wipo magazine, issue no. 2, 2000...the swatch group ltd, one of the world’s leading watchmakers,...

Contents

Geneva

February 2000

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WIPO dispute settlement process: first cybersquatting case concluded

WIPO marks 50,000th industrial design registration

under the Hague system

PCT automation project – IMPACT – gathers momentum

WIPONET charts course for IP information exchange in the digital age

Copyright

Tackling the global management of information

WIPO workshop tackles online service provider liabilityfor copyright infringement in cyberspace

Focus on inventors from developing countries

Sri Lankan inventor develops Coirpack to meet developed countries’demand for environmentally friendly packaging material

Director General appoints Mr. Nicolas G. Hayek to IAC

Cooperation for development

New issues in the collective management of copyright in visual creations considered in Mexico

Workshop tackles performers’ rights in Africa

Exploring the market value of geographical indications in Africa

WIPO workshops in Tunisia focus on enforcement

Maghreb representatives visit WIPO for an insight into the Organization’s work

Surge in treaty adherence shows growing

importance of intellectual property

New members of WIPO-administered treaties in the field of industrial property

New members of WIPO-administered treaties in the field of copyright

Calendar of meetings

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WIPO dispute settlement process: first cybersquatting case concluded

The WIPO Magazine is published monthly bythe Office of Global Communications andPublic Diplomacy, World IntellectualProperty Organization (WIPO). It is not anofficial record and the views expressed inindividual articles are not necessarily thoseof WIPO.

The WIPO Magazine is distributed free of charge.

If you are interested in receiving copies, con-tact:The Publications Officer

WIPO34, chemin des Colombettes P.O. Box 18CH-1211 Geneva 20Switzerlandphone: 41 22 338 91 11fax: 41 22 733 54 28e-mail: [email protected]

For comments or questions, contact:The Editor

WIPO Magazine (at the above address)

Copyright ©2000 World Intellectual Property OrganizationAll rights reserved. Articles contained herein may be repro-duced for educational purposes. No part may, however, bereproduced for commercial purposes without the expresswritten consent of the Office of Global Communicationsand Public Diplomacy, World Intellectual PropertyOrganization, P.O. Box 18,CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland.

The first case of an abusive regis-tration of a domain name on theInternet was decided on January14 with the Administrative Panelordering the registrant to handover the domain name to the com-plainant. The US-based WorldWrestling Federation (WWF) hadbrought the suit against aCalifornia resident who had regis-tered the domain namewww.worldwrestlingfederation.comand offered to sell it back, at sig-nificant profit, to the WWF threedays later.

This case concerned a domain reg-istered with Melbourne IT, one ofthe first five registrars accreditedby ICANN (see box below) toaccept registrations, in the .com,.net and .org generic top-leveldomains. The WWF alleged thatthe domain name in question wasregistered in bad faith by the regis-trant in abuse of the WWF’s trade-mark. Although the complainanthad the option of bringing a lawsuit in a U.S. court under the newAnti-Cybersquatting Act, it choseinstead to use this cheaper andquicker administrative process.

The WIPO Arbitration andMediation Center appointed Mr.Scott Donahey, a California-basedintellectual property lawyer andtrademark specialist, to handle thecase. The decision concludes asfollows:

"For all of the foregoing reasons,the Panel decides that the domainname registered by the respondentis identical or confusingly similarto the trademark and service markin which the complainant hasrights, and that the respondent hasno rights or legitimate interests in

WIPO MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 20002

Mr. Francis Gurry, WIPO AssistantDirector General and Director of theWIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center,welcomed the swift resolution of this firstcase. "The new procedure demonstrates theviability of a cost-effective and efficientalternative to court proceedings," he said.

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respect of the domain name, andthat the respondent’s domain namehas been registered and is beingused in bad faith. Accordingly,pursuant to paragraph 4, of thePolicy, the Panel requires that theregistration of the domain name<worldwrestlingfederation.com>be transferred to the complainant."

Mr. Francis Gurry, WIPOAssistant Director General andDirector of the WIPO Arbitrationand Mediation Center, welcomedthe swift resolution of this firstcase. "The new procedure demon-

strates the viability of a cost-effective and efficient alternativeto court proceedings," he said."The nature of the WIPO disputesettlement system lends itself tothe needs and requirements oftoday’s dynamic market-place.The Internet holds immensepotential for people to do businessat any level and confidence inelectronic commerce hinges onmutual respect of users’ rights."


The WIPO dispute settlement process

The WWF filed the case with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centerunder the new Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy applicable to generictop-level domains (.com, .net and .org) adopted by the InternetCorporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) on August 26,1999. This first complaint was filed on December 2, 1999, a day after thenew system had taken effect.

The ICANN policy establishes a uniform and mandatory administrativedispute-resolution system to address cases of bad faith, abusive registra-tions, also known as "cybersquatting." Using this system, panels of one orthree experts, appointed by the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center,will apply streamlined, quick and cost-effective procedures to reviewclaims and eliminate cases of clear abuse of trademark holders' rights,leaving the more complex cases to the courts. The WIPO Center’s DomainName Dispute Resolution Service has been established specifically toadminister domain name disputes with the availability of electronic casefiling facilities and a well developed case administration system. It was thefirst dispute resolution service provider accredited to administer disputesbrought under the ICANN Policy and provides global, multi-lingual dis-pute administration services. Cases filed with the WIPO Center are, nor-mally, expected to be decided within 45 days.

A steadystream ofcases starts toarrive at WIPOThe WIPO Arbitration andMediation Center has beenreceiving an average of twocases a day since the beginningof the year, bring the total num-ber of disputes filed under thedispute settlement process to 66by mid-February. This farexceeds the anticipated, initialfiling rate for alternative dis-pute resolution.

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The Swatch Group Ltd, one of theworld’s leading watchmakers, wasrecognized by WIPO for its exten-sive use of a system to protectdesigns in multiple countries onFebruary 10, 2000. WIPO DirectorGeneral Dr. Kamil Idris presentedMr. Nicolas G. Hayek, SwatchChairman and Chief ExecutiveOfficer with a medal to mark thedeposit by his company of the50,000th industrial design under atreaty administered by WIPO.

"The 50,000th deposit of industrialdesigns under the 1960 Act of theHague Agreement is a milestone inthe history of international designprotection. We are delighted thatMr. Hayek, Chairman of SwatchGroup Ltd., the largest user of thesystem, is able to join us in mark-ing this occasion," said Dr. Idris."Swatch is a world trend-setter inthe area of design and has success-fully used the Hague system. TheSwatch experience is an excellentexample of the relevance of theHague system to the private sector.The Hague system saves compa-nies significant amounts of money.This translates into savings andbetter designed products for con-sumers, not to mention a moreattractive environment".

Dr. Idris praised Swatch’s successin demonstrating the power ofinnovation and originality, two ofthe driving forces in the intellectu-al property field. “These are thevery forces that WIPO is seekingto unleash, especially in the devel-oping world," Dr. Idris said.

