The Development Agenda is premised on the concerns disseminated worldwide about the adverse effects that might stem from upwardly harmonized, “one size fits all” intellectual property rules. The “Agenda” is a serious attempt to bring these concerns into the purview of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in a cross-cutting and permanent manner, a process that has already taken place in other international organizations. The chapter examines the theoretical and factual underpinnings that led to the proposal for the “WIPO Development Agenda” put forward in 2004 and its subsequent adoption in 2007.
Keywords: WIPO, WTO, patent, copyright, IP, TRIPS, TRIPS-plus, norm-setting, flexibilities