WIPO Assembly: IP-Watch Tally Of Finished And Pending Items

As the 2016 World Intellectual Property Organization General Assemblies near their close on 11 October, Intellectual Property Watch provides an update on what’s been agreed and what’s still outstanding among the key issues.

Delegates have made decisions on a number of topics, but the touchiest are still open. For instance, the General Assembly needs to decide whether or not to organise a high-level meeting to conclude a new treaty on industrial designs, and which countries will be hosting the next WIPO external offices. They are also working to complete changes to the organisation’s Internal Oversight Charter.

The WIPO General Assemblies, being held this year from 3-11 October, are the main policy and decision-making bodies of WIPO. Treaty unions administered at WIPO meet during the Assemblies, such as the Patent Cooperation Treaty Union. The General Assemblies also consider reports of WIPO committees, such as the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP), and the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT).

Agreed Items

Decisions have been adopted on WIPO committee reports, such as the SCP, the SCT, the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC), the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP), the Committee on WIPO Standards, and the Advisory Committee on Enforcement (ACE).

General Assembly consensus was also reached in the different unions WIPO administers, such as: the Patent Cooperation Treaty; the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs; the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks; the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration; and the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled.

Delegates also agreed on an update on the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center’s activities “as an international resource for time- and cost-efficient alternatives to court litigation of intellectual property (IP) disputes,” according to the document [pdf].

Still Pending

Delegates are holding intensive informal sessions today and by tomorrow night are expected to come to agreement on the following remaining items on the agenda [pdf]:

Copyright Committee

During the report of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR), a decision could not be approved. The committee is currently discussing a potential treaty protecting broadcasting organisations, and exceptions and limitations to copyright for libraries, archives, education, research institutions, and persons with other disabilities than visual impairment.

Argentina requested on 5 October that the decision emphasise the need for expedited discussions on the broadcasting treaty. The decision has been discussed in informal consultations which had not been conclusive by press time today.

Industrial Design Treaty

Consensus also is still needed on whether to convene in 2017 a high-level meeting (diplomatic conference) to conclude a procedural treaty on industrial designs. Two unresolved issues in the draft treaty text could not find consensus at the meeting of the SCT this year. One of these is the inclusion of an article on technical assistance in the body of the treaty, rather than in a separate document. The other is the inclusion of an article allowing countries to request mandatory disclosure of origin in industrial design applications (IPW, WIPO, 28 April 2016).

Informal meetings have been conducted by the SCT chair Adil El Maliki of Morocco during the first week of the General Assembly, and delegates still have to agree on his language proposal for a decision.

WIPO External Offices

Informal consultations have also been conducted on the opening of new WIPO external offices in countries, and which three candidate countries should be chosen for the 2016/2017 biennium among a list of candidates. The last WIPO GA decided that preference should be given to Africa, which has two candidates designated by the African Group: Algeria and Nigeria. The Group of Latin American and Caribbean countries (GRULAC) has chosen Colombia as their candidate. Other candidates include India, Iran, Romania, and South Korea.

Three other candidates are to be chosen for the next biennium, 2018/2019. But that decision had not been foreseen to be taken this year. However, in order to relieve some tensions and agree on the three first countries this year, there might be a decision in the General Assembly for countries for 2018/2019 as well.

Internal Oversight Charter

A decision also has to be reached on a revision of the WIPO Internal Oversight Charter. Amb. Juan Raúl Heredia Acosta of Mexico conducted informal consultations last week and issued a proposed revision on 7 October (IPW, WIPO, 10 October 2016). The African Group said this morning that it is still reviewing the proposal.

New Electoral Cycle of the WIPO General Assembly Officers

Latvia proposed [pdf] that the electoral cycle of the WIPO General Assembly officers be revisited. WIPO has experienced “rather chaotic Assemblies with few outcomes,” the proposal said, and in order to increase efficiency, “election of a knowledgeable Chair is an important element.”

The new chair of the General Assembly should be elected at the end of the ordinary Assembly session, not at the beginning of it, so that the new chair can prepare his/her ordinary Assembly, the proposal said. Delegates still have to reach a decision on this proposal.