Some have expressed concern that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) hosted a two-day meeting last week to discuss substantive patent law harmonization. The participants, from 22 countries along with the EPO and EC, issued a Statement of Intent noting that they will convene future meetings to consider "issues with regard to intellectual property and development, including proposals for a WIPO Development Agenda and proposals relating to genetic resources. Also, they indicated that for future meetings, they will invite "all Members of WIPO Group B, member States of the European Union, the European Commission, Member States of the European Patent Organization, and the European Patent Office."
Some developing countries and consumer groups expressed concern that the meeting was being held in part to circumvent the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and certain large developing countries that have pushed for a development agenda within WIPO.
While there is a proposal with WIPO for a substantive patent law treaty (SPLT) aimed at harmonizing substantive aspects of national patent laws, many feel that developing nations are using intellectual property issues as a way to push broader development goals. Harmonization talks have been going on for years with no resolution. Even with an agreement, I’m not sure how far that will take the developing nations if it doesn’t include China, India, and Brazil.
