Developing countries express concern over WIPO's hidden agenda of pushing patent harmonization

Even as the World Intellectual Property Organisation's (WIPO) two-day Global Symposium of IP Authorities is underway in Geneva, the developing countries are expressing concern on the larger agenda of the organisation, controlled by US, EU and Japan, on pushing a patent harmonization agenda. 

According to WIPO, the symposium is being organised to discuss issues relating to the modernization and administration of IP Offices (Patent and Trademark Offices), brainstorm the vision for the future on the global IP infrastructure including common tools and databases for facilitating international collaboration, study the value of IP statistics for managing IP Office operation, and exchange experiences on the different financial models of IP Offices. 

But, there are apprehensions among the developing countries over the larger intentions of the WIPO. It is evident from an analytical note issued by the South Centre, an intergovernmental organization of developing countries, which says, "Discussions in the WIPO Global Symposium of IP Authorities on 17 and 18 September, 2009 will focus on improving the international patent infrastructure through international collaboration for work-sharing between patent offices and improvement of the PCT system."