Development Agenda for WIPO

The WIPO Development Agenda ensures that development considerations form an integral part of WIPO's work. The effective implementation of the Development Agenda, including the mainstreaming of its recommendations into our substantive programs, is a key priority. The adoption of the Development Agenda was an important milestone for WIPO.

The Agenda was formally established by WIPO's member states in 2007, in a decision which included the adoption of 45 Development Agenda recommendations, grouped into six clusters, and the establishment of a Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP).

Key documents

Development Agenda (DA) Projects

International Conference on IP and Development: Innovation in Green Technologies for Sustainable Development (November 22 and 23, 2022)

Next International Conference on IP and Innovation for Sustainable Agriculture in 2023.

Implementation

The actions undertaken to implement the Development Agenda recommendations range from practical projects and activities, to the application of certain principles and objectives to our work.

Catalogue of DA Projects and Outputs

The online searchable Catalogue provides structured and detailed information on all DA projects, reports and outputs (studies, guides, databases). The Catalogue also allows users to filter their search by different criteria, which includes IP rights, IP themes, project status, key words, etc.

Guidebook on DA Project Management

The Guidebook for the preparation, implementation and evaluation of DA projects provides information on the entire project lifecycle: preparation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The Guidebook is part of a support package prepared for Member State representatives, WIPO staff contributing to DA projects at any stage of its lifecycle, and DA project evaluators. English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese

Development Agenda (DA) Projects: Step by step

Infographic I: DA Project Lifecycle Chart
Infographic II: Summary of Terms
Infographic III: Dos and Don'ts

DA Project Highlights

IP and Gastronomic Tourism

Promoting the use of intellectual property (IP) in culinary traditions (food and beverages) for application in the tourism sector.

Collective Marks as a Tool for Development

Using a collective mark enables producers in rural areas to add value to their local products by working together.

IP and Mobile Applications

Improving the understanding of the potential of IP for income generation in mobile applications and empowering mobile application developers with tools for using IP in their work.

Other activities

In addition to practical projects, the DA recommendations are also implemented through various activities, the application of certain principles and objectives to the work of WIPO, as well as through the development of resources and databases.

IP and Development

Under the CDIP agenda item “IP and Development”, Member States discuss IP and development-related issues. In 2018, the CDIP agreed to discuss one topic per session and to establish a Roster of Topics , which includes proposals by Member States. The Roster is open for contributions by Member States at any time, and is being periodically updated

Independent review

The 2010 WIPO General Assembly requested the CDIP to undertake an "Independent Review of the Implementation of the Development Agenda Recommendations". The report prepared by the Review Team contained 15 findings, 14 conclusions and 12 recommendations .

The CDIP adopted 10 of those recommendations and is currently in the process of negotiating how to implement them, based on a proposal made by the Secretariat.

WIPO webinars on technical assistance

Resources and databases

Flexibilities in the IP system

IP systems have built-in flexibilities to allow member states to implement IP laws and policies that are most suited to their national and regional circumstances and capacities. Find resources on the use and implementation of flexibilities across the different domains of IP, and details of work taking place at WIPO and in other intergovernmental organizations.

Technical Assistance Database

Developed under Recommendation 5, the Intellectual Property Technical Assistance Database (IP-TAD) provides information on WIPO's technical assistance activities where one or more of the beneficiaries was a developing or least developed country, or country in transition.

The Patent Register Portal was developed as a result of two Development Agenda projects on IP and the public domain (Project on IP and the Public Domain and Project on the Use of Information in the Public Domain for Economic Development) which contribute to Development Agenda Recommendations 16 and 20, towards a rich and accessible public domain.