Review Of WIPO Development Agenda Recommendations Ongoing

An independent review of how the World Intellectual Property Organization is implementing the recommendations of its Development Agenda is ongoing. A survey is expected to be sent soon to WIPO members as well as international organisations and nongovernmental organisations participating in the WIPO Committee on Development and IP (CDIP).

The question of how WIPO, a specialised United Nations agency, is effectively streamlining its Development Agenda into its activities is an open one. A number of developing countries say this process should be ongoing and that more must be done by the organisation to make sure that the IP system serves their particular development needs.

The terms of reference of the independent review were agreed upon at the 14^th session of the CDIP in November 2014.

Three experts were appointed by WIPO: V.K. Gupta, formerly senior advisor and director of the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India; Pedro Roffe, a long-time IP and development expert; and Gift Huggins Sibanda, former director general of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) (IPW, WIPO, 26 August 2015).

In September, an inception report [pdf] prepared by the independent review team was presented to WIPO member states in a meeting organised by the WIPO secretariat, according to sources. The inception report aims at assessing the relevance, effectiveness, impact, sustainability and efficiency of WIPO’s work in the implementation of the Development Agenda Recommendations from 2008-2015, according to the report.

The 2007 Development Agenda includes 45 recommendations.

Feedback from Members, WIPO Staff, Other Stakeholders

According to sources, by the end of November, a survey will be sent to all WIPO member states as well as nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) accredited to the CDIP, and all people involved in the CDIP work and development projects.

This week, over 100 people are expected to be interviewed by the review team, according to a source, including WIPO member states, project managers, and programme managers in WIPO, NGOs, academia, and the private sector.

The survey and the interviews are meant to gather wide feedback which will be analysed by the review team.

The survey is also expected to be sent to national IP offices and four field missions are expected to be organised. The four countries are not known yet, according to the source.

According to the inception report, the review team will try to understand the degree of commitment of member states in the implementation of the Development Agenda Recommendations, but also the degree of dissemination and use of the material produced in the implementation of projects, and the degree of effectiveness of the project-based approach in the CDIP.

The CDIP chair and former chairs also are expected to be interviewed as well as “active delegations in the implementation” of the Development Agenda Recommendations.

The list of WIPO staff to be interviewed is listed in Annex 5 of the inception report, and includes WIPO Director General Francis Gurry, Deputy Director General for the Development Sector Mario Matus, and CDIP project managers, such as WIPO Chief Economist Carsten Fink.

Timeframe

According to the inception report, the submission of the first draft of the review report with findings, conclusions and recommendations is expected to happen in March 2016. After consideration of the report by WIPO in April 2016, it is expected that the review will be finalised in May 2016 and that the report will be presented to the 18^th session of the CDIP in November 2016.

The 16^th session of the CDIP met from 9-13 November. The review was not on the agenda.

It is also expected, according to the inception report, that the review will suggest possible improvements to WIPO’s performance and its work in the implementation of the Development Agenda Recommendations.