Mr. Hayek said "Swatch stands forjoy of life, positive provocationand creating new wealth for soci-ety. This is achieved by intelligent-

ly pooling the creativity comingfrom a vast area of know-how.Creativity needs to be encouraged,protected and implemented."

Designs are a valuable intellectualproperty resource, often determin-ing the success of one productover a comparable one. For exam-ple, it is the distinctive "look" of awatch that will prompt a consumerto choose one model over another.In view of this, companies investlarge sums of money and expertisein the development of winningdesigns. The international protec-tion offered under the Hague sys-tem is a means by which creatorsmay protect themselves againstunlawful imitation. This WIPO-administered treaty offers users acost-effective and user-friendlymeans of obtaining protection for

WIPO marks 50,000th industrial design registration under the Hague system

an industrial design by filing a sin-gle application in any of the coun-tries that have signed up to thesystem. Without the system, adesigner would have to file sepa-rate applications in each of thecountries in which protection issought. This is because, as a gen-eral rule, industrial design protec-tion is limited to the territory ofthe country where protection issought and granted.

One of the main advantages ofusing the Hague system is thatusers are able to include up to asmany as 100 designs in each inter-national application, thereby keep-ing the average cost of protectionper design low.

The number of international appli-cations for industrial design pro-


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Presenting Mr. Nicolas Hayek, Swatch Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (right)with a medal to mark the deposit by his company of the 50,000th industrial designunder the Hague system, Dr. Kamil Idris praised Swatch’s success in demonstratingthe power of innovation and originality, two of the driving forces in the intellectualproperty field.


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The advantages of industrial designprotection

The owner is able to prevent unauthorized copying or imitation of hisor her design by third parties. In addition, as industrial designs addto the commercial value of a product and facilitate its marketing andcommercialization, their protection helps ensure that a fair return oninvestment is obtained. Protection of industrial designs encourages fair competition and hon-est trade practices. It leads to the production of more aestheticallyattractive and diversified products, thereby broadening consumerchoice. Industrial design protection acts as a spur to a country's economicdevelopment by contributing to the expansion of commercial activi-ties and by enhancing the export potential of national products.

Costs of protectionAs industrial designs can be relatively simple and inexpensive todevelop and to protect, they are reasonably accessible to small andmedium-sized enterprises, even to individual artists and craftsmen, inboth industrialized and developing countries.Under the Hague system, the average cost per design per country inwhich protection is sought is 37 Swiss Francs for five years of pro-tection. On average 4.8 designs are included in each internationaldeposit which means that the average cost of obtaining five years ofprotection under the Hague system is 4.5 Swiss Francs per year.

What is an industrial design?

An industrial design is the orna-mental or aesthetic aspect of anarticle, in other words, that partwhich makes the article attrac-tive and appealing. It may con-sist of three-dimensional fea-tures, such as the shape orsurface of an article or two-dimensional features, such aspatterns, lines or colors. Thesefeatures add to an article’s com-mercial value and increase itsmarketability. An industrialdesign is primarily of an aes-thetic, visual nature, and doesnot relate to technical featuresof an article.

Industrial designs are applied toa wide variety of industrial andhandicraft products: from techni-cal and medical instruments towatches and jewelry; fromhousehold goods and electricalappliances to vehicles and archi-tectural structures; from textiledesigns to leisure goods. Suchprotection can be of benefit todesigners in both developing and

developed countries.

Processing the 50,000thdeposit of an industrialdesign by Swatch at theWIPO InternationalIndustrial Design Registry,(from the left) Mrs. DorisHanberk, Senior Examiner,Mr. Grégoire Bisson, Head,and Mr. Farid Montasser,Examiner.

tection has increased progressivelyin recent years. The ten largestusers of the Hague system are theSwatch Group, Unilever, Sony,Hermès, Philips Electronics,Moulinex, Siemens, Interior’s,Fiat, Braun.

The value of intellectual propertyrights to a company such asSwatch is also reflected in its useof the other international registra-tion systems administered byWIPO, including the Madrid sys-tem for the international registra-tion of marks. Since 1981, theSwatch Group has registered some39 marks under the Madrid sys-tem, which allows a user to obtainprotection in up to 64 countries.

Using the Hague system

The Agreement

The Hague Agreement Concerningthe International Deposit ofIndustrial Designs was concludedin 1925. This Agreement has beenrevised and complemented on anumber of occasions since then.The latest revision was adopted ata Diplomatic Conference in June1999 which resulted in the conclu-sion of the Geneva Act of theHague Agreement. This new Actintroduced features that will makethe system more acceptable tocountries which have so farremained outside the system.

A 40-million Swiss Franc project to fully automate the operations of thePatent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) went into full swing in January follow-ing the signing of a major contract between WIPO and a consortium ofcompanies.

The project, known by the acronym IMPACT (Information Managementfor the Patent Cooperation Treaty), is one of the top priorities of WIPODirector General, Dr. Kamil Idris. "We are keen to take full advantage ofthe opportunities offered by information technology in supporting theOrganization’s international registration services," Dr. Idris said. "TheIMPACT project is the largest single information technology project everundertaken by WIPO and its success is of the highest priority for thisOrganization."

The rapid expansion of the PCT system - the number of internationalapplications has grown from 2,625 in 1979 to over 70,000 in 1999 - showsthe importance of this treaty to the intellectual property community, Dr.Idris pointed out. Automation of the PCT, which implements the conceptof a single international patent application that is valid in any of the 106contracting states, would mean lower costs for applicants who will alsobenefit from more efficient services. Since international applications con-tain valuable technical information, the public also stands to gain from thistransformation by being able to access more PCT information in electronicand searchable form.

PCT automation project -IMPACT - gathers momentum


The main objectives of the IMPACTProject include:

to offer further improved services to PCT applicants; to prepare the ground for future fee reductions by lowering PCToperating costs; to streamline work procedures and establish a more efficient and costeffective operation for the administration of the PCT through theimplementation of an automated information and document manage-ment system; to create and make available to PCT applicants and national officeselectronic filing software; to improve services for national and regional offices and to establishgeneralized solutions for electronic data exchange between the officeof the PCT and the national and regional offices as well as the PCTInternational Searching and Preliminary Examining Authorities,including electronic publishing and the dissemination of PCT infor-mation.

The overall project is expected to be completed in 3 to 4 years, with the firstcomponents of the new system being delivered towards the end of this year.

The first part of the contract todevelop a comprehensive comput-er system for managing andadministering PCT activities wasawarded to a consortium of threecompanies under the leadership ofXerox Professional Services(XPS) U.K. The other members ofthe consortium are Cap Gemini(France) and Hewlett Packard(Switzerland). The award of con-tract for a systems developerresulted from an extensive interna-tional tendering process whichattracted a total of 35 bids fromthroughout the world. A rigorousevaluation process, involving face-to-face meetings with five short-listed bidders and an assessmentbased on over a thousand differentcriteria, was designed to ensurethat the winner will supply thebest value-for-money solution tomeet the business requirements of

the PCT. The evaluation processinvolved input from six offices ofthe PCT, representing the differentregions of the world.

