US Mission Geneva

The U.S. Statement delivered by Justin Hughes, Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Extraordinary General Assembly on December 17, 2012.

In December 2009, the United States delegation came to the SCCR and said that we had concluded that it was the time to fashion new norms in International copyright to address what we believe is a legitimate concern, the book famine – the unjustifiable lack of availability of special format copies for visually impaired persons and for persons with print disabilities — throughout the world. We believe that the book famine exists and we believe our work here can go a substantial way – not all the way – to addressing the problem.

Ambassador Betty E. King participated in a panel organized by the Club Diplomatique at the World Intellectual Property Organization and delivered remarks on the “Changing Geographies of Innovation: Opportunities and Challenges”.

We are committed to helping strengthen WIPO’s position as the preeminent intellectual property organization. WIPO has a vital and unique role to play in promoting innovation, in helping countries improve their intellectual property systems, and in promoting intellectual property as a tool for economic development.

Ambassador Betty E. King delivered the Group B statement to the WIPO General Assembly. She noted that Group B looks forward to progress in supporting development of the global IP rights system and improvements in governance.

October 1, Ambassador King delivered the U.S. Statement at the General Assembly of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

The U.S. is very concerned that WIPO conducted technical assistance projects and transferred U.S.-developed technology to countries subject to UN Security Council sanctions without the knowledge of the United States, other Member States, or the appropriate UN Security Council sanctions committees. The United States is primarily concerned with three questions: what happened, how to correct it, and how to prevent it in the future.

Our success today not only benefits audiovisual performers, but it also reaffirms the importance of working together in a multilateral environment. Multilateralism provides a stage on which states can act to overcome differences and provide real benefits to humanity, including the advancement of development through effective use of intellectual property.

The annual Special 301 Report highlights improvements in and concerns about the adequacy and effectiveness of U.S. trading partners’ protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.