-Bridging the Language Divide. WIPO will adopt the language policy as stipulated in Strategic Goal IX below in order to facilitate and achieve positive interaction with IP issues, both in its various bodies in Geneva, as well as at the national level in Member States.
Replace paragraph 11 of the strategies in the Strategic Goal IX "An Efficient Administrative and Management Support Structure to enable WIPO to deliver its Mandate" page 39, with the following paragraph:
-Formulate a comprehensive language policy to address the language divide, and that aims to use all six official languages of the United Nations, including as working languages, on a fair and equitable basis and responsive to the needs of Member States. The comprehensive language policy will be implemented gradually over this Medium Term plan, to be carried out systematically towards its full and complete implementation by the end of 2015. This comprehensive language policy will cover WIPO documents, publications, interpretation, and all WIPO web sites. WIPO will review all its legal instruments and related procedures to reflect this comprehensive language policy.
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
WIPO General Assemblies, Geneva, Switzerland, September 20-29, 2010
COMMENT: Agenda Item 9 - Medium Term Strategic Plan (MTSP)
The delegation of Trinidad and Tobago has considered documents A/48/3 and A/48/24 and offers the following comments:
We wish to commend WIPO for the tremendous work and consultations that obviously went into the preparation of this plan and this document as well. It presents a wealth of valuable information from several Committees and negotiating fora all together for ease of reference. The foreword by the Director General was particularly insightful as to the prevailing trends and anticipated frontiers in intellectual property. More important is the encouragement this Plan provides and the glimpse into an interesting future for IP development all around. The thrust outlined in the Plan actually reflects a similar vision Trinidad and Tobago has for the future development of IP in Trinidad and Tobago and how WIPO should be evolving to meet similar kinds of developmental needs. Like many countries taking IP development seriously, Trinidad and Tobago has progressed from achieving TRIPs compliance and being occupied with norm-setting to raising awareness of IP in the general population. The IP-awareness being sought is to the degree that creators and users of the IP system become IP-savvy and able to benefit from and strategically use IP. It could be considered moving from theoretical IP to applied IP.
Even before WIPO or notions of IP existed historically, people have always been creative. That creativity was not always with a defined sense of ownership due to the low value that was placed on knowledge and the ease with which knowledge entered the public domain. Over the years, the formal IP system is catching up with the way knowledge is labeled, dispersed and utilized because knowledge evolves as much as the modes of creation and distribution of knowledge, as can be seen in the digital work. Future creation and distribution will doubtless be something not thought of or experienced before but the IP system will need to be flexible and fearless enough to accommodate it. In that regard, the agreed Strategic Goals and Strategies appear to be able to endow WIPO with the capacity to assist member states in closing the IP divide and promoting applied IP. It also appears to give WIPO the pliability to accommodate future knowledge and perhaps other forms of “old knowledge” as discussions on traditional knowledge may open up other avenues.
Trinidad and Tobago has never regarded WIPO as a static entity. IP is a dynamic area that is constantly evolving. Therefore, the challenge for WIPO in achieving these strategic goals is for WIPO to be as dynamic as the very IP system it seeks to administer. If WIPO moves to become a sort of nexus of global intellectual property, we are sure it will recognize the responsibility and deep trust that goes along with such an objective. The process that has already begun of extensive consultation and transparency will serve to deepen trust. That trust will engender the confidence necessary among users and member states to see the attainment of those Strategic Goals.
The limitation foreseen in execution of the various Strategies is perhaps the newer technical competencies and capacities that WIPO may have to develop or acquire. Here the essential human resource component that delivers on trust and yields the high customer satisfaction comes to the fore. Therefore, it may become necessary to revisit the Desk-to-desk Assessment as a necessary pre-requisite to engaging in the MTSP process.
It seems that all of these Strategic Goals will impinge on the human resource capacity of WIPO. Even as WIPO seeks to engage in Results-Based Management, any assessment will be seen through the perspective of the review team. Issues may be similar to those that arise in the review of technical assistance currently provided by WIPO. Technical assistance for development is expected to guide developing countries on a path of using IP to benefit economic, cultural and social development. As the emphasis is on developing countries, the technical assistance providers ought not to presume that member states would necessarily know what type, extent and duration of technical assistance would be required to achieve the said economic, cultural and social development goals.
