Gurry, who is now deputy director-general of WIPO and was formerly the Organization’s general counsel, beat José Graça Aranha of Brazil 42-41 in the final round of voting among 83 of the Organization’s member states.
His appointment will be approved at the WIPO General Assemblies in September, after which he will take over as director-general from Kamil Idris, who is stepping down a year early. Gurry will be the fourth director-general of WIPO following Georg Bodenhausen of the Netherlands (1970-1973), Arpad Bogsch of the United States (1973-1997) and Kamil Idris of Sudan (1997-2008).
The election, which took place on Tuesday, started with 14 candidates who were gradually eliminated during four rounds of voting. Gurry led the voting in each round.
Gurry, who is 57, holds law degrees from the University of Melbourne and a doctorate of philosophy from the University of Cambridge. He joined WIPO in 1985 as a consultant and senior program officer for the Development Cooperation and External Relations Bureau for Asia-Pacific.
He was not available for interview following the election, but speaking to Managing IP earlier this year he said that, if elected, he would bring “sound and balanced management of multilateral IP policy processes and administration” to the role.
He also identified four priorities for the Organization: first, to enhance the quality and responsiveness of its services; second, enhance its skill base as a secretariat; third, focus on the technical mission; and, fourth, engage in policy issues in other areas that involve intellectual property.
Gurry said he would address concerns that there are divides between developed and developing countries at WIPO: “I see it not as two groups of countries but as a spectrum with shades of differences, based on factors such as the size of population, economy, economic geography, knowledge capacity, resource base and infrastructure. The needs and demands of countries are different; there is a continuum of differences. One needs to find ways in which to proceed that are useful for some countries and do not harm other countries.”
Alan Drewsen, Executive Director of INTA, said: “The Association warmly welcomes Dr. Gurry’s nomination. INTA is well aware of Dr. Gurry’s contributions at WIPO, and we have worked effectively with him for many years.”
Gurry said his hobbies include reading, swimming, gardening and spending time with his family. Asked what record he would take to a desert island, he said Beethoven’s violin concerto. And he recommended that IP practitioners should read Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare: “It’s a good metaphor for justice.”
