[Reader-list] CI: New report finds WIPO is failing the world?s poorest consumers

[Sunil Abraham]

Press release

Copyright is pricing consumers out of knowledge
New report finds WIPO is failing the world’s poorest consumers  

The worldwide federation of consumer organisations, Consumers
International (CI), has condemned WIPO technical assistance as
‘thoroughly inadequate’, and is demanding a wholesale review of the
organisation’s legislative advice to developing countries.  

The criticism comes as Consumers International publishes the findings of
its study into the copyright laws of 11 Asian countries, released to
coincide with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
development agenda summit in Geneva (20-24 February).

The ‘Copyright and Access to Knowledge’* report finds that all 11
countries, including China, India and Malaysia, have given copyright
owners far more protection than the intellectual property treaties they
have signed up to require. 

As a result, copyrighted educational materials in these countries are
expensive and consumers are being priced out of access to knowledge.
Imported books are prohibitively priced. When considered in terms of GDP
for instance, selling students a book at US $27 in Indonesia is
equivalent to selling it to students in the US at  US$1,048 **

The report concludes that WIPO is failing to provide developing
countries with the technical assistance they need to take advantage of
copyright exemptions and limitations written into international IP
treaties. In doing so, WIPO is tacitly supporting the unfair IP demands
of governments and businesses in the developed world at the expense of
consumers in poorer nations. 

Richard Lloyd, Director General of Consumers International said:
‘In order to develop, poorer nations need access to affordable learning
materials. Yet immense pressure from the developed world has meant many
of the copyright laws in these countries are tougher than they need to
be. This means consumers are being priced out of the opportunity to
learn. WIPO must support its developing world member states and provide
them with the technical assistance they need to effectively implement
their rights under international law. ’

Note for editors
Consumers International (CI) is a federation of consumer organisations
dedicated to the protection and promotion of consumer's rights worldwide
through empowering national consumer groups and campaigning at the
international level. It currently represents over 230 organisations in
113 countries. www.consumersinternational.org

*‘Copyright and Access to Knowledge’ (2006) is published by Consumers
International’s Asia Pacific Office. It examines the copyright laws in
Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia,
Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Thailand.

**When a student in Indonesia pays US$27 for  International Accounting
(5th Edition) by Frederick D.S. Choi, Gary K Meek, it is equivalent to a
student in the US paying US$1,048 for the same book in GDP per capita
terms and US$302 when compared using the GDP per capita calculated at
purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rate. 


Consumers International Director General, Richard Lloyd and Head of CI
Asia Pacific, Rajes Kanniah are available for interview. Please contact
Luke Upchurch +44 788 767 7930

-- 
Sunil Abraham, sunil at mahiti.org http://www.mahiti.org
"Vijay Kiran" IInd Floor, 314/1, 7th Cross, Domlur 
Bangalore - 560 071 Karnataka, INDIA
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