NCSG input on request for special privileges for Red Cross & International Olympic Committee regarding Internet domains

[Andrew A. Adams]

I would also note, however, that WIPO started out as a treaty organisation
dedicated to enforcing IP treaties (as the BIRPI). WIPO arose from this in
1970 with the mission of promoting strong IP laws and promoting protection of
IP. It only became an arm of the UN in 1974 and retained this lopsided
mission until within the last decade when a more balanced mission statement
was pushed on it. Many believe that the secretariat still retain the old
mission as their mindset and their links with commercial organisations whose
interests strong IP laws and enforcement apparently serve tend to reinforce
this. Many on the civil society side still view WIPO as more of an enemy than
a fair arbiter let alone an ally in the fight for balance.

(Just one example was their commission of Nick Garnet to produce a review of
the WIPO CT and PT in 2005. Garnet was formally chief negotiator for IFPI at
WIPO negotiations. A fox investigating a massacre at a henhouse.)



--
Professor Andrew A Adams                      aaa at meiji.ac.jp
Professor at Graduate School of Business Administration,  and
Deputy Director of the Centre for Business Information Ethics
Meiji University, Tokyo, Japan       http://www.a-cubed.info/