My colleague Pedro de Paranaguá Moniz, a Brazilian copyright scholar, has drafted an excellent manifestor for braod reform in WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Organization. WIPO has been systematically undermining participation from pubklic interest groups through procedural games, as well as seeking to isolate countries like Brazil that stand up for their national interest in IP negotiations. This public letter invites you and yours to sign on and have your signature on the letter when we present it to WIPO:
We demand TRANSPARENCY within WIPO and strongly reject any kind of disproportionate representation.
Yet, we call for an immediate PARTICIPATION of civil society and consumer-interest non-governmental organizations (NGOs) within WIPO's activities. Specifically, but not limited to accepting applications from NGOs to serve as ad hoc observers at the upcoming Inter-sessional Intergovernmental Metting next 11-13 April 2005, and for the Permanent Committee on Cooperation for Development Related to Intellectual Property, next 14-15 April 2005, in order to provide a BALANCED discussion on the Development Agenda and on the IP system in general, observing an equilibrium between IP right holders and consumers.
Furthermore, we urge that WIPO, as a United Nations (U.N.) specialised agency responsible for promoting creative intellectual activity and for facilitating the transfer of technology related to industrial property to the developing countries in order to accelerate economic, social and cultural development, plays its role in making ACCESS to knowledge feasible for humanity, bearing in mind different needs (including, but not limited to, those of the visual and audio impaired) and stages of development.
