Program - Friday, November 6, 2009
Morning
Thematic Session 2: Science, Technology and Innovation for Development
Round Table: IP as a cross-cutting development issue.
The Roundtable will explore the cross-cutting role of IP as it relates to other public policy areas, in particular policies which have an impact on development (health, education, climate change). It will identify why development agencies and other partners for development need to incorporate IP into their development strategies and support developing countries in building cross-cutting policy coherence that serves their economic, social and cultural needs. The Roundtable will also look at the issue of technology transfer and ways to access funds for IP projects as they relate to science, technology and innovation for development.
Thematic Session 3: The Digital Divide: IP in the Digital Environment
Keynote Introduction
The copyright system has a critical role to play in helping bridge the digital divide. In this rapidly evolving technology environment it is important to ensure that the international legal framework, serves to stimulate the wide diffusion of creativity to the advantage of the cultural, social and economic development of all countries. In the context of this Conference the focus is specifically on the needs of developing and least developed countries. Licensing and effective management of rights is a key area for the successful deployment of the digital environment and requires country specific capacity-building and awareness raising activities. Technologies for registration, location and preservation of creative works are becoming essential tools for secure, rich and user-friendly distribution of knowledge. In addition, national studies on the economic contribution of the creative industries can support evidence based policy making and help developing countries integrate such policy considerations into their national development strategies. Emerging areas of interest for creators include issues related to business models and IP valuation in specific creative industries.
Composers, writers, musicians, singers, performers and other talented individuals are among society's most valuable assets. The fabric of our cultural lives is enriched by their creative genius. In order to develop their talent and encourage them to create, we have to give those individuals incentives, namely remuneration in return for permission to make use of their works. An effective means of achieving this is through Collective Management Organizations which provide an important link between creators and users of copyrighted works because they ensure that, as owners of rights, creators receive payment for the use of their works. WIPO’s legal and technical assistance addresses in a development oriented way the promotion and creation of collective management infrastructures. Export of digital content (films, animation, pictures, photos etc.) and, in particular online music has untapped potential to become a new revenue stream for the economy of developing countries. In order to unleash this potential, there is a need to assist music industry companies and independent musicians alike, to move into new digital marketplaces, sell their music from their own websites, and monitor the online use of their work. WIPO assists developing countries to build capacity through concrete and business-oriented activities.
Culture as tool for sustainable livelihoods: practical training in cultural documentation and IP management for local communities and museums/archives in developing countries
As a manifestation of a people’s identity as well as being creative, dynamic and forward-looking, is a fundamental component of sustainable economic, social and cultural development. Culture is a tool for development as well as part of the process of development. Balanced and strategic use of IP rights is supportive of putting culture at the centre of development. Taking these propositions as its starting point, WIPO’s Creative Heritage Project provides practical training to local communities and museums and archives in recording, digitizing and disseminating their creative cultural expressions and in managing IP issues and options when doing so. WIPO, in partnership with the American Folklife Centre/Library of Congress and the Centre for Documentary Studies at Duke University, ran a pilot of such a training program for the Maasai community of Laikipia, Kenya and the National Museums of Kenya in September 2008. The intensive, hands-on curriculum included project planning, research ethics, photography, sound and audio-visual recording techniques, digital archiving methods, and database and website developmen
In cooperation with the US Copyright Office, WIPO staff provided the IP component of the training. WIPO will purchase a basic kit of recording, knowledge management software and other ICT equipment for the community, help the community and museum to develop their own IP policies and protocols, continue to foster a mutually-beneficial working relationship between the community and the museum and further develop linkages established between the community, the museum and the national IP offices in Kenya. Early results from evaluation of the pilot are encouraging, and WIPO and its partners have received several requests from other communities and museums and archives to participate in such a program.
Promoting Access to Reading Materials for the Blind and Visually Impaired (The VIP Project)
Access to reading materials is a key driver in all economies. In developing and least-developed countries resources are scarce. The possibilities to meet the needs of visually impaired people are a challenge beyond imagination. For Governments, there is a strong moral and political commitment to take action to attain equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities. To seek workable solutions, the World Blind Union (WBU) and a coalition of rightsholder organisations under the leadership of the International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO) have decided to test a Pilot Program to enhance accessibility. The Pilot, which is based on an analysis of the needs of the countries, will run in two African countries during two years. The results can be replicated and developed to serve the needs of other countries, in Africa as well as on other continents.
Technology has opened up new opportunities for the visually impaired people to access reading materials. The solutions include many legal, commercial, cultural and economic issues, related to IP and the visually impaired people. The Project will test a wide range of solutions to enhance accessibility. Apart from legal and technology issues, training and information are important, as accessible materials will only be of benefit if the target group is aware of the serviced and can effectively use them.
Trade in Digital Content: Online Music – Export Opportunities for Developing Countries
The aim of the project, handled in cooperation with the International Trade Centre (ITC), is to assist developing countries to develop solutions for the marketing and export of digital content on line, with an emphasis on digital music.
Resource mobilization is to be used to assist them to better integrate digital content into the online music value chain and the digital marketplace. The project offers concrete and business-oriented engagement to create market and distribute digital content on the basis of training in e-skills development and business networking with major global online distributors.
Afternoon
Thematic Session 4: Public Private Partnerships for IP and Development
Keynote Introduction
Roundtable 1: Public Private Partnerships for IP and Development
IP management in connection with government-funded research is a key element in partnerships with the private sector where IP is licensed out for further development. This typically arises in connection with research conducted at academic institutions where the funding is public. A key issue is striking a balance between public interest and private sector incentives in publicly funded research in developing countries.
Roundtable 2: Public Private Partnerships for IP and Development
The United Nations has, in recent years, introduced a number of initiatives to reach out to the private sector especially in terms of supporting the UN’s work in developing countries. The aim being to harness the skills, knowledge and resources of the private sector, in partnership with the UN family, to help meet development needs and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Much has been learnt about the most effective ways of developing such partnerships and appropriate guidelines have been developed to ensure their smooth running. Nowhere are the particular skills, knowledge and resources of the private sector more pertinent than in the field of intellectual property. This Roundtable will examine current UN public private partnership initiatives and guidelines that have been developed within the UN to help map out the next steps for WIPO to develop such partnerships with the necessary assurances in place to ensure their success for all parties; developing countries, WIPO and private sector partners.
Review Session
Mobilizing and Managing Extrabudgetary Resources for Development at WIPO
This session will review the experiences of WIPO’s existing donors on working with WIPO and explore options to improve our work in this area. It will also provide an opportunity to explore additional and alternative funding modalities and management arrangements for potential new donors drawing on the discussions that have taken place during the Conference and on the presentations of panelists during this session. It will aim to identify some next steps for WIPO in terms of how best it can help developing countries meet their development needs in particular through donor funding, and the establishment of Trust-in-Funds or other voluntary funds within WIPO specifically for LDCs, while continuing to accord high priority to finance activities in Africa through budgetary and extra-budgetary resources, to promote, inter alia, the legal, commercial, cultural, and economic exploitation of intellectual property in these countries.
Closing Session
Concluding address by the Director General