350. Председатель объявил о закрытии заседаний Ассамблей государств-членов ВОИС 48-й сессии.
[Приложение I следует]
ПРЕСТАВЛЕНИЯ ГОСУДАРСТВ-ЧЛЕНОВ В ОТНОШЕНИИ ДОКУМЕНТА A/48/3
(СРЕДНЕСРОЧНЫЙ СТРАТЕГИЕЧСКИЙ ПЛАН ВОИС НА 2010 – 2015 ГГ.)
Данное Приложение к Общему отчету содержит письменные комментарии в отношении Среднесрочного стратегического плана (СССП), поступившие от государств-членов после рассмотрения ими СССП (A/48/3) на 48-й сессии Ассамблей государств-членов ВОИС.
Протокол обсуждений СССП Ассамблеями государств-членов содержится в разделе данного отчета, посвященном пункту 9 повестки дня.
Письменные представления для публикации в Приложении были получены от делегаций следующих стран:
1. Австралия
2. Бангладеш
3. Бельгия
4. Канада
5. Чили
6. Дания
7. Египет от имени Группы Повестки дня в области развития (ГПДР)
8. Экваториальная Гвинея
9. Швеция
10. Швейцария
11. Сирийская Арабская Республика от имени Группы арабских стран
12. Тринидад и Тобаго
13. Соединенное Королевство
14. Соединенные Штаты Америки
15. Замбия
AUSTRALIA
Medium Term Strategic Plan
Australian Comments
Australia considers that the Medium Term Strategic Plan provides a high-level vision for the Organisation which carefully balances the roles of WIPO as an intellectual property service provider and norm-setting agency, while paying particular attention to the important development dimension of WIPO’s work.
Australia has welcomed the inclusive and transparent consultative process and significant work that was undertaken in preparing the Medium Term Strategic Plan, and considers that the text strikes an appropriate balance between the diverse views of Member States. We also support the proposed mid-term review of the Medium Term Strategic Plan as a useful mechanism to ensure the continued relevance of the targeted strategic outcomes and defined strategies of WIPO.
In Australia’s view, the Medium Term Strategic Plan will provide an effective road-map by which to ensure that the international intellectual property system is able to respond to the challenges that have arise in the rapidly evolving technological, economic and social circumstances in which we live, work, and create. We would like to draw attention to a number of areas of particular importance for Australia.
On Strategic Goal One, Australia welcomes the focus on the normative framework as integral to the functioning of the multilateral intellectual property system. The focus gives the organisation the opportunity to support member states in considering the current and future needs of an integrated global knowledge economy and ensure that the system is able to keep up with pace of change.
In this context, Australia notes that the past decade has been marked by a lack of progress on WIPO’s normative agenda, with Member States unable to reach agreement in several areas. We welcome recent positive outcomes in the context of the Intergovernmental Committee on Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore and the Standing Committee on Trademarks, but hope that Members can work together to achieve similar progress be made in the Standing Committee on Patents and the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights.
On Strategic Goal Three, Australia welcomes the recognition of the particular needs of LDCs, developing countries and economies in transition. The needs of small and medium-sized IP offices differ, and the differential approach will provide suitable support in developing the capacities of those offices to contribute most effectively to the functioning and development of the system.
On Strategic Goal Six, Australia supports WIPO taking on a leadership role in building strategic international cooperation on intellectual property issues.
Australia is strongly committed to the implementation and mainstreaming of the WIPO Development Agenda. In our view, the Medium Term Strategic Plan appropriately recognizes the need to balance the roles of WIPO as an intellectual property service provider and norm-setting agency, while paying due attention to the important development dimension of WIPO’s work.
We emphasise the importance of a conservative approach to all areas of the WIPO program and budget, including the need to balance demands for services with actual income from WIPO’s global intellectual property systems. In this respect, we note the fundamental importance that we place on continuing to reform the services of the Organization – including the PCT – so that they will be able to continue to deliver results which meet the needs of applicants, Offices and third parties. This is necessary to ensure that WIPO’s services retain the central place that these have in the international intellectual property framework and the financing of WIPO. We consider the proposed strategic direction in the plan balances these aspects of WIPO’s work appropriately.
Australia is mindful of the challenge posed by the fragile global economic recovery, which means that WIPO cannot predict income with confidence. Accordingly, we are conscious of the possible need to assess priorities in the short term and identify where cost savings can be made. We would welcome productive and focused discussion among Member States through normal program and budget processes on this issue.
BANGLADESH
Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
Geneva
Submission by the Delegation of Bangladesh on the Medium Term Strategic Plan for WIPO, 2010 – 2015
Bangladesh appreciates the consultative process undertaken by the Secretariat in preparing the Medium Term Strategic Plan (MTSP).
