GENEVA - Francis Gurry, who has been nominated by the Coordination Committee of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to become the next Director General of WIPO, emphasized, at the opening of the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP), on July 7, 2008, his commitment to the effective implementation of the WIPO Development Agenda, pledging to personally supervise this important initiative in the future, a press release by WIPO stated.

“I would like to repeat my assurance of the importance which I attach to the Development Agenda. It is a major achievement for this Organization to have adopted by consensus a Development Agenda,” speaking at the invitation of Ambassador Trevor Clarke, the chairman of the CDIP, Gurry noted.

He said that the Development Agenda is “a major opportunity to address the role of Intellectual Property in development and the contribution of Intellectual Property to narrowing the knowledge gap and the digital divide.”

“It is my firm view that the successful implementation of the Development Agenda is vital to the future success of this Organization,” he added.

Gurry further underlined the important challenge of establishing a work program that “ensures an appropriate implementation of the Development Agenda.”

Gurry, who is currently Deputy Director General of WIPO, made specific reference to proposals that seek to improve access to and efficient use of technological information contained in patent documents and scientific papers by research institutes and universities in developing countries.

He further alluded to the need to enhance the infrastructure and capacity of intellectual property offices of developing countries to enable them to participate more fully in the knowledge economy.

Gurry assured delegations that the appropriate budgetary resources would be made available to support the implementation of the proposals contained in the Development Agenda.

At its first meeting March 3-7, 2008, the CDIP moved forward in discussing the implementation of the WIPO Development Agenda. That meeting adopted the rules of procedure of the CDIP and held detailed discussions on developing a work program for implementation of the recommendations approved by the General Assembly. 

Source: ag-IP news