Experts from the consortium and acore WIPO team of informationtechnology specialists, responsiblefor the management and deliveryof the system, began work on theanalysis and design component ofthe project in January. The awardof the second part of the contract -implementation phase - will hingeon the successful completion ofsystem benchmarking tests todetermine the viability of thedesign. These tests, which will bejointly undertaken by WIPO andthe consortium during the first halfof this year, will ensure that theproposed technical solution meetsthe functionality and performancerequirements stipulated by WIPO.

Management of the project willremain in the hands of WIPO. Theinitial approach had been to out-source the entire project to a sys-tems integrator. However, followingfurther analysis and advice fromcertain member States which hadundertaken similar large scale pro-jects, especially in the area of docu-ment imaging, the Organizationdecided to move the responsibilityand management of the project in-house. Heavy involvement of PCToperational staff is critical to thesuccess of the project. Key PCTstaff have already been moved per-manently into the project team andpriority has been placed on activi-ties such as training, change man-agement and maintaining goodinternal communications through-out the project.


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Patent Cooperation TreatyNumber of international applicationsreceived since 1978

Globalization and the remarkablepace and nature of technologicaldevelopment in recent years haspropelled intellectual propertyissues to the forefront of policymaking considerations. Economictrends indicate that a nation'ssocio-economic well-being and itsability to generate wealth andprotect its culture dependsincreasingly on its access to anduse of the intellectual propertysystem. Whilst not a panacea forthe many complex problems con-fronting policy-makers in meetingthe development challenge, theintellectual property system is astrategic policy instrument thatenables countries and individualsto harness their creative and inno-vative potential and to promoteeconomic development and socialwell-being.

The digital era, characterized bythe rapid development of informa-tion technologies, has revolution-ized business processes.Information technologies are todaythe driving force of communica-tions and business operations.Recognizing the strategic impor-tance of information technologiesto enhance and further improve itsservices to the world at large,WIPO has launched a major pro-ject to develop and establish aglobal information network.WIPONET is a state-of-the-art pro-ject designed to ensure that theOrganization is able to respond tothe remarkable growth of electron-ic commerce and increaseddemand for electronic dataexchange services. In linking theoperations of the world's intellec-tual property offices, it will ensurethat all WIPO member States areable to take full advantage ofWIPO's intellectual property infor-

mation services. A key feature ofthe network will be its ability toprovide for secure end-to-endtransmission of confidential intel-lectual property data. Thisattribute will generate significantefficiency gains for users ofWIPO's international registrationservices while at the same timeallowing access to member States’intellectual property information.This flagship project will promoteinternational cooperation by facili-tating the digital exchange of intel-lectual property information. Itwill facilitate access to intellectualproperty data, and will also serveas a platform to establish new ser-vices and to further streamline andautomate the basic business func-tions of intellectual propertyoffices worldwide.

Implementation and deploy-

ment

This project is of particular rele-vance to developing countries.WIPONET’s mission includes theelectronic integration of develop-ing countries in the internationalintellectual property system. Inorder to empower developingcountries to better reap the bene-fits of the global IP informationresources, WIPONET includes aninitiative to equip selected officeswith Internet connectivity andbasic equipment that will beimplemented on a "roll out" basisto commence in the second quarterof 2000. While selected officeswith no Internet connectivity willbenefit from this aspect of theWIPONET project, all officesalready connected to the Internetwill be able to take advantage ofcentral WIPONET services.

WIPONET is designed to provide aplatform on which WIPO and its

member States may build and runcurrent and future intellectualproperty processes and applica-tions. It will, therefore, enabledelivery of a growing number ofnew and established intellectualproperty services directly to mem-ber States and will also serve as avehicle for the dissemination ofpublished intellectual propertyinformation to interested commu-nities such as the public, universi-ties, research and developmentinstitutions and copyright users.

Benefits

Implementation of this ground-breaking project promises to gen-erate multiple benefits. First, itwill serve to narrow the informa-tion gap that exists between thedeveloped countries and develop-ing countries. Global benefitsinclude cost savings and efficiencygains in moving from paper toelectronic exchange of intellectualproperty data.

Second, by improving the flow ofinformation on intellectual proper-ty rights between WIPO memberStates and the WIPO Secretariat,the information network will facil-itate the administration, use andfuture development of internation-al intellectual property rights man-agement systems.

WIPONET charts course for IP information exchange in the digital age


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Third, it will strengthen the collec-tive efforts of member States tocreate high-quality, high-valueinformation collections throughthe establishment of IntellectualProperty Digital Libraries (IPDLs,see box below).

Fourth, WIPONET will alsoenhance communications andfacilitate exchange of informationbetween all stakeholders. In thisway, the user community and thegeneral public will be able toaccess and retrieve reliable intel-lectual property information acrossthe globe in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Fifth, WIPONET will serve toimprove the efficiency with whichapplication, grant and other indus-trial property-related registrationactivities are undertaken by intel-lectual property offices and theWIPO Secretariat.

Sixth, the electronic exchange ofunpublished, confidential datausing WIPONET services will sig-nificantly reduce the costs andresources consumed in establishedpaper-based processes of produc-ing, transmitting and receivingcopies of documents associatedwith submission of internationalapplications under the PatentCooperation Treaty (PCT).

WIPONET presents significantopportunities to promote the use,protection of and trade in intellec-tual property rights across theglobe. It represents an opportunityfor WIPO and its member States tocapitalize on the rapid and wide-ranging technological develop-ments to establish an environmentthat will promote better under-standing of the importance, valueand utility of a robust internationalintellectual property system and itscontribution to social well-beingand economic development.


WIPONET provision

WIPONET services fall into two main categories, namely:

Basic information servicesBasic information services include e-mail, data exchange for routine and confidential data, mailing lists, cen-tralized web hosting and publication, helpdesk and, for selected member States, Internet connectivity andbasic equipment.

Intellectual property servicesAccess to intellectual property digital libraries (IPDLs) via WIPONET

Communications related to the grant and registration processes associated with WIPO's global registration ser-vices, in particular in relation to the PCT and the Madrid System for the Registration of Trademarks.Electronic transmission of such communications will significantly reduce the costs and time involved in pro-cessing these requests. Global access to online distance learning programs prepared by the WIPO Worldwide. Remote participation in WIPO meetings, including participation in meeting report approvals. Participation in online surveys for information gathering.

IPDLThe WIPO Intellectual PropertyDigital Libraries (IPDL) Programwas launched back in 1997. IPDLsare electronic equivalents to papercollections of intellectual propertyrecords. IPDLs are server-basedcollections of intellectual propertyinformation resources (i.e. databas-es of patent information, classifica-tion tools, patent or trademarksearch tools, national laws, regula-tions and examination guidelines,training materials, etc.) The IPDLProgram is a critical component ofthe overall WIPONET effort.

