Brazil’s general statement to the WIPO General Assembly in 2011 was delivered on Monday, 26 September 2011 by HE Roberto Azevedo, Permanent Representative of Brazil to the WTO and other Economic Organizations in Geneva. With respect to a disabilities treaty, Brazil stated,
In this Committee, Member States succeeded in building consensus on the convening of a Diplomatic Conference to conclude a treaty on the Protection of Audiovisual Performances. With regard to the negotiations on limitations and exceptions, a work program and a timetable were approved, with a view to different categories of beneficiaries. Concerning the visually impaired, there has been relevant progress on substantial provisions of the legal instrument, although there is no consensus, at the moment, to conclude a treaty on the subject. Brazil does not agree with a second class treatment relative to the access of the visually impaired to copyright-protected works and, therefore, continues supporting the conclusion of a treaty. This is a unique opportunity for WIPO to demonstrate its commitment to the major objectives of the United Nations. It is also a way to show that Member States can find solutions that combine globalized commercial interests with essential social and humanitarian demands.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF WIPO SEPTEMBER 2011Statement Delivered by the Permanent Representative of Brazil, Ambassador Roberto Azevêdo
Mr. Chairman,
Let me start by congratulating you for your election. I would like to reassure that you can count on the full collaboration of Brazil to the success of the General Assembly.
Let me also extend my thanks and appreciation for the Director-General Francis Gurry, and, through him, to all the members of the Secretariat of WIPO.
Last year, when addressing this Assembly, I underlined that it is necessary that the intellectual property system be perceived as legitimate and beneficial to all countries.
I also mentioned on that occasion, and I reaffirm again, the need of a balance between the protection of IP rights owners and broader social interest. In this regard, all Member States of the Organization shall work together to further strengthen WIPO.
The Development Agenda, approved in 2007, came to play an important role by extending the benefits of the intellectual property system to large populations and developing regions. In 2010, more than 70% of the applications in the PCT System were still originated from only 5 countries.
The Proposed Program and Budget for the 2012/13 Biennium, produced by the Program and Budget Committee (PBC) and recently recommended to the General Assembly by consensus, had the merit of advancing in the implementation of development activities and of allocating resources for this purpose. There is, however, the challenge of improving the monitoring tools and of reassessing the performance indicators, in order to proceed with corrections, if and when needed.
I would like to make reference to the important contribution made by the Development Agenda Group, which was established in 2010. Brazil was one of its founding members and was one of its coordinators. In its activities, the DAG always managed to be constructive, bringing the development dimension to all areas of WIPO’s work.
I would also like to take the opportunity to highlight a new cooperation project in the South-American region: PROSUR. This initiative, inspired by the Development Agenda objectives, will allow for operational cooperation among nine national patent authorities in South America, aiming at sharing experiences and reports from search and patent examination.
Mr. Chairman,
The good results achieved so far must not, however, lead automatically to the conclusion that the quest for the implementation of the Development Agenda is already over.
The goals achieved only reveal the importance to proceed with the long term task of promoting cultural changes in the Organization’s operation. One of the objectives is to consolidate its member-driven nature and to reinforce transparency and accountability in its activities.
Another objective, in the context of cultural changes, is to mainstream the development dimension in all areas of the Organization’s work. In this regard, it is necessary to highlight the Coordination Mechanism on the implementation of the Development Agenda Recommendations. As agreed in 2010, the relevant WIPO bodies shall provide to Member States, in the General Assembly, a description of their contribution to the implementation of the Agenda. While recognizing the advances embodied in this initiative, one must consider that the process would be much improved with the inclusion of the Program and Budget Committee among the bodies that should report to the Assembly. This is due to the wide range of its attributions and to the central role in the definition of the work programs to be adopted every biennium.
Mr. Chairman,
We believe that, regarding Intellectual Property, there are no “one-size-fits-all” solutions and that the programs should be oriented to specific needs.
In this sense, I would like to refer to the Executive Program between Brazil and WIPO, which will soon be signed. The document aims at establishing projects of technical cooperation. The program will be managed by the WIPO Office in Rio de Janeiro and will rely on resources amounting to 6.4 million Reals, for the next four years. Its objective will be to disseminate the Intellectual Property culture to the benefit of various sectors of society, by strengthening competencies, with a view to increase productivity in IP related activities, as well as by fostering transfer of technology.
The Program will be executed by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), a body that has some 20 Memoranda of Understanding in force with institutions from all continents, especially from South America and Africa.
Mr. Chairman,
There has been progress in the work of all Committees, but I would like to highlight here the activities carried out by the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR).
In this Committee, Member States succeeded in building consensus on the convening of a Diplomatic Conference to conclude a treaty on the Protection of Audiovisual Performances. With regard to the negotiations on limitations and exceptions, a work program and a timetable were approved, with a view to different categories of beneficiaries. Concerning the visually impaired, there has been relevant progress on substantial provisions of the legal instrument, although there is no consensus, at the moment, to conclude a treaty on the subject. Brazil does not agree with a second class treatment relative to the access of the visually impaired to copyright-protected works and, therefore, continues supporting the conclusion of a treaty. This is a unique opportunity for WIPO to demonstrate its commitment to the major objectives of the United Nations. It is also a way to show that Member States can find solutions that combine globalized commercial interests with essential social and humanitarian demands.
Mr. Chairman,
Achieving concrete outcomes in WIPO relevant areas, with inclusiveness and transparency, is a major challenge. The good results already achieved give us determination to move forward.
Thank you.