Author: Sarah James

A closer look at the 2013 GA: The CDIP

sccr1
WIPO delegates at the General Assembly. (Photo: WIPO)

If you were following this year’s General Assembly, all the way to its confused and ultimately unsatisfactory end, then you’re well aware that a number of issues currently remain unresolved at WIPO. The assemblies of Member States will reconvene later this year in an attempt to bridge gaps, and find resolutions to the issues looming over them, moving into the next biennium.

Even amongst those agenda items which were successfully closed, the headway made was at times dubious at best. One such case was Agenda Item 32: Report of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) and Review of the Implementation of the Development Agenda Recommendations.

Continue reading “A closer look at the 2013 GA: The CDIP”

News from the GA Floor: The Marrakesh Treaty – Upcoming Signatories

sccr1
WIPO delegates at the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights. (Photo: IFLA)

The 2013 WIPO General Assembly is currently well underway in Geneva, and a number of interesting and insightful developments have already taken place thus far. This past Wednesday, the assembly opened up item 31 on the agenda, or the “Report on the Outcome of the Marrakesh Diplomatic Conference to Conclude a Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works by Visually Impaired Persons and Persons with Print Disabilities” (the Marrakesh Treaty for short). The full webcast of this item can be found on the WIPO website, under video A/51-Wed 25- English: Afternoon Session. As many delegates made a point to highlight, this is indeed a historic treaty in many respects, and has been seen by many as a great triumph for WIPO, the multi-lateral system, and the international community.

Continue reading “News from the GA Floor: The Marrakesh Treaty – Upcoming Signatories”

What to expect from the 2013 WIPO General Assembly

As we move towards the second half of September, we also mover ever closer to the Forty-Third (21st Ordinary) General Assembly of the Member States of WIPO. Meetings will take place in Geneva between September 23 to October 2, 2013. In an effort to prepare for this event, we have put together a small guide highlighting some of what observers might expect to see unfold and-or presented at this year’s assembly.

Continue reading “What to expect from the 2013 WIPO General Assembly”