Intellectual Property Programme • Volume 12 • Number 31 • 25th September 2008

Francis Gurry to Lead WIPO

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Francis Gurry, an Australian national and WIPO official, was appointed on Monday to serve as Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

Gurry replaces Kamil Idris, a Sudanese national who has headed WIPO since November 1997 and whose last years in office were plagued by controversy and accusations of mismanagement and fraud. Gurry will commence a six-year term in office on October 1.

All WIPO member states appeared keen in their statements to turn the page and begin a new phase in the work of the organisation.

The selection of Gurry for the top post holds “great promise for WIPO and all who are dedicated to its success and hope that the divisions of the past can be left behind,” US Ambassador Warren W. Tichenor said. Member states, and in particular developing countries, paid a symbolic tribute to the outgoing Idris, while also praising the qualities of his successor.

Upon his appointment, Gurry delivered an ambitious acceptance speech outlining the challenges and priorities facing the world of intellectual property and the role of WIPO in addressing them.

In this regard, the new Director-General highlighted the exponential growth in demand for patent services around the world that has left patent offices choking and struggling to perform effectively. He pointed to the need to re-examine the 20th-century model of returning value to creators, performers and their business associates in view of the fundamental changes brought about by the convergence of expression in digital technology and the distributional power of the internet. He also called for a reflection on WIPO’s role in dealing with counterfeit goods and if that that role should be confined to awareness-raising and training or if it should encompass a more robust engagement.

Gurry described the Development Agenda as a “wonderful opportunity” for WIPO to be part of the solution in responding to the challenge of how intellectual property can contribute to the reduction of the knowledge gap and to greater participation of the developing and least developed countries in the benefits of innovation and the knowledge economy. He emphasised his belief that it was essential that the political consensus it represented be translated into concrete and effective projects such as the construction of a global knowledge infrastructure comprising public, freely available databases of technological and scientific information.

Concerning traditional knowledge at WIPO, Gurry underlined that it was time to move to “concrete outcomes” that will see WIPO embrace a broader base of constituents and a more universal mission.

Gurry also called for more active engagement by the organisation in the search for solutions to the challenges identified in the Millennium Development Goals, as well as climate change, desertification, epidemics, access to health care, food security and the preservation of biodiversity. In this connection, he proposed the establishment of a division in the Secretariat that will have this engagement as its mission, focusing on the specific contribution that intellectual property and WIPO can make within the framework of collective action to address these global challenges.

Finally, he pledged to undertake a thorough process of strategic realignment of the Secretariat in the coming years that will cover the corporate culture of the Secretariat, the efficiency of its business processes and the alignment of its programs, structure and resources to the organisation’s strategic goals.
Overall, Gurry’s speech appeared to be a fervent plea for the relevance of multilateralism and the centrality of WIPO’s role in addressing the challenges facing intellectual property.

The WIPO General Assembly is meeting at the organisation’s headquarters in Geneva from 22 to 30 September.

ICTSD reporting. “Australia’s Gurry appointed new UN patent chief,” ASSOCIATED PRESS, 22 September 2008; “Idris Bids WIPO Farewell; Newly Appointed DG Gurry Outlines Initiatives,” IP WATCH, 22 September 2008.

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ICTSD • Smooth Transition for WIPO 2nd October 2008 at 08:24
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