JULY / AUGUST 2008
What WIPO should do next
Former WIPO deputy director-general Geoffrey Yu spoke to Peter Ollier about how the Organization should heal divisions and move forward under new leadership
| One-minute read |
| WIPO is trying to emerge from one of the most difficult periods since it was founded in 1967. Last year director-general Kamil Idris decided to step down early following allegations that he had not been honest about his date of birth. Deputy director-general Francis Gurry won the leadership contest by only one vote, and rumours persist about deep divisions between developed and developing countries and of some members wanting to reduce WIPO's remit. In this context, Managing IP spoke to former deputy-director general Geoffrey Yu, a man who spent 25 years at the Organization, where he focused on dealing with developing countries. Yu is now adjunct professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of the National University of Singapore and deputy chairman, IP Academy of Singapore. Yu talks about the internet treaties, the development agenda, forum shopping and what the priorities of the new director-general should be. |
What IP laws or issues do you think most need to be harmonized?
At the international level there are a number of things going on that should be addressed. They should be addressed with a sense of realism and a feeling that all countries participating in the process should be able to take something away from it. In other words no country should claim a monopoly of wisdom, of what is right and what is fair. The issues that we feel should be looked at most seriously, and as a win-win rather than a zero sum game, are in the protection of traditional knowledge and access to and use of genetic resources and benefit sharing. Also, the issue that affects many businesses as they try to expand is the cost of obtaining patent protection and the cost of defending patent rights if they are infringed. The cost has been rising over the years. It has got to a stage where it becomes very difficult for SMEs to get protection in multiple countries because patent offices continue to insist on individual examination – they can't reach an understanding on mutual recognition of each other's work. That multiplies the cost to the applicant. There really is no sense in having each office doing the work that that the other office is also doing. How can we promote mutual confidence to eliminate duplication and reduce translation costs? WIPO is looking at the patent issue, while genetic resources and traditional knowledge are being looked at in both the WTO and WIPO. Another issue is IP and public health and the cost of medication and access to drugs at affordable prices and what part, if any, IP plays in this problem – how can this be resolved in a way acceptable to everyone?
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