Today, WIPO (the UN body in charge of copyright, patent and trademark treaties) met for the second time to discuss the "development agenda" — a proposal to use copyrights and patents to improve the lot of developing nations. India, Brazil, Argentina and others have proposed substantive reforms to the organization, and the delegations spent the day wrangling over how — or whether — to tackle them. The proposal, called the "Friends of Development" proposal, is designed to put developing nations front and center at WIPO, but some countries (like the UK), are calling for this vital document to be buried in a committee that meets every two years, which lacks any read mandate. If the UK and its allies win, no progress will be made on turning WIPO into a real humanitarian agency until this moribund committee is brought back from the dead and made effective.
My colleague Ren Bucholz was there are took extensive notes.