We would like to express our appreciation to the Secretariat for reflecting the challenges and concerns of the Least Developed Countries in MTSP, especially under Strategic Goals II and III. As the WIPO Development Agenda is being mainstreamed into all activities of the Orgaisation, it is expected that the needs and challenges of LDCs would be increasingly factored into all programmes and activities of WIPO. Accordingly, this delegation would have liked to see a reflection of these challenges and concerns in the ‘Foreword’ by the Director General. As universally recognized, LDCs face specific systemic challenges in terms of devising the role of IP for promoting innovation, growth and development in their economies. These challenges would require well-calibrated and customized solutions as most LDCs around the globe continue to pursue a higher growth trajectory through greater industrialization.
This delegation would endorse the proposal to identify the WIPO Development Agenda as a cross-cutting frame of reference for MTSP. In this context, the Chart demonstrating the WIPO Development Agenda linkages with the WIPO Strategic Goals are particularly useful. The WIPO Development Agenda has indeed been a landmark development in the history of the Organisation which merits due recognition in a seminal document like MTSP. The WIPO LDC Ministerial Declaration 2009 makes specific reference to the Development Agenda while charting the way forward for the Organisation in support of LDCs for developing their IP policies and infrastructure. The LDC Ten-point Plan of Action also remains a blueprint for designing WIPO’s support services for LDCs in the short and medium term.
This delegation would like to take this opportunity make some general comments in this regard under some of the Strategic Goals under MTSP:
Strategic Goal I: Balanced Evolution of the International Normative Framework for Intellectual Property
A balanced and equitable international normative framework on IP would be crucial to ensure that LDCs attain the capacity to become true stakeholders in the international IP system. LDCs would require sustained and meaningful support from WIPO to facilitate their full and effective engagement in the international IP-related norm-setting process. The international agreements envisaged to be concluded in the medium term under this Strategic Goal should continue to have in-built provisions on flexibilities and exception and limitations in favour of LDCs that can be conducive to their development efforts. In this context, the background technical studies conducted by WIPO need to be balanced, objective and evidence-based in order to reflect both the common as well as nuanced variations in the challenges faced by LDCs. A broad-brush presentation of the situation of LDCs may often by counter-productive and there is a need for greater sensitivity in this regard. The international normative framework must essentially retain the policy space that would be critical for LDCs in calibrating their IP policies in support of their poverty reduction and national development strategies. LDCs would particularly benefit from a selective approach to those IP tools that could foster the growth of their Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and help add economic and commercial value to their indigenous products and services. The importance of need-based and tailor-made capacity building support for LDCs in this context cannot be overemphasized.
Strategic Goal II: Provision of Premier Global IP Services
As a UN specialized agency, WIPO remains the premier IP services provider for LDCs. In fact, a major yardstick for measuring WIPO’s success would continue to be the extent and impact of its services for LDCs. While the Organisation focuses on improving the quality of its services for its global customers, it should continue to remain engaged on designing and customizing its services for the benefit of users in LDCs. In this context, this delegation supports the four principal aims identified under the strategies under this Goal. In order to translate these aims into real-term deliverables, particularly for LDCs, it would be important to develop innovative services through multi-stakeholders participation. The recent WIPO initiatives to introduce services like aRDi and ASPI in favour of LDCs and other developing countries are welcome developments in this direction. There is a need for innovating further customized products and services within services like PATENTSCOPE to make their use attractive for potential users in LDCs. The relevance of WIPO services would in fact create an impetus for LDCs to become Parties to the international IP instruments mentioned under this Strategic Goals. The policy advice given to LDCs in terms of accession to various international IP instruments should be based on sound and long-term cost-benefit analysis of such accession. The decision to accede to an international IP instrument should have to be taken from within the development policy considerations of LDCs, and not necessarily in response to the interest of IP rights-holders. WIPO should continue to advocate in favour of maintaining a robust public domain for facilitating the access of LDCs to global knowledge and technology.
Strategic Goals III: Facilitation the Use of IP for Development
It would be of high importance for LDCs to see meaningful realization of this Strategic Goal in MTSP to accelerate their development efforts. A balanced perspective on the use of IP would be key to achieving this. IP should be promoted as a tool to foster innovation and creativity, and not as an end in itself. The policy coherence issue addressed under this Strategic Goal should, therefore, help situate IP in its right context in terms of national development policies in LDCs. The focus on the use of IP in these countries should be geared at helping these countries develop new products and services for their internal and external markets through greater innovation and access. IP should be perceived as one of the vehicles for achieving the Millennium Development Goals to make IP protection factor into the national development policies of LDCs. Here again, it would be crucial to ensure need-based, customized approaches for providing capacity building support to LDCs. WIPO should continue to extend the reach of its technical assistance programmes beyond the traditional focus areas of capacity building and IP protection and enforcement, and help LDCs develop their capacity for meaningful participation in the international norm-setting process and bilateral negotiations. The WIPO Academy could consider specialized courses to cater to the particular human resource development needs of LDCs. The WIPO External Office policy should also consider how best such Offices would be able to serve the needs and interests of LDCs in different regions.