A/51/20
page 127
Ea/51/20
ORIGINAL: English
DATE: OCTOBER 2, 2013
Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO
Fifty-first Series of Meetings
Geneva, September 23 to October 2, 2013
general report
adopted by the Assemblies
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Paragraphs
INTRODUCTION 1 to 6
ITEMS OF THE CONSOLIDATED AGENDA
Item 1: OPENING OF THE SESSIONS 7 to 8
Item 2: ELECTION OF THE OFFICERS 9 to 13
Item 3: ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA 14 to 15
Item 4: DIRECTOR GENERAL’S REPORT 16
Item 5: GENERAL STATEMENTS 17 to 148
GOVERNING BODIES AND INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES
Item 6: ADMISSION OF OBSERVERS 149 to 164
Item 7: APPROVAL OF AGREEMENTS 165
Item 8: APPOINTMENT OF THE DIRECTOR GENERAL IN 2014 166 to 172
Item 9: COMPOSITION OF THE WIPO COORDINATION COMMITTEE;
ELECTION OF THE MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES
OF THE PARIS AND BERNE UNIONS AND DESIGNATION
OF THE AD HOC MEMBERS OF THE WIPO COORDINATION
COMMITTEE 173 to 174
Item 10: COMPOSITION OF THE PROGRAM AND BUDGET COMMITTEE 175
PROGRAM PERFORMANCE AND FINANCIAL REVIEW
Item 11: PROGRAM PERFORMANCE REPORT 176 to 182
Item 12: FINANCIAL REVIEW 183 to 192
Item 13: REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COST EFFICIENCY
MEASURES 193 to 197
PLANNING AND BUDGETING
Item 14: PROPOSED PROGRAM AND BUDGET FOR THE
2014/15 BIENNIUM 198 to 225
Item 15: CAPITAL MASTER PLAN 226 to 230
Item 16: BUDGETARY PROCESS APPLIED TO PROJECTS PROPOSED
BY THE COMMITTEE ON DEVELOPMENT AND INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY (CDIP) FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
DEVELOPMENT AGENDA RECOMMENDATIONS 231 to 235
Item 17: FINANCING OF LONG-TERM EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
AT WIPO 236 to 238
Item 18: PROPOSED DEFINITION OF “DEVELOPMENT EXPENDITURE”
IN THE CONTEXT OF PROGRAM AND BUDGET 239
PROGRESS REPORTS ON MAJOR PROJECTS AND ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS
Item 19: PROGRESS REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A
COMPREHENSIVE INTEGRATED ENTERPRISE RESOURCE
PLANNING (ERP) SYSTEM 240 to 244
Item 20: PROGRESS REPORT ON THE NEW CONFERENCE HALL
PROJECT AND NEW CONSTRUCTION PROJECT 245 to 249
Item 21: PROGRESS REPORT ON THE PROJECT TO UPGRADE
THE SAFETY AND SECURITY STANDARDS FOR THE
EXISTING WIPO BUILDINGS 250 to 253
Item 22: PROGRESS REPORT ON THE INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) CAPITAL
INVESTMENT PROJECT 254 to 257
Item 23: PROGRESS REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
WIPO LANGUAGE POLICY 258 to 265
Item 24: FINAL REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
WIPO STRATEGIC REALIGNMENT PROGRAM (SRP) 266
AUDIT AND OVERSIGHT
Item 25: REPORT BY THE WIPO INDEPENDENT ADVISORY
OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE (IAOC) 267
Item 26: REPORT OF THE SELECTION PANEL FOR THE
APPOINTMENT OF THE NEW MEMBERS OF THE WIPO
INDEPENDENT ADVISORY OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE (IOAC) 268
Item 27: SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR OF
THE INTERNAL AUDIT AND OVERSIGHT DIVISION 269
Item 28: REPORT BY THE EXTERNAL AUDITOR 270
Item 29: REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE JOINT
INSPECTION UNIT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE
REVIEW OF WIPO LEGISLATIVE BODIES 271
Item 30: GOVERNANCE AT WIPO 272
WIPO COMMITTEES AND INTERNATIONAL NORMATIVE FRAMEWORK
Item 31: REPORT ON THE OUTCOME OF THE MARRAKESH DIPLOMATIC
CONFERENCE TO CONCLUDE A TREATY TO FACILITATE
