WIPO Committee Adopts New Development Projects, Agrees Future Work, Stumbles On Technical Assistance

World Intellectual Property Organization committee members last week agreed some new development projects and advanced discussions on the agency’s development dimension, including technical assistance, technology transfer and ties to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But negotiators could not complete a near-breakthrough on compromise measures to sharpen WIPO technical assistance through new guidelines, seminars, measurement tools, coordination, and tighter rules on selection of consultants.

The 17^th session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) met from 11-15 April.

As shown in the CDIP chair’s summary [pdf] of the meeting, some development projects were adopted, and discussions continued on the technical assistance WIPO provides, technology transfer activities, as well as which SDGs relate to WIPO’s development-related work.

After coming close to an agreement on six measures to be taken by WIPO on its technical assistance to developing and least-developed countries, divide on the significance of those six measures did not allow consensus (IPW, WIPO, 15 April 2016).

The issue of technical assistance that WIPO provides to developing countries is a tough issue as developing countries have expressed concern about the nature of advice being provided – that it might favour the strict application of intellectual property rights instead of also presenting flexibilities available to developing and least-developed countries.

During the week, several sessions of informal meetings seemed to have succeeded in bringing agreement on an updated Spanish proposal on six measures to be followed by WIPO in its technical assistance. These include WIPO compiling its existing practices, tools and methodologies for technical assistance, holding regular forums, seminars and web forums, improving internal coordination, assessing tools for measuring impact of technical assistance, and explain and refine its selection of consultants to provide technical assistance.

The Spanish proposal was an effort to find compromise on the implementation on remaining recommendations from an external review of WIPO technical assistance that found substantive problems with WIPO technical assistance practices.

However, delegates could not agree on whether the adoption of those six measures would effectively put an end to discussions in the CDIP to the external review recommendations, or whether it would only be a step forward and discussions would resume at the next session.

Developed countries were of the view that those recommendations should close the item on the external review, developing countries were of the opposite view. Some developed countries were open to an agenda item on technical assistance for the next meeting of the committee, but separate from the external review.

At the end, as reported in the chair’s summary of the session, the discussion had to be pushed to the next CDIP session, and the Spanish proposal, annexed to the chair’s summary, will remain on the table.

New Development Projects

The second phase of a project [pdf] on strengthening and development of the audio-visual sector in Burkina Faso and certain African countries was adopted, as well as a project [pdf] on the use of information in the public domain for economic development. On the latest, the project will be amended to reflect the request of some member states that the two guides foreseen by the project would be available in all WIPO languages.

Also adopted was a project [pdf] on cooperation on intellectual property rights education and professional training with judicial training institutes in developing and LDCs. On this project, the title was amended to include the word “development” (project on cooperation on development and intellectual property rights education).

Ecuador introduced a proposed project [pdf] entitled, “Pilot Project to Accelerate Technology Transfer, Research and Development in Order to Improve the Technical Capacity to Absorb Local Science and Technology Generated by Universities and the Productive Sector.” The project is expected to be further considered at the next session.

No Agreement on Coordination

No agreement was found on the coordination mechanism of the WIPO Development Agenda, and whether all WIPO committees should report to the General Assembly on their development-related activities (IPW, WIPO, 13 April 2016).

The CDIP was instructed by the last General Assembly to continue discussion on the subject, which has been ongoing since 2010, and provide solutions. The 17^th session of the CDIP being the last meeting in 2016 before the next General Assembly in October, the committee is requesting the General Assembly to allow for the discussions to continue in the next two sessions of the CDIP.

Future Work

The CDIP agreed on work to be carried out for the next session in November. A list below.

The committee is expected to be presented with the results of an ongoing independent review of the implementation of the Development Agenda recommendations (IPW, WIPO, 18 November 2015), as well with a factual report of the proceedings of the recent WIPO Conference on Development and Intellectual Property (IPW, WIPO, 8 April 2016).

The WIPO secretariat is expected to revise a document [pdf] presenting a mechanism for updating its database on patent flexibilities to include the financial implications of the two options of the mechanism (IPW, WIPO, 7 April 2016).

WIPO members are expected to provide their suggestions on WIPO’s work related to the UN SDGs so that they can be compiled by the secretariat. Member states are also invited to submit their proposals on the outcome of the WIPO Expert Forum on International Technology Transfer for compilation by the secretariat (IPW, WIPO, 15 April 2016). Submissions on both issues should reach the secretariat by 10 July so that they can be considered at the next session of the CDIP.

Left over from the agenda [pdf] of this session were three documents presenting guides relating to the management of IP rights by universities and research institutions, which are expected to be considered at the next session.

Below is a list of items agreed on future work adopted by the CDIP, according to WIPO:

1. Progress Report on the implementation of the Development Agenda Recommendations projects
2. Report on the Independent Review of the implementation of the Development Agenda Recommendations (Recall Coordination Mechanism. Para.15 and Annex  – Summary by the Chair of CDIP/14)
3. Report on the International Conference on IP and Development (Para. 3 of Document CDIP/11/5)
4. Revised document on Mechanism for updating the Database on flexibilities (Para. 9.2 – Summary by the Chair of CDIP/17)
5. Compilation of Member State inputs on SDGs relevant to WIPO’s work (Para. 9.4 – Summary by the Chair of CDIP/17)
6. Document on Activities related to Technology Transfer based on Member States proposals submitted to the Secretariat (Para. 9.5 – Summary by the Chair of CDIP/17)
7. Revised Project Proposal to Accelerate Technology Transfer, Research and Development in Order to Improve the Technical Capacity to Absorb Local Science and Technology Generated by Universities and the Productive Sector (proposal made by Ecuador) – Revised or not (Para. 9.6 – Summary by the Chair of CDIP/17)
8. Discussion on Technical Assistance Review and the Spanish Proposal (Para. 8 – Summary by the Chair of CDIP/17)
9. Report on the updated of the Development Agenda Recommendations by WIPO bodies forwarded by the General Assembly (Para. 9.10 – Summary by the Chair of CDIP/17)
10. Outputs of DA Projects
11. Report on the  17th session (Para. 11 – Summary by the Chair of CDIP/17)
12. Guides prepared in the context of the project on Innovation and Technology Transfer Support Structure for National Institutions CDIP/3/INF/2:

• A Practical Guide for Valuing Intangible Assets in Research and Development Institutions (Document CDIP/17/INF/2)

• Models of Intellectual Property (IP) Related Contracts for Universities and Publically-Funded Research Institutions (Document CDIP/17/INF/2)

• Intellectual Property Valuation Manual for Academic Institutions (Document CDIP/17/INF/4)