WIPO had been publishing since 2009 a peer-reviewed journal produced by Sweet and Maxwell (in association with Thomson Reuters), The WIPO Journal: Analysis and Debate of Intellectual Property Issues. The December 2016 issue was the last one as WIPO announced it would cease its publication.
Its editor-in-chief was Peter K. Yu, Professor of Law at Texas A&M University School of Law and Co-Director of the Center for Law and Intellectual Property. Over the year, many law experts and researchers contributed to the journal, discussing topics ranging from history and issues related to IP, to climate change, digital freedom, human rights or patents and technological Innovation. The last publication was a special issue on Intellectual Property and Development. Peter K.Yu introduced the issue by reviewing “Five Decades of Intellectual Property and Global Development”, reminding his readers that “as this special issue enters into production, WIPO is poised to commemorate the tenth anniversary of this Development Agenda” (p.2).
On the same topic, Dr Sara Bannerman, project supervisor of this blog and author of International Copyright and Access to Knowledge (Cambridge UP), wrote the article “Development and International Copyright: A History” (p.11). Drawing on a content analysis of the records of international conferences negotiating international copyright agreements, Dr Bannerman examines the historical relationship between WIPO, international copyright and “development”. She argues that Harry Truman’s agenda for international development introduced in 1949 had a strong influence on the concept of “development” as it has been used and instigated since then, and reviews the history and struggles behind WIPO’s development agenda. Other contributions include an article about IP law in relation to Africa’s development (“Decolonising Intellectual Property Law in Pursuit of Africa’s Development”, Caroline B. Ncube) or the application of the Marrakesh Treaty in Brazil (“Fundamental Rights, Development and Cultural Inclusion: The Marrakesh Treaty in Brazil”, Allan Rocha de Souza). 14 contributors in total have participated to this last issue, unfortunately coming to an end.
The 8 volumes of the WIPO Journal, from 2009 to 2016, are available on WIPO’s website.