The final stretch of 2009 ushers in a host of meetings at Geneva based institutions including the WIPO Advisory Committee on Enforcement, the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property, the WTO Ministerial, the WHO Expert Working Group and the Standing Committee on Copyright. To keep abreast of the hive of activity emanating from WIPO, WHO and WTO, here is a roadmap to keep track of the various meetings.
November 2, 2009
African-Arab Seminar on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions: Addressing the Needs of Affected Constituencies
On November 4-6, 2009, the next round of negotiations for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Negotiations (ACTA) will take place in Seoul, Korea. The following is another strange chapter in the secrecy surrounding this negotiation.
Background
Since ACTA was first announced, KEI has pressed the negotiating governments to provide more transparency, including recently, for example
In 1985, the Executive Committee for the Berne Convention and the Intergovernmental Committee of the Universal Copyright Convention published a report by Ms Wanda Noel, a Barrister and Solicitor from Ontario, Canada, on the topic of Problems Experienced by the Handicapped in Obtaining Access to Protected Works, as Annex II to a report of an agenda item “Copyright Problems Raised by the Access by Handicapped Persons to Protected Works.”
Ms Noel’s report is 26 pages, and is a readable and concise presentation of the main issues facing the WIPO SCCR today.
On September 2009, KEI made a first attempt to FOIA documents related to WIPO negotiations on copyright exceptions for person who are blind or have other disabilities.
September 30, 2009.
USPTO FOIA Officer
United States Patent and Trademark Office
PO Box 1450
Alexandria, VA 22313-1450
efoia@uspto.gov
India delivered the following intervention at MSF’s workshop at the World Trade Organization Public Forum today. The title of the MSF workshop was “Controversy at customs – the detention of medicines in transit: what impact on access to medicines?”
WTO Public Forum ( MSF event)
Controversy at customs – the detention of medicines in transit: what impact on access to medicines?
This is the general statement delivered by the representative of the World Blind Union today (September 29, 2009) at the WIPO General Assemblies.
WBU statement:
The World Blind Union is the worldwide organisation representing the interests of 160 million blind and partially sighted persons in 177 member countries.
The following is the general statement that KEI delivered to the WIPO General Assembly on September 29, 2009.
General Statement of KEI
WIPO 2009 General Assembly
September 29, 2009
ACTA
Outside of WIPO, some countries are involved in secretive negotiations on a new Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). KEI asks WIPO to adopt a resolution calling for an end to the secrecy of this negotiation. Global norms for the enforcement of IP should be transparent and benefit from comments from the public before decisions are made on substantive provisions.
This is the intervention made by Ecuador, on behalf of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean (GRULAC) region, concerning the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) on Friday, September 25, 2009.
AG/47
Comité Permanente sobre Derecho de Autor y Derechos Conexos (SCCR)
Declaración GRULAC
Versión 25/Sep/2009 (13:30hs)
Gracias Señor Presidente:
Esta declaración la realizamos en nombre del Grupo de América Latina y del Caribe.