ACCESS TO PUBLISHED WORKS BY VISUALLY IMPAIRED
PERSONS AND PERSONS WITH PRINT DISABILITIES 273
Item 32: REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON DEVELOPMENT AND
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (CDIP) AND REVIEW OF THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT AGENDA
RECOMMENDATIONS 274
Item 33: CONSIDERATION OF THE CONVENING OF A
DIPLOMATIC CONFERENCE FOR THE ADOPTION OF A
DESIGN LAW TREATY 275
Item 34: MATTERS RELATING TO THE STANDING COMMITTEE
ON COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS (SCCR) 276
Item 35: MATTERS CONCERNING THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL
COMMITTEE ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND
GENETIC RESOURCES, TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE
AND FOLKLORE (IGC) 277
Item 36: REPORTS ON OTHER WIPO COMMITTEES 278
GLOBAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SYSTEMS
Item 37: PCT SYSTEM 279
Item 38: MADRID SYSTEM 280
Item 39: HAGUE SYSTEM 281
Item 40: LISBON SYSTEM 282
Item 41: WIPO ARBITRATION AND MEDIATION CENTER,
INCLUDING DOMAIN NAMES 283
OTHER ASSEMBLIES AND TREATIES
Item 42: COOPERATION UNDER THE AGREED STATEMENTS BY
THE DIPLOMATIC CONFERENCE REGARDING THE
PATENT LAW TREATY (PLT) 284
Item 43: PATENT LAW TREATY (PLT) ASSEMBLY 285
Item 44: SINGAPORE TREATY (STLT) ASSEMBLY 286
STAFF MATTERS
Item 45: ANNUAL REPORT ON HUMAN RESOURCES 287
Item 46: REVISION OF THE STAFF REGULATIONS AND RULES 288
CLOSING OF THE SESSIONS
Item 47: ADOPTION OF THE GENERAL REPORT AND OF THE
INDIVIDUAL REPORTS OF EACH GOVERNING BODY 289
Item 48: CLOSING OF THE SESSIONS 290 to 322
INTRODUCTION
This General Report records the deliberations and decisions of the following20Assemblies and other bodies of the Member States of WIPO:
(1) WIPO General Assembly, forty-third (21st ordinary) session
(2) WIPO Conference, thirty-third (21st ordinary) session
(3) WIPO Coordination Committee, sixty-seventh (44th ordinary) session
(4) Paris Union Assembly, forty-sixth (21st ordinary) session
(5) Paris Union Executive Committee, fifty-second (49th ordinary) session
(6) Berne Union Assembly, fortieth (21st ordinary) session
(7) Berne Union Executive Committee, fifty-eighth (44th ordinary) session
(8) Madrid Union Assembly, forty-sixth (20th ordinary) session
(9) Hague Union Assembly, thirty-second (19th ordinary) session
(10) Nice Union Assembly, thirty-second (21st ordinary) session
(11) Lisbon Union Assembly, twenty-ninth (20th ordinary) session
(12) Locarno Union Assembly, thirty-second (20th ordinary) session
(13) IPC [International Patent Classification] Union Assembly, thirty-third (19thordinary)session
(14) PCT [Patent Cooperation Treaty] Union Assembly, forty-fourth (19thordinary)session
(15) Budapest Union Assembly, twenty-ninth (17th ordinary) session
(16) Vienna Union Assembly, twenty-fifth (17th ordinary) session
(17) WCT [WIPO Copyright Treaty] Assembly, twelfth (6th ordinary) session
(18) WPPT [WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty] Assembly, twelfth(6thordinary) session
(19) PLT [Patent Law Treaty] Assembly, eleventh (5th ordinary) session
(20) Singapore Treaty [Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks] Assembly, fifth(3rdordinary) session
meeting in Geneva from September 23 to October 2, 2013, where the deliberations took place, and decisions were made in joint meetings of two or more of the said Assemblies and other bodies convened (hereinafter referred to as “the joint meeting(s)” and “the Assemblies of the Member States,” respectively).
