Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 2 • Number 17 • 7th November 2002
Developing Countries Criticise WIPO for Meeting Clash
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The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) came under strong criticism from a number of developing countries for re-scheduling the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (Eighth Session) to exactly coincide with the November-session of the WTO Council for Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs). Discussions at the WIPO meeting will be closely linked to those at the TRIPs Council as they will address the revision of the Substantive Patent Law Treaty (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 10 October 2002). Developing countries have repeatedly pointed out the problems they face with overlapping meetings in WIPO and the WTO, in particular as for several of them the same representatives participate in both forums. The Group of Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC) has also sent letters in the past calling meetings to not be scheduled in the same week. The WIPO Secretariat argues that the meeting had to be postponed so as to hold it back-to-back with the Working Group on Reform of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) on 18-22 November.
ICTSD reporting.
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