New WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) set to meet in March

WIPO's new Committee on Development and Intellectual Property has set its first meeting date for March 3-7 2008 in Geneva. The committee has three main tasks. First, and most immediately, it will develop a work-program to implement the development agenda recommendations made in June. It will also monitor and assess on the implementation of the development agenda, as well as undertaking further discussion on IP and development.

Get ready!

Copyright watchers are gearing up; a new copyright bill is said to be waiting in the aisles for introduction to the House in the next couple of weeks. By many accounts it will be a step back in time for Canada if this bill passes unaltered. Michael Geist:

The new Canadian legislation will likely mirror the DMCA with strong anti-circumvention legislation - far beyond what is needed to comply with the WIPO Internet treaties - and address none of the issues that concern millions of Canadians. The Conservatives promise to eliminate the private copying levy will likely be abandoned. There will be no flexible fair dealing. No parody exception. No time shifting exception. No device shifting exception. No expanded backup provision. Nothing.

Geist has a few ideas about what we should all be doing right now to try to steer this bill in a more progressive direction. It's going to be an uphill battle; apparently Industry Minister Jim Prentice doesn't want to discuss this in public.