Category Finance

WIPO Members Wrestle With Proposed Delay In Increasing Retirement Age

Among the hot issues at this year's annual World Intellectual Property Organization Assemblies is a proposal by WIPO to delay compliance with a United Nations-wide mandate to raise retirement age from 62 to 65 for those who started employment before 2014, supposed to go into effect on 1 January. WIPO's proposal to wait 3 years to raise the age for those who joined the organisation is intended to open up dozens of posts that can then be filled with workers holding other skills deemed more needed as the global IP system has changed.

WIPO Faces Resistance To Ensuring Equal Treatment For LGBT Staff

The World Intellectual Property Organization is an international organisation based in Geneva, focused mainly on technical and legal issues of patents, trademarks and the like. But it is also a specialised agency of the United Nations, with over 1,000 employees. At its annual General Assemblies this week, an issue has arisen at WIPO that serves as a reminder of the complexities of UN membership.

Clock Ticking For WIPO Assembly To Agree On Budget, Design Treaty, Genetic Resources

This morning no breakthroughs were reported by delegates chairing informal meetings to reach consensus before the end of the annual World Intellectual Property Organization General Assembly tomorrow. Agreement still has to be reached on the most political issues, such as the budget, the mandate of the committee on genetic resources and traditional knowledge, and where the next WIPO field offices will be hosted. Also under discussion is the composition of one of WIPO’s governing bodies, challenged by the Asia and Pacific Group, which wants more seats.

WIPO’s Program And Budget Stand-Off Highlights That Member States Must Act On WIPO’s Governance System

As the WIPO Annual Assemblies draw to a close this week, governments face a dramatic stand-off over the organisation’s biennial Program and Budget. Unless a series of its demands regarding the organisation’s financing and treaty-making processes are met, the United States is refusing to approve the WIPO budget – a decision Member States normally take by consensus. While sparring among governments over the budget and content of a UN organisation’s programs is not unusual, the debate at WIPO this year highlight challenges at the heart of its governance system, writes Carolyn Deere.

WIPO Upgrades Its Whistleblower Policy

The United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization has upgraded its whistleblower policy, coming more into line with best practices for protecting employees from retaliation for reporting alleged misconduct in the organisation. Time will tell if the changes to the policy will prove effective.

WIPO Assembly Snapshot: Decisions Adopted; Budget, Traditional Knowledge, Designs Still On Table

With three days remaining at the annual World Intellectual Property Organization General Assembly, delegates are still seeking agreement on the 2018/2019 budget, the mandate of the committee on the protection of genetic resources and traditional knowledge, and an update to the international treaty on design law. A number of decisions have however been approved, as WIPO committees reported on their activities.

Asia Pacific Countries Challenge Composition Of Key WIPO Committees

The World Intellectual Property Organization Program and Budget Committee is arguably the most powerful committee of the United Nations agency, and is open to a limited number of countries. This year, the countries sitting on the committee have to be renewed, and the Asia and Pacific Group is challenging the way countries are chosen, and their numbers because of under-representation of some regions.

WIPO: New External Auditor, Officers; Vietnam To Chair Assembly; New Treaty Accessions

At the start of the World Intellectual Property Organization General Assembly this week, officers to chair the assemblies of WIPO-managed unions were elected. Following a change of rule last year, a chair was also elected to preside over the General Assembly for the next two years. In addition, a new external auditor from the United Kingdom was approved, and Nigeria and Indonesia acceded to WIPO treaties.

US Firm On WIPO Budget Demands: Lisbon Must Find Funds, WIPO Financial System Must Change

World Intellectual Property Organization members this week are trying to find a compromise in order to adopt the budget for the years 2018/2019. The United States has posed conditions on approval, particularly that they would like to keep discussing a potential change in WIPO's budget allocation to prevent the treaty they pay most into from having to fund other less financially viable treaties. They also asked that the WIPO treaty protecting geographical indications eliminate its deficit, and that no high-level negotiating meeting be provisioned for without the whole WIPO membership agreeing to it.