During a two-day meeting onDecember 8-9 the AdvisoryCommittee on CopyrightManagement considered the roleWIPO could play in the manage-ment of copyright in global infor-mation networks. The Committeeacknowledged that there remainsmuch work to be done in establish-ing the legal and technical meansof protecting copyrighted workssuch as articles, music, film,images etc. when distributed viathe Internet.

At present, there is no globalforum that gathers together exper-tise in this area and simply keep-ing up with the pace of change inthe general field of e-commerce ischallenging. Information is pickedup and held in a piecemeal fashionand so it is hard to tell why partic-ular problems arise in the firstplace and whether they are beingaffected by market forces or differ-ent national policies. Furthermore,it is impossible to say what copy-right material is being traded overthe Internet and consequently whatthe rules of such trade are.

The Committee agreed that with-out an international forum to airand consider what is happening ona national and regional level noreal progress can be made on theprotection of copyright materialsold over the Internet. WIPO wasencouraged to use its expertizeand resources to do much of the

necessary groundwork to establishsuch a forum, and contributetowards establishing the legal andtechnical means for distributingcopyright material over theInternet

The Committee then went on toconsider how WIPO mightimprove access by creators andusers of copyright material inWIPO member States.

Whilst there are many individualinitiatives under way to createnational/regional copyright clear-ance centers to make artists’ work,previously only known and used intheir country of origin, availablevia the Internet, this is not world-wide and there is no singleInternet access point for such cen-ters, nor links between them all.Therefore it remains difficult for apotential user to track down arightsholder or copyright materialand thus while access to suchmaterial may have been improved,there is still much work to be doneto optimize and improve access tothis valuable creativity. TheCommittee considered that the pre-sent situation could be vastlyimproved by a global rights infor-mation and licensing network thatcould supply the technology andnetwork structure to allow accessto works from throughout theworld from any computer connect-ed to the Internet

CopyrightTackling the global management of information


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A panel of international expertsand participants gathered at WIPOheadquarters from December 9-10to discuss one of the most contro-versial issues to emerge fromcyberspace: in what circumstancesshould online service providers beliable for infringing material ontheir servers?

The workshop examined the cur-rent and future status of the issuearound the world. It consideredthree studies, specially commis-sioned by WIPO for this event:

– Online Service ProviderLiability for CopyrightInfringement, by Professor BerntHugenholtz and Mr. KamielKoelman, Institute for InformationLaw, University of Amsterdam

– A Look Back at the NoticeTakedown Provisions of the U.S.Digital Millennium Copyright ActOne Year after Enactment, by Mr.Batur Oktay, Adobe SystemsIncorporated, Seattle, Washingtonand Mr. Greg Wrenn, Yahoo! Inc.,Santa Clara, California

– Notice and Take-downAgreements in Practice inEurope–Views from the InternetService Provider andTelecommunications Industriesand the Recording Industry, by Dr.Nils Bortloff, Legal Advisor,International Federation of thePhonographic Industry (IFPI),London and Ms. Janet Henderson,Rights Strategy Manager, BTInternet and Multimedia Services,London

The first study, presented byProfessor Hugenholtz, provided adetailed and thoughtful compara-

tive analysis of different legalapproaches for dealing with theissue, focusing on the U.S. DigitalMillennium Copyright Act and theproposed European Directive onElectronic Commerce.

The two other studies providedextensive factual information, notpreviously gathered and presentedpublicly, as to how serviceproviders and copyright ownersare handling the preparation of andresponses to notifications ofinfringement on the Internet, andcompared the situation in a juris-diction with a legislative frame-work for such notices and take-downs (the United States) to thatin a jurisdiction where parties havebeen relegated to private agree-ments (the European Union).

The session concluded with a pan-el presentation on a range of opin-ions about the future of the issueon an international level—whetherinternational harmonization isadvisable, why or why not, and ifso, when, where and how it shouldproceed.

The workshop generated extensivediscussions, and while no recom-mendations or formal conclusionswere adopted, certain commonviews did emerge:

piracy on the Internet is a majorproblem and should be a matter ofhigh priority

workable solutions are neededthat allow all interests to do busi-ness efficiently online

certain acts by service providersshould not lead to liability formonetary damages in defined cir-cumstances

standardized procedures for

notice and takedown are usefulinternational compatibility isdesirable.

There were also areas of disagree-ment among participants including:

whether the liability issueshould be dealt with horizontal-ly or as an intellectual property-specific issuewhat should be the exact scopeof the acts covered by any limi-tation on liabilitywhether notice-takedown proce-dures should be established as amatter of law or through moreinformal mechanisms or privateagreementsthe advisability of workingtoward an international instrument


WIPO workshop tackles online serviceprovider liability for copyright infringement in cyberspace

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Focus on inventors fromdeveloping countriesSri Lankan inventor develops Coirpack to meet developed countries' demand for environmentally friendly packaging material

It was generally felt, however, thatthe workshop represented anexcellent starting point for furtheranalysis and consideration. Anumber of possibilities were men-tioned for future work by WIPO,most notably on the developmentof procedures or standards thatcould be used under varying legalframeworks.

Seeing the effective protection afibrous husk offered the brittleshell of a coconut sent Mr.Nandadasa Narayana, a Sri Lankanautomotive engineer, manufacturerand inventor off researching anddeveloping a biodegradable, versa-tile, packaging system. Much ofhis work testing biodegradableproducts to use in this process wascarried out in Mr. Nandadasa'sown laboratory that he set up in atin shed. Eight years and manytrials later, he patented the processof transforming this waste productof the coconut processing industryinto a useful packaging materialand environmentally friendly sub-stitute for expanded polystyrene.

RecognitionSuch innovative work attracted theattention of industry and theinventing community and Mr.Nandadasa received a host ofnational and international awardsfor this invention including:

Selected for Expo 2000 from 6000entries as one of the "World GreenProjects" International Federation ofInventors Association, President’sGold Cup, 1996Winner of two World Stars from theWorld Packaging Organization, 1991

An uphill struggleThe Coirpack process has alreadyreceived numerous requests forfranchises and production licensesin some 35 countries. To date, theprocess has been patented in 30countries. In order to set up thefirst plant to produce Coirpack,Mr. Nandadasa had to overcomesignificant financial difficulties.The Sri Lankan banking systemwas reluctant to invest in the enter-prise despite recognition of theimportance of the invention by theGovernment. Mr. Nandadasafound himself in a frustrating situ-


Coirpack - green packagingUnlike many packaging materials such as bubble wrap, molded plastic,and expanded polystyrene, Coirpack uses an agricultural waste product,cocodust, found in many tropical countries, as its principal component.As with other forms of packaging this can then be molded into variousforms or used as padding. In addition, Coirpack absorbs up to eighttimes its own weight, making it versatile for transporting liquids. Onceits role as a packaging material is over it is fully biodegradable and canbe readily composted to enrich the soil.

Mr. Nandadasa Narayana and his 1996Gold Cup Award from the InternationalFederation of Inventors Association,one of the many awards he has won forhis process for making Coirpack, a recy-clable packaging material.

