General Statement on behalf of the Asia Pacific Group at the 55th Session of the Assemblies of the Member states of WIPO
[5 October 2015]
To be Delivered by Ambassador Mr. Ajit Kumar,
Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations
as the Regional Coordinator
Mr. President,
1. I have the honor to deliver this statement, on behalf of Asia & the Pacific Group, with India as the Regional Coordinator.
2.On behalf of Asia and the Pacific Group, first I would like to congratulate you, on your election, as the Chair of the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO, and also other members of the Bureau, and express our full confidence in your experience & able stewardship.
3.The Group would also like to thank Director-General, Dr. Francis Gurry for his detailed and useful overview of WIPO’s work this past year. We also wish to commend the work done by the Director General and his team over the past year.
4. We would also like to thank the WIPO Secretariat for their hard work for the arrangements and the documentation for the meetings of the fifty-fifth series of meetings of the Assemblies of WIPO Member States.
Mr. President
5. Our region gives prime importance to intellectual property as an important contributor to socio-economic growth and technological development.
6. We believe that the objective should be to strive for optimal balance in intellectual property taking care of the rights of innovators as well as the needs of people and larger good of society. According to the yearly review of Patent Cooperation Treaty, the PCT filing is increasing progressively in the region in the recent years.
7. We are happy that important steps have been initiated by WIPO Member States and the Secretariat to enhance WIPO’s development orientation in WIPO’s work.The CDIP, guided by its raison d'être, i.e. mainstreaming development in all WIPO activities and making development to be an integral part of the Organization’s work, has now found its role as an important committee within the Organization, as a result of its rigorous dedication to the implementation of the 45 Development Agenda (DA) Recommendations. In this respect, we do believe that all relevantbodies of WIPO should take due account of those recommendations in its activities.
8. It is necessary to contextualize Intellectual Property Rights in the larger framework of development to ensure that IP regimes are tailored and customised in different countries so as to foster holistic socio-economic growth and sustainable development. We have reasons to believe that the Asia & the Pacific region has great potential to emerge as the new fountainhead of innovation & creative energy.
Mr.President,
9. We express satisfaction at the sound financial status of the Organisation at the end of 2014. The Group takes note of the report submitted by WIPO’s Independent Advisory Oversight Committee & acknowledges its important role in assisting Member States in undertaking their governance responsibilities with respect to WIPO’s operations.
10.We acknowledge the substantive observations and specific recommendations made by the external auditor for the financial year 2014 regarding the delivery of various programs and activities by the WIPO management. We would like to thank the External Auditor for their continuous meticulous work and for making useful suggestions. At a personal level, it gives me a great joy to mention that the External Auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General, is from India.
11. The Group welcomes the finalization of the revised definition of “Development Expenditure” which had been debated for many years. As for the issue of Governance at WIPO, itremains important to our Group. We believe that finding agreement on Governance issues requires mutual trust among Member States.
12.On the issue of WIPO External Offices, the Group has taken note of the ongoing debate. Interest has been expressed by some Members of our Group, to have an External Office in their respective countries. The Group emphasizes the need to finalize the guiding principles in an inclusive and transparent manner and then objectively decide on the number of new offices based on the approved guiding principles.
13.Regarding the normative agenda of the Organization, we are of the view that some progress has been made in the three texts on GRs, TK and TCEs. It is hoped that a degree of advancement in all texts would be reached to enable the holding of a diplomatic conference in the near future. In this respect we will support the initiative of the facilitator Mr. Ian Goss with a view to finalize the text(s) of aninternational legalinstrument/instruments for effective protection of GRs, TK and TCEs.
14.Following the adoption of Marrakesh Treaty, we also look forward to actively engaging with other members on discussions on Limitations and Exceptions for Educational, Teaching and Research Institutions and Persons with other disabilities, and Limitations and exceptions for libraries and archives. We are similarly encouraged by the progress being made on the Broadcasting Treaty. We hope to arrive at a closure in the negotiations based on the 2007 General Assembly mandate for the protection of broadcasting organization on a signal-based approach in the traditional sense.
15.The Group notes the progress made in respect of the negotiations on the draft Design Law Treaty. However, further work is still needed, including on the draft Articles and the provision of technical assistance and capacity building in the treaty text. We are ready to engage constructively on the issue.
Mr. President
16.We are looking at a heavy agenda. I would like to assure you that my Group is committed to participating in the work of the Assemblies with a positive spirit of multilateralism and constructive engagement. We hope to have a productive and result-oriented General Assembly.
17.Mr.President, we are confident that under your able leadership and wise guidance, Member States will demonstrate their constructive spirit over the next tendays to reach desired outcomes for the collective betterment of this Organization and its Members.
18.With these words, I once again thank you Senor Presidente.MuchasGraciasporestaoportunidad.
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