In addition to this General Report, separate Reports have been drawn up on the sessions of the General Assembly (WO/GA/43/22), WIPO Conference (WO/CF/33/1), WIPO Coordination Committee (WO/CC/67/4), Paris Union Assembly (P/A/46/1), Paris Union Executive Committee (P/EC/52/1), Berne Union Assembly (B/A/40/1), Berne Union Executive Committee (B/EC/58/1), Madrid Union Assembly (MM/A/46/3), Hague Union Assembly (H/A/32/3), Nice Union Assembly(N/A/32/1), Lisbon Union Assembly (LI/A/29/2), Locarno Union Assembly(LO/A/32/1), IPC Union Assembly (IPC/A/33/1), PCT Union Assembly(PCT/A/44/5), Budapest Union Assembly (BP/A/29/1), Vienna Union Assembly (VA/A/25/1), WIPO Copyright Treaty Assembly (WCT/A/12/1), WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty Assembly (WPPT/A/12/1), Patent Law Treaty Assembly (PLT/A/11/2) and the Singapore Treaty Assembly (STLT/A/5/2).
The list of the States members of the Assemblies and other bodies concerned and the observers admitted to their sessions as of September 23, 2013, is seth forth in documentA/51/INF/1 Rev.
The meetings dealing with the following items of the Agenda (documentA/51/1) were presided over by the following Chairs:
Items 1 and 2 Ambassador Uglješa Ugi Zvekić (Serbia), outgoing Chair of the General Assembly
Items 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, Ambassador Päivi Kairamo (Ms.)
14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, (Finland) newly-elected Chair of the General
23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, Assembly, and in her absence, the
32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 41, 42, 44 the ViceChairs Ambassador Mikhail
and 45 Khvostov (Belarus) and Mr.Mokhtar Warida (Egypt)
Items 7, 45 and 46 Ambassador Fodé Seck (Senegal), Chair of the Coordination Committee
Item 37 Ms.Susanne Sivborg (Sweden), Chair of the PCT Union Assembly
Item 38 Mrs. Grace Issahaque (Ghana), Chair of the Madrid Union Assembly
Item 39 Ms. Sarnai Ganbayar (Mongolia), Chair of the Hague Union Assembly
Item 40 Mr. Tiberio Schmidlin (Italy), Chair of the Lisbon Union Assembly
Item 43 Mr. Emil Žatkuliak (Slovakia), Chair of the Patent Law Treaty Assembly
Item 44 Mr. Ľuboš Knoth (Slovakia), Chair of the Singapore Treaty Assembly
An index of interventions by Delegations of States and Representatives of intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations mentioned in this report will be reproduced as an Annex to the final version of the present report. The Agenda, as adopted, and the list of participants will appear in documents A/51/1 and A/51/INF/3, respectively.
The Director General’s Report is reproduced as an Annex to this present report.
ITEM 1 OF THE CONSOLIDATED AGENDA
OPENING OF THE SESSIONS
The fifty-first series of meetings of the Assemblies and other bodies of the Member States of WIPO was convened by the Director General of WIPO, Mr.Francis Gurry (hereinafter referred to as “the Director General”).
The sessions of the Assemblies and other bodies of the Member States of WIPO were opened in a joint meeting of all the 20 Assemblies and other bodies concerned by AmbassadorUglješa Ugi Zvekić (Serbia), the outgoing Chair of the General Assembly, who made the following statement:
“Honorable Ministers, Excellencies, Director General,
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
“It is my great honor to warmly welcome you today to the opening of the Fifty-First Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). As outgoing Chair, I shall preside over the process of selection of my successor.
