WIPO Diplomatic Conference On GIs Starts With 28 Member Governments

Last-ditch efforts by a range of World Intellectual Property Organization members to join treaty negotiations at WIPO this week failed, as the 28 members of the treaty rejected a proposal to allow non-members participate as voting participants. As a result, WIPO’s biggest-paying member called into question the future legitimacy of the UN organisation. 

At the start of a 10-day negotiating meeting to incorporate geographical indications into a WIPO-administered treaty currently protecting appellations of origin, the 28 WIPO members held fast to their choice of reserving voting rights to members of the treaty. The other members are allowed to participate as non-voting members. Substantive negotiations begin tomorrow.

The Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a New Act of the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration is taking place from 11-21 May at WIPO.

The draft rules of procedures [pdf] were adopted on the first, after some legal discussion.

WIPO ‘Normative Development of the Year’

WIPO Director General Francis Gurry, opening the diplomatic conference, said the current negotiation is “likely the most significant normative development in this organisation throughout this year.”

The diplomatic conference, he said, presents both an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity to modernise a 1958 treaty, taking into account the developments that have occurred around the world, in particular the heightened role of marks and identifiers, which are “indispensable signals for consumers,” he said.

The challenge is that the revision produce a revised Lisbon system which will be attractive to the full membership of the UN organisation, he added.

Non-Members Demand Full Participation

The delegations of Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, New Zealand, Panama, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and the United States tabled a proposal [pdf] on 8 May to “improve” the draft rules of procedures of the diplomatic conference.

In the proposal, they asked that full and equal participation by all WIPO members be allowed in the diplomatic conference.

French Ambassador Nicolas Niemtchinow, speaking on 26 of the Lisbon members, in his statement, called for the adoption of the rules of procedure as they stand.

US Ambassador Pamela Hamamoto, said in a statement about the closed diplomatic conference “This is about more than the legitimacy of the Lisbon Agreement itself. This issue has alarming implications for the future of WIPO as an organisation.”

“All delegations should be entitled to preserve their sovereign rights and defend their national interests in this organization, and several have written to the Lisbon Union members to state the importance of that principle,” she said. “Our Congress has also written to the Director General to express strong concern” (IPW, WIPO, 13 February 2015).

“The draft rules of procedure have effectively stripped 160 WIPO members of their rights to vote, propose and second amendments to the basic proposal, to participate in working groups, to serve as elected officers or on committees, or to count toward a quorum, raise points of order, or move to adjourn or close debate.”

Argentina, speaking on behalf of Australia, Chile, Japan, New Zealand, Panama, South Korea, the United States and Uruguay, said, “We object to the closed, non-inclusive methods of work being advocated by most of the Lisbon members.” The countries are concerned that less than 15 percent of the WIPO membership would deviate from WIPO’s established practice of consensus.

The exclusion of most of WIPO membership runs counter to Recommendation 15 of the WIPO Development Agenda, which stipulates that norm-setting activities should be inclusive and member-driven, Argentina said.

Several non-Lisbon members said there were no international law requirements which forced Lisbon members to hold a closed diplomatic conference, but rather it was the result of a choice.

This was confirmed by WIPO Legal Counsel Edward Kwakwa, who said neither Article 39 nor 40 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, nor Article 13 of the Lisbon agreement imposed express obligation on Lisbon members one way or the other and leave them with the choice.

India and Brazil also said the full WIPO membership should participate in the negotiations. Brazil also mentioned Recommendation 15 of the WIPO Development Agenda.

Israel, a Lisbon member, reiterated its position and supported the proposal to amend the rules of procedure.

Switzerland, Germany Support Draft Rules

Switzerland and Germany said they would be interested in joining the future amended Lisbon system and supported the adoption of the rules of procedure as they were drafted by the preparatory committee to the diplomatic conference.

Switzerland said appellations of origin are a sub-category of geographical indications, which are then de facto already covered by the Lisbon Agreement.

Answering to delegations which have said that the diplomatic conference would produce a new treaty rather than an updating of the current one, Switzerland said in-depth discussions took place in the sessions of Working Group on the Development of the Lisbon System with observer delegations to decide whether to update the current agreement or to establish a new instrument. When the decision was made to pursue an update of the current instrument, none of the Lisbon members or observer delegations objected to it, the Swiss delegate said.

The draft rules of procedures were adopted after 26 members voted in favour of their adoption, one member against and one abstention.

The US Ambassador said afterward that the US is “deeply disappointed even after hearing such strong statements from so many concerned members who requested an open diplomatic conference that the Lisbon members have proceeded to choose a path of non-inclusiveness, effectively marginalising 160 WIPO members today.”

Peruvian Ambassador Luis Enrique Chávez Basagoitia was elected president of the diplomatic conference.

Rules of Procedure

According to the rules of procedure [pdf], the diplomatic conference will include two committees: a drafting committee and a steering committee.

The rules also say “All decisions of all bodies shall be made as far as possible by consensus.” If this is not possible, a majority of two-thirds of the Lisbon members present and voting shall be required for a number of decisions among which is the adoption of the rules of procedure, and adoption of the new act.

William New contributed to this report. 

Image Credits: WIPO