Implementing The World Intellectual Property Organization S Development Agenda

The newly adopted World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Development Agenda presents a real opportunity to revolutionize the international governance of intellectual property law and policy. The litmus test for its success, however, will be if and how the agenda is implemented in practice. This edited collection brings together a series of incisive essays written by leading thinkers from emerging economies, Canada, and elsewhere to develop concrete strategies for implementing the agenda. The essays cover a range of fundamental issues surrounding the agenda and examine its recommendations from multidisciplinary and multi-regional perspectives. Several essays explore the role of WIPO and its member states in steering the direction of future reform as well as potential approaches to achieve this goal. Other contributions examine specific recommendations on WIPO’s activities within the broader context of development. This volume will be a useful source of reference for informed but non-expert readers, including government officials and delegates at international and “capital” levels, leaders of the international business community, individuals in inter- and non-governmental organizations, and scholars in the fields of law and international governance. Co-published with the International Development Research Centre and the Centre for International Governance Innovation

The newly adopted World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Development Agenda presents a real opportunity to revolutionize the international governance of intellectual property law and policy. The litmus test for its success, however, will be if and how the agenda is implemented in practice. This edited collection brings together a series of incisive essays written by leading thinkers from emerging economies, Canada, and elsewhere to develop concrete strategies for implementing the agenda.The essays in the book cover a range of fundamental issues surrounding the agenda and examine its recommendations from multidisciplinary and multi-regional perspectives. Several essays explore the role of WIPO and its member states in steering the direction of future reform; other contributions examine specific recommendations on WIPO's activities within the broader context of development.

The WIPO Development Agenda aims to ensure that development considerations form an integral part of WIPO's work. As such, it is a cross-cutting issue which touches upon all sectors of the Organization. When formally establishing the Development Agenda in October 2007, the WIPO General Assembly adopted a set of 45 recommendations to enhance the development dimension of the Organization's activities.

Covering the World Intellectual Property Organization, this volume introduces a much ignored element of the contemporary structure of global governance to scholars of international political economy. Christopher May discusses: how the World Intellectual Property Organization works, its antecedents and history the debates about the role and justification of intellectual property the role of WIPO within contemporary global politics the key elements of its relations with the World Trade Organization the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. The analysis then examines the recent political economy of the organization and argues that far from being the neutral or technical agency that it often presents itself as, the WIPO is highly politicized and acts to socialize policy makers and civil servants into a specific view of intellectual property. However, the recent proposal to establish a Development Agenda at the WIPO is an important development, and the book concludes by examining the problems which have promoted this agenda, suggesting that these reforms of the WIPO should be welcomed. The World Intellectual Property Organization is a clear and accessible volume that will confirm the WIPO as one of the global institutions which any student of global governance must understand.

Neil Netanel has edited this compilation of articles in order to examine the development agenda and the broader issues it touches upon. The contributors include leading scholars from various disciplines, including economics, political science, and law.

Sustainable development, in its many manifestations, is of high and growing importance across the globe. Increasingly, governments are setting targets for sustainability improvements ranging from societal inclusiveness to carbon emission reductions; corporations are marketing their products and services by highlighting their ‘eco’ credentials; and consumers are basing buying decisions on sustainable criteria. As a United Nations (UN) agency, WIPO has an important role to play in the achievement of the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs). While the relationship between SDGs and WIPO’s activities may not be as clear-cut and obvious as, for example, those of the World Health Organization, which has clear responsibility for SDG 3 relating to good health and well-being, there are compelling reasons to believe that intellectual property (IP) systems can and should contribute to SDGs, and in doing so, can be more responsive to WIPO customer and societal needs. This study has been commissioned by WIPO Japan Office, in collaboration with WIPO’s Special Representative on the UN SDGs to identify examples of good practice among IP offices in supporting the achievement of SDGs. Using a combination of primary and secondary research (survey data and published materials), a cross-section of offices has been examined.

Intellectual property is a powerful tool for development. This booklet shows how governments, businesses and non-profit organizations all around the world are using different types of IP strategically to boost economic, social and cultural progress.