WIPO will host an open forum on October 13 and 14, 2009 at its Geneva headquarters to present projects relating to the development agenda to be discussed at the next session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) from November 16 to 20, 2009.
Member states moved on September 24, 2009 to simplify the international design registration system by suspending the earliest of the three Acts that govern the Hague Agreement concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs. This decision will streamline the administration of the Treaty, which offers the possibility to protect designs in several countries by filing one single application (in one language with one set of fees in one currency - Swiss francs). The Hague system also simplifies the subsequent management of industrial design rights.
Thailand’s Deputy Minister of Commerce, Mr. Alondkorn Ponlaboot, on September 24, 2009 deposited his country’s instrument of accession to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) with WIPO Director General Francis Gurry. Thailand is the 142nd contracting state of this multilateral pact that facilitates the filing of patents in multiple countries. The treaty will enter into force for Thailand on December 24, 2009.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) signed on September 23an agreement with the International Federation of Musicians (FIM) and the International Federation of Actors (FIA) to support efforts to improve recognition of the significant contributions made by actors and musicians around the world.
Government ministers participating in the first-ever High Level Segment of the Assemblies of the member states of WIPO on September 22 and 23, 2009, endorsed WIPO’s progress toward its strategic goals, which they said marked a new era for the Organization and its ability to ensure that the intellectual property (IP) system helps meet an increasing number of global challenges. They emphasized that IP is now widely perceived as a key policy tool to promote public interest, innovation and technological progress.
On the sidelines of the ministerial segment of the WIPO’s Assemblies, Kenya’s Minister of Industrialization, Mr. Henry K. Kosgey, and the Director General of WIPO, Mr Francis Gurry, signed a cooperation agreement covering access to and dissemination of national patent documents. This is the latest in a series of agreements between WIPO and intellectual property offices of developing countries to enhance access to patent information. Similar agreements exist with ARIPO, Brazil, Cuba, Israel, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, and Vietnam.
In his opening statement to the annual meetings of the member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Director General Francis Gurry called on member states to work together to ensure that the IP system serves as a stimulus for developing solutions to the global challenges confronting policy makers across the world.
A two-day international symposium concluded on September 18, 2009 with broad agreement on the need to pool efforts at the international level to address the problem of backlogs in patent applications.
A new WIPO report monitoring recent trends in intellectual property (IP) activity shows that demand for IP rights continued to increase prior to the onset of the global economic crisis, with 1.85 million patent (+3.7% increase over 2006), almost 3.3 million trademark (+1.6%) and approximately 0.62 million industrial design (+15.3%) applications filed worldwide in 2007. The report, World Intellectual Property Indicators 2009 , points to a slowdown in demand for IP rights in 2008 (based on preliminary figures ), when the global economy experienced a sharp decline. The report also documents an increased level of unprocessed (pending) patent applications, reaching 4.2 million applications in 2007.
For the first time, the annual meetings of WIPO member states will begin with a two-day high-level ministerial segment reflecting the importance of intellectual property (IP) in senior policy-making spheres. The high-level segment on September 22 and 23, 2009 will bring together over forty ministers who will address national IP priorities.