Intellectual Property and Emerging Global Issues.

The thousands of companies and organizations moving online to tap into the burgeoning market of Internet users has given rise to a new brand of cyber-piracy. Known in the wired world as "cybersquatting", it is the practice of pre-emptive registration of domain names for well-known or developing brands. Be it soap detergent or software, motor oil or medicine, any product or brand that has garnered even minimal public recognition rims a strong risk that the name, product or trademark, or numerous variations thereof, has already been claimed by a cybersquatter. The squatter, who had the prescience to register the name on a first-come, first-served basis for a minimal fee of about $100, will be more than willing to hand over the rights to your domain name - for a price far exceeding his initial investment. The rapid evolution of a global economy makes internationally respected norms in these areas all the more crucial. The fact that this sort of cyber-extortion has been flourishing, legally, for some time is but one of the many emerging global issues that is expanding and redefining the work of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The continuing advances in technology, not only in computers and communications, but also in medicine, biotechnology and generic research, call for new approaches to the questions of copyright and intellectual and industrial property.

"Globalization of trade means the handling, the usage and the utilization of works of the mind, by nations and peoples across international boundaries", notes Dr. Kamil Idris, Director-General of WIPO. While continuing to meet the needs of its member States, "WIPO also serves the interests and needs of a large, dynamic and growing group of market-oriented users of our intellectual property protection systems and services".

Based in Geneva, WIPO traces its origins to the 1883 signing of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, intended to provide international protection for patents, trademarks and industrial designs. Three years later, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works created an international instrument protecting creative works such as books, plays, music, art and architectural works. WIPO - the successor to an organization established to administer these treaties became a specialized agency of the United Nations system in 1974.

Some 21 treaties later, WIPO, with 171 member States and a staff of about 700 from 71 countries, has three main functions: the gradual development of international norms and standards for intellectual property protection; providing technical assistance and training to member countries; and international registration of patents and copyrights. As technology and global trade become more advanced, the demands of intellectual property protection become more complex.

In December 1998, the Organization issued a draft report proposing rules to curb such Internet trademark abuse as cybersquatting. It calls for domain name applicants to provide reliable contact details and agree to an inexpensive online dispute settlement system. In addition, WIPO has outlined a set of criteria that would further protect well-known trademarks.

The stakes are indeed high: Electronic commerce on the Internet grew from less than $3 billion in 1996 to upwards of $20 billion last year. It is expected to reach at least $200 billion by the year 2001. Nearly 5 million domain names are currently registered around the world, with some 70,000 new ones added weekly.

These regulations would prevent recurrence of cases such that experienced by the Exxon and Mobil Oil Corporations when they agreed to merge last fall. As news of the merger began to surface, cybersquatters quickly registered dozens of possible names for the new corporation, putting the two giants in the position of possibly having to negotiate for the right to use then' own well-known brand names on the Web.

Advances in digital technology, and the challenges they pose for the protection of intellectual property, mirror in scope the new circumstances created by the globalization of trade. With the signing of the Agreement on the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) in 1994, WIPO's role in the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights entered a new era. WIPO has expanded its assistance in advising TRIPS signatories on national legislation revision obligations under the Agreement, launched comprehensive education and training programmes at the national and regional levels, and provided extensive computer assistance to help developing countries acquire the appropriate information technology for managing their own intellectual property resources. In December 1996, WIPO entered into an agreement with the World Trade Organization to cooperate in helping member countries meet provisions of the Agreement by next year's 1 January deadline. The two organizations reaffirmed their commitment in July 1998 when they launched a joint initiative to specifically assist developing countries.

Expanding international wade inevitably leads to an increase in international disputes involving intellectual property. WIPO's Arbitration and Mediation Center was established to help individuals and companies from any country in the world resolve their disputes. With a list of more than 750 mediators and arbitrators from 70 countries, the Center is well-suited to provide efficient, cost-effective and quick resolution for parties around the world. This is especially attractive for smaller companies unable to afford expensive or lengthy litigation across borders.

The Center will soon unveil an online dispute resolution system, allowing disputants and mediators to conduct all communication and filings via the Internet, greatly reducing costs and time needed to reach a settlement.

This system, originally developed to resolve Internet domain name disputes, has the potential to be used for settlement of other commercial disputes, especially those involving electronic commerce. Buying and selling over the Internet puts a premium on the low cost and speed of transactions; if a dispute arises out of such transactions, it is likely the parties involved would welcome an equally quick and cost-effective manner to settle such disputes. Several consumer-based Internet-oriented companies have already expressed interest in using a version of WIPO's online arbitration system.

While issues such as electronic commerce and global trade are well documented in the popular media, regular advances in biotechnology and genetic engineering are a bit further removed from the public eye. These fields, however specialized, are also shaping the work of WIPO. Debates over whether modification of biological material and the products that result from such work are discoveries or inventions, and whether the results of such work are patentable, take on not only legal and financial dimensions but ethical and moral as well. A discovery in a university laboratory based on manipulation of the human genetic code could lead to the development of a blockbuster drug by a multinational pharmaceutical company. But who really owns the results, and at what stage of the process does the question of patents arise?

These questions will only grow more numerous and more complex as technology, in all its facets, continues to advance at breakneck speed. As Dr. Idris notes in his introduction to WIPO's website www.wipo.int, "intellectual property has moved into the mainstream of national economic and developmental planning". While this growing global recognition of the importance of intellectual property places significant new demands on the Organization, he notes, "WIPO is not only ready for these challenges; it welcomes them. . . . WIPO is there at the cutting edge, working for progress, working for you."

Consider this scenario, increasingly familiar to the entire spectrum of business, from start-up entrepreneurs to multinational corporations:

After months of preparation, extensive market research and significant investment, you are ready to launch your own website.

You plan to advertise and market your products over the web, conduct customer research and, with any luck, increase your sales and enhance your company's identity via the global reach of the Internet.

You reach the final step towards launching a site and entering the world of E-commerce: registering, for exclusive use your site's domain name - your trademark, product or company name followed by the familiar ".com" found at most websites.

You may be in for a rude surprise.