Director General appoints Mr. Nicolas G. Hayek to IAC

ation. Potentially his product hada large market in the United Statesand Europe, where there is greatdemand for economical, recy-clable packaging materials, but hehad an uphill struggle to findfinancial backing to open a plantin a third world country with noinnovation support.

Indeed, it was only with a grantfrom the Sri Lankan Governmentthat the research and developmentnecessary for demonstrating themanufacturing technique in theUnited States was completed in1998. An ultra-modern factorybuilding has been leased in theSeethawaka Industrial Park, set upwith funding from the Ministry ofIndustrial Development of SriLanka with the assistance of theGovernment of Japan through theOverseas Economic CooperationFund (OECF). This industrialpark was developed to cater forenvironmentally sustainableindustries in particular.

WIPO Director General Dr. KamilIdris, appointed Mr. Nicolas G.Hayek, Chairman and ChiefExecutive Officer of the SwatchGroup Ltd, to the WIPO IndustryAdvisory Commission (IAC) onFebruary 10. Mr. Hayek, a nationalof Switzerland, joins an interna-tional group of business leaders onthe IAC, which advises theDirector General on intellectualproperty questions of specificinterest to industry.

Dr. Idris said Mr. Hayek’s exten-sive experience in innovation andsetting trends would be an asset tothe work of the IAC. "The successof Swatch demonstrates the powerof innovation and originality, twoof the driving forces the intellectu-al property field," Dr. Idris said."Mr. Hayek’s wealth of experiencein business and his appreciation ofthe social, cultural and economicvalue of intellectual propertyassets will be an asset to the workof the Industry AdvisoryCommission," Dr. Idris said.

Mr. Hayek’s pioneering role in themodern watch industry and his

astute sense of business and con-sumer markets will add to thestrength of the IAC. The SwatchGroup is one of the world’s largestwatch manufacturers, having pro-duced over 100 million watches in1999. The company owns severalleading brands, including Blancpain,Breguet, Omega, Longines, Tissot,Rado, and Flik Flak.


The Industry Advisory Commission

The establishment of the IAC in 1998 marked the beginning of a new part-nership between WIPO and the private sector. The Commission, whichbrings together in bi-annual meetings some 20 high-level representatives ofindustry, is of crucial importance to WIPO in view of the fact that industrybenefits most directly from intellectual property protection. In addition, thechallenges that industry faces due to globalization and rapid developments intechnology directly affect and are affected by intellectual property. The IAC,a purely advisory body to the Director General, provides a forum for indus-try leaders to exchange views with WIPO.

In appointing members to the IAC, Dr. Idris has sought to ensure a bal-ance in geographical distribution, as well as diversity in professional andacademic backgrounds.

Presenting Mr. Nicolas Hayek, SwatchChairman and Chief Executive Officer(right) with a medal to mark the depositby his company of the 50,000th industri-al design under the Hague system, Dr.Kamil Idris praised Swatch’s success indemonstrating the power of innovationand originality, two of the driving forcesin the intellectual property field.

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The diversity of visual creationsranging from religious icons tomultimedia shows on the Internetcoupled with the rapid expansionof the means of disseminating suchworks pose numerous challengesfor the collective management ofcopyright.

A WIPO regional seminar toexchange ideas on how to dealwith these problems was organizedfrom January 26-28, 2000 inMexico City for some fifty partici-pants including heads of ministriesof culture, copyright offices andother government agencies in theregion. The National Institute ofCopyright, Mexico and theFoundation for Art and Law, Spainworked closely with WIPO in theorganization of the seminar. Thiswas the first ever WIPO seminar toconsider this subject and partici-pants received a host of well-informed, up-to-date presentationsfrom international experts from theregion, the United States, Franceand Spain. The discussions duringthe seminar included:

the international marketabilityof visual creations that includeitems of national culturethe role of IP in the commer-cialization of visual creationsthe management of IPRs initems of national culturethe effect that these issues haveon a country’s economic, social,and cultural development.

To further a full discussion of thesituation in the region, participantspresented their own countries’approach to dealing with theseissues. This was followed byfocused presentations on theregion that compared nationalapproaches to:

the legal definition of a “visualcreation”legislation addressing IPRs insuch visual creationseconomic return from goodsand services linked with/con-taining visual creations

The issues covered in the ensuingdiscussions were frequently com-plex and brought together IP law,cultural heritage, art, and econom-ic considerations. The seminarconcluded that a significantamount of work needs to be doneto establish a legislative frame-work that clearly addresses copy-right in visual creations. In addi-tion, participants suggested that:

this coordinated effort initiatedat the seminar involving region-al and international organiza-tions ensured a good communi-cation of ideas and should becontinued

artists in individual countries ofLatin America should be madeaware of their IP rights efforts to create artists associa-tions should be supportedcollecting societies in individualcountries should be supportedimportance should be given tostaff training in keeping up-to-date with IP protectionstudies on the economic returnsof visual creations should becarried out.

Cooperation for developmentNew issues in the collective management of copyright in visual creations considered in Mexico


Participants came fromArgentina, Bolivia, Brazil,Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba,Dominican Republic, Ecuador,Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua,Panama, Paraguay, Peru,Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Mr. Alfonso De María y Campos, Director General of Publications, National Council ofCulture and the Arts, Mexico together with co-organizers, Mr. Crisóforo Peralta Cásares,Director General of the National Institute of Copyright, Mexico, Mr. Ernesto Rubio,Director, Bureau for Latin American and the Caribbean, WIPO, Mr. Javier Gutiérrez Vicén,Director, Foundation for Art and Law, Spain and Mrs. Rosina Piñeyro, Program Officer,Bureau for Latin American and the Caribbean.

The number of practical difficultiesthat must be overcome to effectivelyprotect performers’ rights was thefocus of a WIPO workshop forEnglish-speaking African countriesthat took place from January 12-14in Accra, Ghana.

The workshop was organized incooperation with the Associationof European Performers’Organizations (AEPO) and theGovernment of Ghana.

The workshop opened with a dis-cussion of where the individualperformer may exercise some con-trol over his intellectual propertyrights in any production. Theseincluded issues of labor law, indi-vidual contract negotiation andcollective agreements.Consideration then moved to inter-national protection and the provi-sions in the:

Rome Convention for theProtection of Performers,Producers of Phonograms andBroadcasting Organizations(1961)Trade Related Aspects ofIntellectual Property Rights(TRIPS Agreement) (1994)WIPO Performances andPhonograms Treaty (WPPT)(1996)

During the debate that followed,participants emphasized theirneeds for an adequate infrastruc-ture to be set up now to help per-formers keep pace with the digitalage. They recommended that tospeed up the process of creating agood network to cover all Africanperformers, support should be pro-vided to extend the role of theestablished authors' collectingsocieties. In this way, experiencealready gathered by collecting

societies in the region would bereinforced leaving availableresources to be used for the estab-lishment of new collective man-agement organizations whereneeded.

Invited experts from performingorganizations, the InternationalFederation of Musicians (FIM),the Dutch performers’ rights orga-nization (SENA), and notably co-organizer AEPO were most helpfulboth with advice on how to rein-force the available infrastructureand with practical guidelines onmonitoring performers’ rights.

