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 [log in to unmask] 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/