It has been observed, particularly in the Caribbean region, that there have been too many instances of technical assistance activities attempting to foist a one-size-fits-all program on a number of member states at various levels of IP development. The programs may be intrinsically sound and well meaning but are sometimes inappropriately timed or targeted. The generally low awareness of IP in the Caribbean region means that often recipients may be impressed and appreciative of the activity but building real IP capacity will fall short if there is no short term application of what is learned or disseminated. For example, a technology licensing activity is of prime interest but actual application to practice will be depend on where participants are on the IP developmental curve and if they have any IP or potential IP to license.
In assessing a case as given previously, there are two prime sources of guidance and formulation of activities that are prime determinants in the success, failure and delayed attainment of a goal. Very often the focus is on the program itself and the intrinsic merit. Member states may request certain activities or WIPO may suggest certain activities. Therefore, measurable success in terms of effectiveness, impact, efficiency and relevance may depend as much on how well formulated the request of the member state was, the readiness of the participants, follow up and implementation by the national authority and the support the national authority received from the respective government. These factors in addition to program and project management and coordination of technical assistance for development may depend on the experience and skill of the program officer. This relates directly to the possible quality of the WIPO/Member State/Stakeholder interface as outlined in Strategic Goal VIII and other related Goals.
It has been the experience of the Trinidad and Tobago Intellectual Property Office that industry or IP experience plays a significant role in how well program officers interpret requests from member states to formulate appropriate activities under technical assistance. The perspective may differ depending on experience within the challenges faced by national authorities in developing countries. We would like to suggest the methodology should include such a background assessment. The present methodology focuses on the end results and empirical success. A well planned and executed program may fail for incomplete support by member countries and a poorly executed program may succeed or fall short slightly by dint of the efforts of the member state to make the best of a bad situation. The backgrounds and preparedness of the organizers will also determine the gap analysis – how an activity could have been improved or how it could have turned out much worse. A consideration to improve the quality of the WIPO/Member State/Stakeholder interface should therefore be closely linked to a review of the human resources capacity of WIPO especially with respect to the IP industry, operational and examination experience.
Trinidad and Tobago looks forward to any opportunity to participate in the MTSP process and can provide more specific feedback if the need arises.
UNITED KINGDOM
From: Delegation of the United Kingdon
Sent: Mon Sep 27 14:05:51 2010
Subject: MTSP
WIPO Medium Term Strategic Plan 2010-2015
United Kingdom contribution to the Annex of the Report of the Assemblies
The United Kingdom welcomed the proposed MTSP document which was presented at the September 2010 PBC session, and was ready to adopt this proposed version as it stood. There were further elements that we would have welcomed, and these are listed below.
Patents
In regard to the current language (p19, para vii), "The PCT system should contribute to sufficient disclosure of knowledge that would enable the transfer and dissemination of technology to all Member States", we prefer the wording from p20 (“The PCT system should contribute to sufficient disclosure of knowledge that would enable the transfer and dissemination of technology to all Member States in a user-friendly manner and in accordance with national conditions.”) given that sufficiency is a substantive patent law issue which is determined by national law - the PCT is not intended to harmonize points of substantive patent law.
Copyright
In reference to others’ comments on the references to internet and copyright, we feel that the effect of the internet is so profound that it must be discussed in WIPO, otherwise we will ignore a major driver and forming system on copyright. Whilst 'the internet' as an holistic concept may be more correctly discussed elsewhere it should still be referenced in WIPO.
Economic work
We would prefer to include further text in Strategic Goal V under Strategies, perhaps as a separate point: “ix. The development of an agreed approach to define the knowledge economy, through intangible investment in line with national offices and intergovernmental organizations concerned with IP”): given that a lot of the MPST is based around the notion of a knowledge economy, it seems odd not to define it, so we need a macro framework to measure the 'knowledge economy'. We think it makes sense for WIPO (and its economists and analysts) to work within the intangible assets framework. This would allow us to count the investment countries make into IP and be able to link this to the IPRs that are used. Having that type of macro picture - or indeed any complementary macro picture - would tie the knowledge economy debate to national accounts and the global growth agenda. Without it, we cannot provide an overall picture of how IP and IPRs input into the economy.