Participants also highlighted thespecial needs of performers inAfrican developing countrieswhere authors and composers ofmusical works are frequently alsoperformers.


Workshop tackles performers’rights in Africa

Opening the workshop, H.E. Mr. John Mahama, Minister of Communications, Ghana, (speaking) together with (from the left) Mr. BernardBosumprah, Acting Copyright Administrator, Copyright Office, Ghana, Mr. Hans Lindström, President, AEPO, Mr. Ebo Hawkson, Vice-Chairman, Commission on Culture, Ghana (and from the right) Mr. Alhaji Sidiku B'Malik, President, Music Association of Ghana (MUSIGA),Ghana, and Mr. Patrick Masouyé, Senior Counsellor, Copyright Collective Management Division, WIPO.

customs officials. A full programhad been prepared for the partici-pants and commenced with anoverview of customs procedures inTunisia and the role of theNational Institute forStandardization and IndustrialProperty (INORPI) in the fightagainst counterfeit goods.

The workshop then moved on toconsider the problem of counter-feit goods from a more interna-tional perspective with presenta-tions from experts from France on:

the role of customs in prevent-ing the transit of counterfeitgoodsFrench legislation aimed atcombating counterfeitingthe power of seizure at customsposts and the need for coopera-tion between rightsholders andcustoms officialsthe French National CommitteeAgainst Counterfeiting and its

The role of geographical indica-tions as a means of distinguishingauthentic products from imitationswas one of the issues consideredduring a four-day subregional sem-inar for French-speaking Africancountries. The seminar took placefrom January 25 to 28 in Conakry,Guinea and was organized byWIPO with the cooperation of theGovernment of Guinea.

A geographical indication is aneffective marketing tool in that ithelps to preserve the authenticcharacter of goods. It also helpsprevent copying by those who findit more convenient to trade on thereputation of others rather than

build up their own. Countrieswhich have set up protection sys-tems for geographical indicationshave come to realize the addedvalue a geographical name gives toa prestigious product, for example,Cuban cigars, French wine andSwiss watches, and that a specificsystem of protection can effective-ly stop others exploiting the good-will that such names have built up.The system of protected appella-tions of origin and geographicalindications has become a valuableindicator of the quality and reputa-tion of a country's producers and asign of excellence, which can bepromoted.

Exploring the market value of geographical indications in Africa

WIPO workshops in Tunisiafocus on enforcement


Participants attending the semi-nar came from Benin, BurkinaFaso, Burundi, Cameroon,Central African Republic, Chad,Congo (Brazzaville), Côted’Ivoire, Democratic Republicof the Congo, Gabon, GuineaBissau, Madagascar, Mali,Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda,Senegal and Togo.

From 7-11 February WIPO in cooperation with the Government of Tunisia held four work-shops on the enforcement of intellectual property rights for customs officials in Tunisia.

ment of intellectual property rightsin accordance with the TRIPSAgreement (Trade-Related Aspectsof Intellectual Property Rights) for

From February 7-11, WIPO, incooperation with the Governmentof Tunisia, organized a series ofone-day workshops on the enforce-

A group of parliamentarians fromtwo of the Maghreb countries vis-ited WIPO headquarters from 1-4February for a series of in-depthbriefings on the work of theOrganization in promoting the pro-tection of intellectual property.The Moroccan delegation was ledby Mr. Ahmed El Alami, Presidentof the Education and Cultural andSocial Affairs Commission and theTunisian delegation by Mr. TizaniHaddad President of theCommission for Education,Culture, Information and Youth.During their visit they explored thetraditional areas of WIPO activi-ties including:

Norm-setting activities in theprogressive development ofintellectual property lawWIPO’s Cooperation forDevelopment Program

WIPO’s growing internationalregistration systems, the PatentCooperation Treaty, the MadridSystem and the Hague.

They also received a thoroughbriefing on WIPO’s new areas ofwork including:

WIPONET the computer net-work that will link IP offices ofWIPO member States aroundthe worldWIPO Academy and theincreased learning opportunities

offered via the Internet and thesystem of supported distancelearningElectronic commerce andWIPO’s efforts to create aninternational forum to addressand swiftly resolve IP issuesrelated to this fast growing area.

The parliamentarians also met withWIPO Director General Dr. KamilIdris who highlighted the need forcountries like Tunisia andMorocco to invest in their intellec-tual property systems.


Maghreb representatives visit WIPO for an insight into the Organization’s work

Tunis, February 7, 2000Bizerte, February 8, 2000Sousse, February 10, 2000Sfax, February 11, 2000

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Photo: Mercedes Martínez Dozal

The parliamentarians also met with WIPO Director General Dr. Kamil Idris who high-lighted the need for countries like Tunisia and Morocco to invest in their intellectualproperty systems.

role in improving cooperationbetween the public and privatesectors in the fight against piracy.

The workshops concluded with aroundtable on the present legisla-

tion in Tunisia and the measuresavailable to detect and seize coun-terfeit goods.

The growing importance of intel-lectual property today is witnessedin the increased number of adher-ence by countries to internationalintellectual property treaties. In1999, 68 instruments of accessionto or ratification of treaties admin-istered by WIPO were depositedwith Dr. Kamil Idris, DirectorGeneral of WIPO. WIPO adminis-ters 21 treaties in the field of intel-lectual property, out of which 15are in the field of industrial prop-erty and 6 are in the field of copy-right.

“The growing number of Statesthat are joining internationaltreaties in the area of intellectualproperty reflects the increasedrecognition of the importance ofintellectual property rights in anera of rapid globalization and digi-

talization,” said Dr. Kamil Idris.“We live in a time where thewealth of nations is increasinglydefined by their access to and useof knowledge and intellectualproperty protection is crucial inthis process,” he added.

Dr. Idris welcomed the greaternumber of developing countries

that are joining international intel-lectual property treaties. In 1999,59 percent of the accessions or rat-ifications came from developingcountries. Countries in transitionto a market economy accountedfor 23 percent, and 18 percentcame from developed countries.

Surge in treaty adherenceshows growing importance of intellectual property


Accessions to WIPO-administered treaties in 1999

''Internet treaties'' The WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT), known as theWIPO ''Internet Treaties,'' contain a general update of the legal principles underpinning international protection ofcopyright and the rights of performers and phonogram producers in the digital age. In addition, they clarify thatnational law must prevent unauthorized access to and use of creative works which, given the global reach of theInternet, can often be downloaded anywhere in the world at the push of a button. The WIPO ''Internet Treaties''were adopted in December 1996.

These treaties will come into force after instruments of ratification or accession by 30 States have been depositedwith the Director General of WIPO.

WCTIn 1999, six countries (Argentina, Burkina Faso, Panama, Saint Lucia, Slovenia and the United States of America)adhered to the WCT, bringing the total number of contracting parties on December 31, 1999, to 12.

