31 March 2005
Hundreds Sign Petition Regarding Open Meetings On Intellectual Property
When the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) earlier this month shut out some public interest groups from two April meetings about the impact of patent, copyright and related regimes on the developing world, some civil society groups greeted the news with concern.
Most of the groups barred from the meetings, which are to focus on whether WIPO should adopt a "Development Agenda," are public interest organizations with special expertise on issues of economic development.
Two Brazilian activists, Pedro de Paranagua Moniz and Pedro AD Rezende, as well as the Electronic Frontier Foundation's European Affairs Coordinator, Cory Doctorow, took action: they produced an open letter to WIPO on this issue and solicited comments on the Internet.
As a result, this week over 800 individuals and groups, including EFF, signed an open letter to WIPO urging it to allow more groups to participate in these historic meetings. Residents of 56 different nations signed on, along with members of non-government organizations (NGOs) ranging from a Brazilian AIDS health group to Yale University. The letter, called the "WIPO Manifesto for Transparency, Participation, Balance and Access," asks that public interest NGOs be allowed to participate in the Development Agenda meetings as ad hoc observers and calls on WIPO to provide assistance in creating a global regime that facilitates open access to knowledge.
"WIPO is undertaking a long-overdue and halting journey from a place where industrial interests meet to safeguard their marketplace advantages, to a place where the UN's humanitarian values hold center stage," said Doctorow. "This letter is the latest step in the important campaign to refocus WIPO on providing effective technical assistance that meets the real needs of its developing country members."
The open letter was delivered to Dr. Kamil Idris, Director General of WIPO, on March 23, 2005, with more than 800 signatories, and it is still open for signature.
|
News Stories 
