Reforming Governance to Advance the WIPO Development Agenda

The success of the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) Development Agenda will depend upon reforms to the agency's governance. At the 2007 WIPO General Assemblies, several of the recommendations on the Development Agenda adopted by member states specifically alluded to the need for such reform. Alongside steps to make immediate improvements, this article argues for a more far-reaching debate on proposals for a deeper overhaul of WIPO's governance. This should include careful consideration of the internal management and working practices within the WIPO Secretariat, reforms to decision-making processes among member-states and their oversight of the Secretariat, strategies for altering the Secretariat's institutional culture, and alternative institutional designs, including with respect to how WIPO is financed