WPPTIn 1999, seven countries (Argentina, Burkina Faso, Mexico, Panama, Saint Lucia, Slovenia and the United Statesof America) adhered to the WPPT, bringing the total number of contracting parties on December 31, 1999, to 11.

developing countries

countries in transition

developed countries

Paris Convention

In 1999, six countries (Antigua andBarbuda, Dominica, Ecuador,Jamaica, Oman and Papua NewGuinea) adhered to the ParisConvention for the Protection ofIndustrial Property concluded in1883. The Paris Convention is oneof the pillars of the internationalintellectual property system as weknow it today. It applies to industri-al property in the widest sense,including inventions, marks, indus-trial designs, utility models, tradenames, geographical indications andthe repression of unfair competition.

The total number of contractingparties on December 31, 1999, was157, compared to 78 in 1970 and100 in 1990.

Patent Cooperation Treaty

(PCT)

An additional six countries(Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda,Costa Rica, Dominica, Moroccoand the United Republic ofTanzania) adhered to the PatentCooperation Treaty in 1999. ThePCT, which was concluded in1970, makes it possible to seekpatent protection for an inventionsimultaneously in each of a largenumber of countries by filing an“international” patent application.Such an application may be filedby anyone who is a national or res-ident of a contracting State. ThePCT regulates the formal require-ments with which any internationalapplication must comply. Since itsconclusion, the PCT has enjoyedremarkable expansion.

The total number of contractingparties on December 31, 1999, was106, compared to 15 in 1978 and43 in 1990.

Madrid Agreement and

Protocol

The Madrid system for the inter-national registration of marks (theMadrid system) is governed bytwo treaties: the MadridAgreement Concerning theInternational Registration ofMarks and the Protocol Relatingto the Madrid AgreementConcerning the InternationalRegistration of Marks.

The Madrid Agreement, conclud-ed in 1891, makes it possible toprotect a mark in a large numberof countries by providing oneinternational registration whichhas effect in each of the contract-ing parties that have been desig-nated in the international applica-tion. The total number ofcontracting parties to the MadridAgreement on December 31,1999, was 51, compared to 21 in1970 and 29 in 1990.

In 1999, seven countries (Antiguaand Barbuda, Austria, Japan,Latvia, Morocco, Sierra Leoneand Turkmenistan) adhered to theMadrid Protocol, bringing thetotal number of contracting par-ties on December 31, 1999, to 43,compared to nine in 1996 and 34in 1998.

The Madrid Protocol was con-cluded in 1989 in order to intro-duce certain new features into theMadrid system. These featuresaddress the difficulties that pre-vent certain countries from adher-ing to the Madrid Agreement byrendering the system more flexi-ble and more compatible with thedomestic legislation of contract-ing parties.

The total number of contractingparties to the Madrid Agreementand/or the Madrid Protocol onDecember 31, 1999, was 64.

Trademark Law Treaty (TLT)

In 1999, three countries (Egypt,Ireland and Latvia) adhered to theTrademark Law Treaty. The TLT,concluded in 1994, aims to makenational and regional trademarkregistration systems more user-friendly through the simplificationand harmonization of procedures.

The total number of contractingparties on December 31, 1999, was25, compared to 7 in 1997 and 21in 1998.

Nice Agreement

In 1999, two countries (the UnitedRepublic of Tanzania andUruguay) adhered to the NiceAgreement Concerning theInternational Classification ofGoods and Services for thePurposes of the Registration ofMarks. The Agreement, concludedin 1957, establishes a classificationof goods and services for the pur-poses of registering trademarksand service marks. TheClassification consists of a list ofclasses (based on types of productsand services), of which there are34 for goods and 8 for services,and an alphabetical list of thegoods and services.



New members of WIPO-administered treaties in the field of industrial property

Locarno Agreement

In 1999, two countries (Greece andUruguay) adhered to the LocarnoAgreement Establishing anInternational Classification forIndustrial Designs. TheAgreement, concluded in 1968,establishes a classification forindustrial designs which consists of32 classes and 223 subclasses basedon different types of products. Italso comprises an alphabetical listof goods with an indication of theclasses and subclasses into whichthese goods fall. The list containssome 6,320 indications of differentkinds of goods.


Strasbourg Agreement (IPC)

In 1999, two countries (Croatiaand Uruguay) adhered to theStrasbourg Agreement Concerningthe International PatentClassification, concluded in 1971.The Strasbourg Agreement estab-lishes the International PatentClassification (IPC), which dividestechnology into 8 sections withapproximately 67,000 subdivi-sions. Each of these subdivisionshas a symbol which is allotted bythe national or regional industrialproperty office that publishes thepatent document.


Vienna Agreement

In 1999, two countries (Austria andUruguay) adhered to the ViennaAgreement Establishing anInternational Classification of theFigurative Elements of Marks. ThisAgreement, concluded in 1973,establishes a classification systemfor marks which consist of or con-tain figurative elements. The classi-fication comprises 29 categories,144 divisions and some 1,600 sec-tions in which the figurative ele-ments of marks are classified.

The total number of contractingparties on December 31, 1999, was15, compared to 5 in 1986 and in 1990.

Budapest Treaty

In 1999, two countries (Irelandand Romania) adhered to theBudapest Treaty on theInternational Recognition of theDeposit of Microorganisms for thePurposes of Patent Procedure. Themain feature of the BudapestTreaty, concluded in 1977, is that acontracting State which allows orrequires the deposit of microorgan-isms for the purposes of patentprocedure must recognize, for suchpurposes, the deposit of a microor-ganism with any “internationaldepositary authority,” irrespectiveof whether such authority is on oroutside the territory of the saidState. This eliminates the need todeposit in each country in whichprotection is sought.


Hague Agreement

In 1999, Morocco adhered to theHague Act (1960) and theStockholm (Complementary) Act(1967) of the Hague Agreementconcerning the InternationalDeposit of Industrial Designs.This Agreement, concluded in1925, offers the possibility ofobtaining protection for industrialdesigns in a number of States bymeans of a single deposit madewith WIPO.


Lisbon Agreement

In 1999, Yugoslavia adhered to theLisbon Agreement for theProtection of Appellations ofOrigin and their InternationalRegistration, concluded in 1958.The Agreement protects the ''geo-graphical name of a country,region, or locality, which serves todesignate a product originatingtherein, the quality and character-istics of which are due exclusivelyor essentially to the geographicenvironment, including natural andhuman factors.''



Berne Convention

In 1999, 11 countries (Antiguaand Barbuda, Azerbaijan,Bangladesh, Belgium (Paris Act),Dominica, Jordan, Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein (ParisAct), Oman and Tajikistan)adhered to the Berne Conventionfor the Protection of Literary andArtistic Works, a main pillar ofthe international copyright protec-tion system. Dating back to 1886,the Convention sets out anddefines minimum standards ofprotection of the economic andmoral rights of authors of literaryand artistic works.

The number of contracting partiesto the Berne Convention wentfrom 59 in 1970 to 84 in 1990 andto 142 on December 31, 1999.