“Before handing over to the Legal Counsel under Agenda Item 2, ‘Election of Officers’, I wanted to take this opportunity to provide some observations from my time as Chair.
“I believe that I have been very fortunate to have been in this role at an exceptionally exciting and active period in the history of WIPO. Indeed, the change that I have witnessed and participated in these last two years has been nothing short of remarkable.
“I had a privilege, an honour and the responsibility to chair two series of General Assemblies, one extra-ordinary session of the General Assembly (December 2012) and a number of informal consultations and regular meetings with the regional coordinators. I was also privileged to witness and participate in the opening of the New Building and the laying of the foundation of the new conference premises. It was indeed an intensive but most gratifying experience.
“The Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances of 2012 was the first successful conclusion of a treaty in WIPO for several years and as such, heralded a rekindling of the important normative side to the Organization’s work. The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired, or Otherwise Print Disabled this year carried forward this important momentum.
“These Treaties will deliver important benefits for performers, the blind, the visually impaired and the print disabled. They are our collective achievement and contribution to the future. It has been one of the most gratifying aspects of my time as Chair to have witnessed and participated in this living spirit of compromise and this willingness for advancement. I would like to extend my congratulations to all delegations for making these possibilities a reality. It is my sincere hope that this spirit will permeate several other processes currently maturing in the course of Member State negotiations.
“I also believe it is important not to lose sight of the background against which these developments have taken place. The period since 2011 witnessed the continued effects of the largest financial crisis since the 1930s. The fact that WIPO has not only weathered this storm, but managed to do so while growing its income base is highly commendable.
“At the same time, I am very pleased to note that WIPO as an institution has continued to embrace necessary reforms required for it to meet future challenges. There has been no clearer demonstration of this than the Strategic Realignment Program (SRP) launched by the Director General in 2009. I have personally witnessed the change the SRP has wrought in the processes and working culture of the Organization through my many interactions with staff at all levels. This certainly bodes well.
“Looking ahead, allow me to highlight that for me WIPO stands as a symbol of modernization through its imperative search of harmonious and balanced promotion of innovation, protection of intellectual property rights and making the fruits of the global progress available to all and utilized by all in an equitable manner. This, I believe, marks WIPO now and in the future.
“I also believe that a key and constant challenge for all Intergovernmental Organization is managing their relationship with their Member States. I believe the key consideration in this regard is transparency. In this context, I would like to pay tribute to the close and extensive engagement which the Director General and the Secretariat has maintained with Member States throughout my time as Chair. The Director General has fostered an atmosphere of openness, responsiveness and accessibility that has been the cornerstone of the success registered across so many different areas. Indeed, WIPO stands as an example in this regard in the Geneva International. I wish to underline that in my experience as the Chair, transparency and will to cooperate both on the part of the Member States and the Secretariat are the keys for the responsible and responsive Organization.
“A necessary component of transparency is provided by the establishment of a solid foundation of audit, oversight and ethical principles for staff. In my assessment, WIPO’s audit and oversight architecture remains sound and the engagement between the Director General and the Secretariat with this structure is abiding and constructive. I have also been very pleased to note the considerable progress that the Organization has made in filling out its ethics architecture – with the establishment of a Code of Ethics and a Whistleblower Policy. I would encourage the Organization to continue with and build upon these very positive developments.
“In closing, I would like thank all WIPO staff, directors and the whole Senior Management Team for the most dynamic, effective and pleasurable cooperation over the two year period. In particular my gratitude goes to Mr. Naresh Prasad and Mr. Sergio Balibrea.
“I would not have been able to carry out my tasks without great cooperation by the representatives of all Member States, and in particular, the Regional Coordinators. We worked hard and well. We achieved a lot and I am confident that certain issues such as the criteria for the election of the officials, including the Chair of the GA, will be soon resolved with the assistance of my successor. I wish to thank you all. Needless to say, special appreciation goes to my regional group – CEEBS.