The general request for linking the economists’ network and building of the evidence base with the communications interface has not been reflected (Strategic Goal VIII): we suggest amending Strategic Goal VIII, to extend the sentence at the end of para (ii) Honest Broker to read “and facilitating the meeting of IP economists”.
Development
In Strategic Goal III we would amend the indicators to read:
Mission statement
We would prefer to keep the current word ‘effective’ instead of a proposed change to ‘accessible’ in the mission statement. This already implies any new method must remain effective, and does not call into question the effectiveness of the current system.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Comments by the United States Regarding the WIPO Medium-Term Strategic Plan, 2010-2015
September 2010
General Comments:
WIPO’s Medium Term Strategic Plan for 2010-2015 illustrates a significant effort to build a responsive and efficient Organization to meet its mandate in providing global leadership on intellectual property issues.
The United States welcomes WIPO’s MTSP as a complimentary element to WIPO’s results-based management framework, which is designed to track performance and achieve results. The MTSP will contribute to WIPO's ability to demonstrate accountability and to produce results.
The MTSP is a strategic document concerning the direction of the Organization and elements on what WIPO can do. We recognize that it represents the personal vision of the Director General on the tasks WIPO could tackle for the next five years. The recently approved Strategic Realignment Process provides the details on how the Secretariat will perform and execute its work programs. These work programs have been based on decisions reached by Member States through the Program and Budget Committee. The MTSP provides welcome guidance on the factors WIPO should consider in fulfilling its mandate.
The United States supports adoption of the MTSP, as presented in A/48/3. The Director General undertook an unprecedented consultative process on the MTSP for 2010-2015 prior to its submission to the General Assemblies. The MTSP presented in A/48/3 is a balanced document that already largely reflects the views of all Member States participating in the consultative process, and it has found overwhelming support for its implementation. The United States applauds WIPO for its extraordinary efforts at transparency and extensive consultations. Moreover, in light of a further round of consultation with the Chair of the Program and Budget Committee, the United States welcomes this additional opportunity to submit further comments to fully inform the WIPO General Assembly upon taking note of the Plan. In this regard, additional comments from the United States follow.
Specific Comments:
The detailed and helpful plan/strategies to address the core services of WIPO are all welcomed and strongly supported by the United States. We think it is worthwhile to highlight in particular Strategic Goals I, II, III, IV, and VII. The draft strategies to tackle the challenges and opportunities in these goals are of great importance to the U.S.
The United States strongly supports the need to continually evolve the international intellectual property framework to keep pace with legal and technological developments. The U.S. urges the International Bureau to devote sufficient resources to the substantive divisions, particularly those dealing with Patents, Trademark and Copyright law, so that the International Bureau may conduct the necessary studies and continue its tradition of preparing excellent working documents.
Provision of premier global IP services is critical to ensure rightholders’ have a cost-effective and efficient means to protect their intellectual property. Moreover, these services are central to the financial stability and growth of the Organization. We support WIPO’s aim to ensure adequate investment in the renewal and expansion of the use of the services and to increase the participation of developing, least developed, and transition economies in the services and the benefits they offer. In particular, to address the backlog challenges under the PCT system, more investment should be provided for information technology solutions, such as electronic file access and machine translation tools. In this regard, serious reform of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) is needed to address the administrative burdens many Patent Offices are facing, leading to significant backlogs in processing these applications. The United States strongly supports the PCT Working Group focusing on this problem through technical solutions as well as minimizing duplication of search and examination by national offices. Moreover, in an effort to ensure wider participation of the PCT system, more examination should be undertaken to address PCT fee structures. The United States continues to support the reduction in fees where possible, as a means to stimulate innovation and economic development. The harmonization of patent laws among Member States is highly desirable to address barriers to trade and to access information, particularly those relating to prior art issues.
On Coordination and Development of Global IP Infrastructure, the U.S. applauds the IB for seeking to further develop and improve WIPO’s IP infrastructure assets. IP infrastructure is critical to the good functioning of the IP system and can greatly facilitate use of the system by rightholders, IP offices and the public in all countries – developed, developing, least developed and economies in transition. In particular, the strategies to strengthen infrastructure at the national level, to create automated systems in countries and to develop global databases to improve access to information are critical components to achieve increased efficiency and productivity in IP systems.