Rome Convention

In 1999, three countries (Latvia,Liechtenstein and Lithuania)adhered to the InternationalConvention for the Protection ofPerformers, Producers of

Phonograms and BroadcastingOrganisations. WIPO is responsi-ble, jointly with the InternationalLabor Organization (ILO) and theUnited Nations Educational,Scientific and CulturalOrganization (UNESCO), for theadministration of the RomeConvention, which was concludedin 1961.


Geneva Convention

(Phonograms)

In 1999, three countries(Liechtenstein, Lithuania andUkraine) adhered to theConvention for the Protection ofProducers of Phonograms AgainstUnauthorized Duplication of TheirPhonograms concluded in 1971.The Geneva Convention obligeseach Contracting State to protect aproducer of phonograms who is anational of another contractingState against the making of dupli-

cates without the consent of theproducer, against the importationof such duplicates, where the mak-ing or importation is for the pur-poses of distribution to the public,and against the distribution of suchduplicates to the public.


Brussels Convention

In 1999, two countries (Costa Ricaand Jamaica) adhered to theConvention Relating to theDistribution of Programme-Carrying Signals Transmitted bySatellite signed in 1974. TheConvention provides for the pre-vention of unauthorized distribu-tion on or from the territory of acontracting State of any pro-gramme-carrying signal transmit-ted by satellite.

The total number of contractingparties on December 31, 1999, was24, compared to 5 in 1980.


New members of WIPO-administered treaties in the field of copyright

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40

60

80

100

120

140

160

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WIPO Convention

In 1999, two countries (Antigua and Barbudaand Seychelles) adhered to the ConventionEstablishing the World Intellectual PropertyOrganization which was signed at Stockholm on July 14, 1967, and entered into force in 1970.

The total number of member States of WIPO on December 31, 1999, was 173, compared to 13 in 1970 and 126 in 1990.

Calendar of meetings


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March 13 to 17 (Geneva)PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) Union Assembly

(Twenty-eighth session)

The Assembly is expected to adopt amendments to the PCTRegulations relating to the draft Patent Law Treaty and todiscuss implementation of electronic filing and processingof international applications.Invitations: As members, the PCT Contracting States; asobservers, the States party to the Paris Convention for theProtection of Industrial Property but not to the PCT, as wellas certain intergovernmental and non-governmental organi-zations.

March 13 to 17 (Geneva)Committee of Experts of the IPC Union (Twenty-ninth

Session)

The Committee will discuss, among other issues, activitieswith respect to the ongoing reform of the InternationalPatent Classifications.Invitations: As members, the States members of theStrasbourg Union; as observers, other States and certainorganizations.

March 22 to 24 (Geneva)Working Group on Constitutional Reform (First ses-

sion)

The Working Group will consider and study proposals con-cerning constitutional reform and will report on its progressto the Assemblies of Member States.Invitations: States members of WIPO and of the Paris andBerne Unions.

March 27 to 31 (Geneva)Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks,

Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications

(Fourth session)

The Committee will continue its work, based on the resultsof its third session (November 8 to 12, 1999).

Invitations: As members, the States members of WIPO andother delegations that the Committee has admitted as mem-bers; as observers, other States and certain organizations.

April 11, 12 & 14 (Geneva)Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights

(Fourth session)

The Committee will continue its work based on the resultsof its third session (November 16 to 20, 1999).Invitations: As members, the States members of WIPOand/or of the Berne Union, and the European Community;as observers, other States and certain organizations.

April 12 and 14 (Geneva)Preparatory Committee for the WIPO Diplomatic

Conference on Audiovisual Performances

The preparatory Committee will prepare recommendationsto the WIPO General Assembly concerning the conveningof a Diplomatic Conference on Audiovisual Performances,including dates, venue, invitations and rules of procedure.Invitations: As members, the States members of WIPO, asobservers, other States.

April 13 and 14 (Geneva)WIPO General Assembly (Eleventh Extraordinary ses-

sion)

The General Assembly will review the recommendations ofthe Preparatory Committee for the WIPO DiplomaticConference on Audiovisual Performances and decide onthe convening of a Diplomatic Conference.Invitations: As members, the States members of WIPO, asobservers, other States and certain organizations.

May 11 to June 2 (CICG, Geneva)Diplomatic Conference on Proposed Patent Law

Treaty

The Diplomatic Conference will consider the adoption ofthe Patent Law Treaty as well as Regulations thereunder.


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Invitations: As ordinary members, the States members ofWIPO and the States party to the Paris Convention for theProtection of Industrial Property; as special members, theAfrican Intellectual Property Organization, the AfricanRegional Industrial Property Organization, the EurasianPatent Organization and the European Patent Organisation;as observers, the States members of the United Nations butnot of WIPO or the Paris Union, as well as certain inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations.

July 3 to 6 (Geneva)Working Group on Constitutional Reform (Second

session)

The Working Group will continue its work based on theresults of its first session (March 22 to 24, 2000). Invitations: States members of WIPO and of the Paris andBerne Unions.

July 10 to 14 (Geneva)Standing Committee on Information Technologies

(SCIT) (Fifth Plenary session)

The Committee will discuss, among other issues, projectmanagement methodologies to be implemented by WIPOand planning mechanisms relating to the InformationTechnology Strategic Implementation Plan.Invitations: As members, the States members of WIPO andcertain organizations; as observers, other States and certainorganizations.

September 25 to October 3 (Geneva)Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO (Thirty-

fifth series of meetings)

Some of the assemblies will meet in extraordinary session,other bodies concerned in ordinary session.Invitations: As members or observers (depending on theassembly), the States members of WIPO; as observers,

other States and certain organizations.

October 2 to 13 (Geneva)Committee of Experts of the Nice Union (Special

Union for the International Classification of Goods

and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of

Marks (Eighteenth session)

The Committee of Experts will consider proposals foramendments and other changes to the seventh edition of theInternational Classification of Goods and Services (NiceClassification) in view of the entry into force of the Eighthedition on January 1, 2002.Invitations: The States members of the Nice Union and, asobservers, the States members of the Paris Union but notmembers of the Nice Union, the African IntellectualProperty Organization, the Benelux Trademark Office andthe Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (TradeMarks and Designs).

The following new products

were issued by WIPO:

The Geneva Act (1999) of the HagueAgreement concerning the InternationalRegistration of Industrial Designs:Principal innovations. No. 453(S)

Products


WIPO publications may be obtained from the Marketing and Distribution Section:

WIPO

34, chemin des ColombettesP.O. Box 18 phone: 41 22 338 91 11CH-1211 Geneva 20 fax: 41 22 740 18 12Switzerland e-mail:[email protected]

Orders should indicate: (a) the number or letter code of thepublication desired, the language (E for English, F for Frenchetc.), the number of copies; (b) the full address for mailing:(c) the mail mode (surface or air). Prices cover surface mail.Bank transfers should be made to WIPO account No. 487080-81, at the Swiss Credit Bank, 1211 Geneva 70, Switzerland.

wipo magazine, issue no. 2, 2000...the swatch group ltd, one of the world’s leading watchmakers,...

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