Director General Holds Talks with Colombian Vice-President
Geneva, March 22, 2000
Press Releases PR/2000/209
Talks on the importance of traditional knowledge and biodiversity to developing countries topped the agenda of a meeting on Wednesday in Geneva between the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Dr. Kamil Idris, and the Vice-President of Colombia, Mr. Gustavo Bell Lemus. During the meeting, Dr. Idris also praised Colombia for its efforts to modernize its intellectual property system.
Mr. Bell, who was accompanied by Colombia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Mr. Camilo Reyes, expressed support for WIPO's program of activities, particularly its technical cooperation activities and capacity building in developing countries. The Vice-President also congratulated the Director General on his initiative to establish the WIPO World Wide Academy. Set up in 1998, shortly after Dr. Idris took office, the Academy helps to develop the human resources of developing countries, a key element in realizing the full benefits of the national and international intellectual property systems.
The Vice President welcomed WIPO's work in the area of traditional knowledge, which has so far sought to study the link between the intellectual property system and traditional knowledge. Mr. Bell called on WIPO to further develop these efforts bearing in mind the significance of traditional knowledge to developing countries.
Underlining the economic, social and cultural importance of traditional knowledge for developing countries, Mr. Bell pointed out the potential adverse effects of globalization on cultural manifestations. He noted that globalization has a tendency to standardize culture. He said that WIPO should remain at the heart of these discussions and take the lead in ensuring that traditional knowledge is covered by intellectual property protection. Dr. Idris welcomed the Vice President's confidence in WIPO as the appropriate forum for these talks and acknowledged the importance and relevance of traditional knowledge for all communities.
During the talks, it was pointed out that traditional knowledge is disseminated without protection, whereas the classical intellectual property system ensures protection of knowledge before dissemination. They agreed that this discrepancy needs to be addressed. It was also underlined that the question of traditional knowledge should not be viewed as a north-south issue.
With respect to another concern, the Vice-President stressed the importance of protecting the biodiversity of countries in the Amazon region. Mr. Bell said this is directly related to the economic development and stability of these countries. The Colombian official also asked WIPO to continue its work with respect to the link between biodiversity and intellectual property and to provide a forum for further discussion. WIPO, he noted, should conduct research in this area to obtain a better and more comprehensive understanding of the complexity and implications of the issue.
The Director General accepted an invitation by the Vice-President to visit Colombia during the course of the year.
Colombia is party to six treaties administered by WIPO. WIPO is pleased with recent decisions by the Congress approving three key WIPO treaties - the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT). This important gesture by the Congress paves the way for Colombia to join these treaties at this important time in the history of the international intellectual property system and thereby derive tangible economic benefits.
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