. For instance, Wang was given a newly created ADG post in 2006, and then moved up to a DDG in 2009.

Initial differences in the job descriptions (which may or may not mean actual changes in responsibility) from last time to this time include the absence of a reference to technical assistance databases under the Development DDG, absence of a reference to innovation under the Patents DDG, and dropping of reference to competition and IP under the Global Issues DDG. The Creative Sector ADG post contains more specifics, such as providing support for collective management, facilitating capacity building in developing countries, and providing legislative and policy advice.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the current team shows a fair representation of the biggest economies in some regions: China, Germany, India, Japan, Nigeria, the United States. And there is some diversity with Barbados and Sri Lanka.

It is notable that along with Gurry (Australia), a single “regional” group in WIPO meetings – the “Group B” developed countries that own the vast majority of the world’s IP rights – has four out of nine posts. Latin America and some other regional groups (such as the Central European and Baltic States) do not have a top post.

It is unwritten but generally accepted that the United States gets a top post every time, though the current tensions caused by Pooley’s high-profile claims of mismanagement against Gurry could conceivably factor in. It is unclear the degree to which the US is aligning itself with Pooley, but the US supports the investigation of the claims that is now underway (IPW, WIPO, 19 May 2014).

According to sources, the Independent Advisory Oversight Committee (IAOC, a small group of member states) was asked to decide how to proceed on the investigation and it decided to send the investigation back to the Internal Audit and Oversight Division, despite the fact that the IAOD director had recused himself. The IAOC said he is shielded from conflict of interest, but did not provide its legal reasoning, a source said. The issue is referenced (item 14) in the report from the IAOC’s May meeting, available here [pdf].

Meanwhile, it has been speculated that some of the current top officials might continue on for a second term, or even split a second term. Positions that were known at press time to be opening up include the ones held by Pooley and Clarke.

Also, sources said it is expected that Onyeama’s post, the DDG for Development, will be filled by someone from the Latin American and Caribbean region, as people from that region hold the understanding that the post rotates and that they are next in line. It is understandable, then, that many top Latin American officials at WIPO and in neighbouring agencies in Geneva have put their names into the hat for the post, some perhaps hedging their bets and going for a second post just in case.

It is noted in the call for applications that WIPO officials who take a DDG or ADG post must renounce their current post at WIPO and have no entitlement to return to a post after their term ends.

New WIPO External Offices

A separate but influential topic of significant informal meetings and discussion in recent weeks has been the development of a policy on new external offices of WIPO around the world. Gurry stirred debate last year when he quietly signed contracts to open new offices in China and Russia, and proposed two more in Africa (the locations to be decided among African countries), and one in the United States.

The issue caused tension at the 2013 General Assemblies, which had to be completed in a special session in December. At the concluding session, the proposal for two African offices and a US office was removed from the 2014-2015 programme and budget, and intensive consultations have taken place ever since. Key issues have been how many offices to allow in this biennium, and in ensuing biennia. Spanish-speaking Latin American countries have been vocal about their wish to have an office in addition to the one that was opened in 2010 in Brazil.

According to sources, African countries have vigorously defended the idea of having two of three more offices in this biennium, according to sources, but Group B has been seeking to slow the process, even suggesting a plan to add several more offices up through 2019 and then stopping, conducting a review and possibly closing some.

Rules of Procedure

Article 9(7) of the WIPO Convention provides that the director general shall appoint the deputy directors general “after approval by” the Coordination Committee.

Regulation 4(8) of the WIPO Staff Regulations and Rules [pdf] also provides that the director general shall appoint assistant directors general “taking into account the advice of” the Coordination Committee.

The call for applications included a few other notes of interest. For instance, it states that, “Should the Director General’s appointment end more than six months before its stated term, the appointments of the DDGs and ADGs would end six months after the end of the Director General’s appointment.”

The existing team served only five years because Gurry took office in the final year of former DG Kamil Idris, who departed early while his management team stayed in place for a period of overlap with Gurry.