WIPO Assemblies Open

Geneva, September 23, 2002
Press Releases PR/2002/324

The meetings of the Assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) were opened today by Director General Dr. Kamil Idris. Ambassador Bernard Kessedjian, Permanent Representative of France, was elected as Chairman of the WIPO General Assembly to continue the term of his predecessor, Ambassador Álvaro de Mendonça e Moura, Former Permanent Representative of Portugal to the United Nations in Geneva, who left Geneva. Mr. Zigrid Aumeisters, Director, Patent Office of the Republic of Latvia, and Mr. Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Karunaratna, Director, National Intellectual Property Office of Sri Lanka will continue as Vice Chairs. The WIPO Assemblies, which bring together the 179 member states of the Organization, are meeting in Geneva from September 23 to October 1, 2002.

In his opening remarks, Ambassador Kessedjian said that in the 21^st Century, intellectual property is increasingly perceived as an effective way to contribute to the development of individuals, business, and the global economy as a whole. He spoke of the increasing use of intellectual property by organizations and companies which were previously unfamiliar with the intellectual property system and said that all countries stood to benefit from the experiences and lessons of other countries. Ambassador Kessedjian said that in the 21^st century, society depended increasingly on talented individuals who are motivated by a desire to create and innovate. He noted that the dynamism of WIPO had grown considerably since the appointment of Dr. Kamil Idris as Director General in November 1997 and the introduction of a series of initiatives during his first mandate which were well supported by WIPO member states.

Ambassador Kessedjian commended the Director General for his efforts to demystify intellectual property which had led to a spirit of openness and consensus that enabled the viewpoints of all stakeholders and economic actors to be reflected. Ambassador Kessedjian said that the world of intellectual property had entered a heightened phase of dynamism that would inevitably bring about changes to the system. He called upon delegates to display a spirit of cooperation and creativity in addressing questions that would determine the future direction of the intellectual property system and of WIPO.

Highlights of the Assemblies Agenda:

• The General Assembly will consider the procedures for the appointment of a Director General in 2003. The term of office of the Director General of WIPO, Dr. Kamil Idris, expires on November 30, 2003. Member states have been invited by the Chairman of WIPO's Coordination Committee to nominate candidates for the post. The deadline for submissions is December 9, 2002. It is anticipated that the session of the Coordination Committee to nominate a candidate for appointment by the General Assembly to the post of Director General will take place on March 24 & 25, 2003. The WIPO General Assembly would then be invited to endorse this recommendation. The 2002 General Assembly will also take note of a document by the Chairman of the Coordination Committee reporting on consultations he has undertaken regarding the appointment of a Director General in 2003 and noting the written statements of support for the re-election of the present Director General for a second term of six years.

• The Assembly is invited to approve a recommendation by the Program and Budget Committee for the construction a new administrative building to extend the Organization's premises. The new building will provide a minimum of 560 working places and 280 underground parking spaces, with a construction budget of 157.5 million Sfr. The Assembly will also consider the question of whether to build a conference hall offering 650 seats at a cost of 33 million Sfr.

• An item relating to the Diplomatic Conference on the Protection of Audiovisual Performances, which ended in December 2000 with no accord, even though negotiators agreed on 19 out of 20 provisions, will also be discussed. Member states will decide whether to mandate the secretariat to pursue contacts with the various parties with a view to convening an ad hoc informal meeting in the first half of 2003. The meeting will consist of informal exchanges on the remaining issues and possible ways of resolving them. While no significant change in the positions of parties has occurred in the past year, it is felt that such efforts should continue to avoid the risk of losing momentum or interest in the protection of audiovisual performances.

• The Assembly will consider a memorandum of the Director General on the various options for the future development of the international patent system. The report was compiled following broad consultations with member states and stakeholders on ways to improve the current international framework of the patent system, which today consists of a patchwork of national and regional arrangements for obtaining and enforcing patents. The goal is to achieve an international patent system that is more user-friendly and accessible, and provides an appropriate balance between the rights of inventors and the general public, while at the same time taking into account the implications for the developing world. The document reviews the state of the international patent system today, the difficulties faced in processing and enforcing patents, tensions relating to patents and certain public policy issues, the needs of small as well as larger patent offices, regional cooperation, and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). It presents a series of options for consideration by member states to better coordinate future work, while not undermining or replacing existing initiatives such as harmonization of substantive patent law and PCT reform.

• The Assembly will review the Organization's work in the field of Internet domain names and intellectual property protection. Delegates will consider a report outlining the work of the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center in providing alternative dispute-resolution services, particularly in the resolution of Internet domain name disputes. They will also decide upon the recommendations of the special sessions of the Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT) that met to consider the report of the Second WIPO Internet Domain Name Process, addressing certain domain name and related intellectual property issues where continuing conflict and uncertainty remains, such as the abusive registration as domain names of country names and names and acronyms of international intergovernmental organizations.

• The decision-making bodies of the so-called "Internet treaties" - the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) Assembly and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) Assembly will meet for the first since the agreements entered into force earlier this year. The Assemblies will discuss their future program of work. Efforts will focus on promoting more widespread adherence to these two key treaties, which update copyright law to take into account digital technologies. Currently, 37 states have ratified each treaty. The Assemblies will also examine how the WIPO secretariat can assist countries in effectively implementing both treaties.

• The Assembly of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Union will discuss a set of proposed amendments of the PCT Regulations designed to further streamline and rationalize the PCT system. The proposals include the introduction of an enhanced international search and preliminary examination system, an important first step towards a more extensive rationalization of the PCT international search and international preliminary examination procedures, with a view ultimately to achieving greater convergence of the international and national procedures, as well as a proposal to overhaul the PCT designation system.

• The Assembly will also take stock of development of the Organization's major information technology projects which, when completed, will enhance the strategic integration of information technology into WIPO's activities in order to maximize productivity, improve efficiency and optimize resources across the organization. Some of these projects are already operational and all are due for completion by the end of 2003. These projects include:

• AIMS (Administration Information Management System) - Accounting system for the Finance and Budget areas.
• CLAIMS (Classification Automated Information Management System) - IT infrastructure for the reform of the Nice Union which governs the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks.
• FOCUS (Failsafe Organization-wide, Customer-oriented, Upgradeable, Secure IT Infrastructure) - Upgrade of WIPO's network infrastructure.
• IMPACT (Information Management for the PAtent Cooperation Treaty)
• PCT-SAFE - Secure software for PCT Electronic Filing. Preparations are underway for the PCT-SAFE Pilot Program that will begin in October 2002 with the first filing scheduled to be made at that time.
• WIPONET - Internet connectivity and IT services for the world's intellectual property offices.

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