WIPO's First Intersessional Working Group (IWG 1) concluded its five days of deliberations on Friday, 23 July 2010 substantially closer to its goal of establishing a sui generis legal regime for the protection of traditional cultural expressions/expressions of folklore. On Friday, the WIPO secretariat distributed a summary report of the first IWG (attached below).

As mentioned in two previous KEI blogs, the WIPO's First Intersessional Working Group received its mandate from the 16th WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) to 'provide legal and technical advice and analysis, including, where appropriate, options and scenarios for consideration of the IGC' including the outcomes, recommendations and texts relating to the discussion specifically on a working document containing draft provisions for a possible instrument for the protection of traditional cultural expressions/e

As mentioned in a previous piece entitled WIPO expert committee deliberates on road map to protect traditional cultural expressions, WIPO has convened an intersessional working group (IWG) comprised of experts from countries and observer organizations to examine draft provisions of a document prepared by the WIPO secretariat on 'The Protection of Traditional Cultural Expressions/Expressions of Folklore: Revised Objectives and Principles'. The IWG runs from July 19-23, 2010.

From 19-23 July 2010, WIPO has convened an Intersessional Working Group to examine a WIPO document on 'Revised Provisions for the Protection of Traditional Cultural Expressions/Expressions of Folklore' (WIPO/GRTKF/IC/17/4).

The following intervention was delivered by John Gero, Canada's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) during SCCR 20. Ambassador Gero is currently serving as the Chair of the WTO General Council.

In this intervention dated 24 June 2010, Turkey (a member of Group B), made the following unequivocal, nuanced statement before the 20th session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) of why a WIPO treaty for reading disabled persons is the most effective global solution to solve the problems of reading disabled persons in accessing protected works.

On June 28, 2010, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) and IQsensato are co-hosting a workshop on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).

The Location of the meeting is the Maison des Associations, on Rue des Savoises 15, Geneva, in the Salle Gandhi.

Speakers

• Carlos Correa, University of Buenos Aires
• Erik Josefsson, Adviser, Greens/EFA-European Parliament
• James Love, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)

It is 3:30 PM on Thursday, 24 June 2010 in Geneva, and the 20th session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) is now reviewing these draft conclusions.

On Wednesday, 23 June 2010, Barbados delivered the following intervention giving unequivocal support for the proposal for the Treaty for Reading Disabled Persons tabled by Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay and Mexico. The spirit of Barbados' intervention is perhaps best encapsulated by this concluding statement:

On Wednesday, 23 June 2010, Ecuador on behalf of Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico and Paraguay, made the following intervention on a WIPO Treaty for Reading Disabled Persons.