The 61th WIPO Assemblies meetings were inaugurated at 10.00 AM on September 21, 2020 in Geneva, Switzerland (Geneva time). The event was attended by  Mr. Francis Gurry – the incumbent Director General of WIPO, Mr. Daren Tang – the Director General elect of  WIPO for the 2020-2026 term,  Mr. Omar Zniber - Morocco’s Ambassador, Chairman of WIPO General Assembly and about 150 representatives from state members and observers. H.E. Ms. Le Thi Tuyet Mai, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Viet Nam Permanent Mission to the UN, WTO, and other International Organizations in Geneva represented Viet Nam to attend the onsite meeting. On behalf of IP Viet Nam, Director General Dinh Huu Phi attended the meeting via online platform. 

IP Viet Nam’s Director General Dinh Huu Phi (middle) attended the WIPO Assemblies Meetings live from Hanoi

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts, the series of meetings of WIPO Assemblies were held during 05 days, a half of ordinary annual Assemblies meetings. WIPO also decided to organize the meeting in a hybrid format (combination of online and onsite modes), allowing each state member to assign 02 representatives to attend the onsite meetings at WIPO headquarters, and to set up Interprefy and Webcasting platforms for member states to attend live the meetings.

The WIPO Assemblies meetings this year marked the handing over from the incumbent Director General Francis Gurry to the Director General elect Daren Tang. At the opening session, Mr. Francis Gurry addressed the speech to highlight outstanding achievements of WIPO during his 12 years as Director General. Since 2008, there have been over 400 new accessions to WIPO-administered treaties, 03 new international treaties have entered into force, international registration systems have developed sharply, which has significantly contributed to financial sustainability of WIPO. The WIPO’s revenue has increased by almost 50%, reaching CHF 917 million in the 2018-2019 biennium, in comparison to that of 2008-2009 biennium. Additionally, new IT services, databases, administration systems have been advanced by WIPO in order to meet the demands of state members. Mr. Gurry affirmed that owing to state members’ active cooperation and participation in WIPO’s activities, along with efforts of members of Senior Management Team and WIPO staffs, WIPO reached such impressive records during these times. Taking this opportunity, Mr. Francis Gurry wished Director General elect Daren Tang a successful tenure and much more achievements of WIPO under the leadership of Mr. Tang.
 

H.E. Ms. Le Thi Tuyet Mai, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Viet Nam Permanent Mission to the UN, WTO, and other International Organization in Geneva, delivered opening remarks at the 2020 WIPO Assembly Meeting (source:WIPO’s webcasting)

Representing Viet Nam to attend the WIPO General Assemblies meetings, Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai, delivered a speech on behalf of ASEAN. H.E. Ms. Le Thi Tuyet Mai expressed gratitude to the incumbent Director General Francis Gurry and congratulations to the Director General elect Daren Tang. During these times, despite challenges that COVID-19 has brought, ASEAN state members have achieved outstanding results regarding global innovation index and have actively acceded to international WIPO-administered treaties. Addressing at the meeting, H.E. Ms. Le Thi Tuyet Mai emphasized on the importance of digital transformation and innovation during post-pandemic economic recovery and affirmed that ASEAN state members will continue reinforcing their cooperation with WIPO as well as WIPO member states to address these challenges.

 

Panorama of the 61th WIPO Assembly meeting (source: WIPO’s webcasting)

WIPO Assemblies meetings lasted from September 21 to 25, 2020 with some highlights: consideration of organizing of an extraordinary WIPO Assemblies meeting in 2021 to discuss issues dropped from the agenda of the current meeting; consideration of the re-appointment of Deputy Directors General and Assistant Directors General for 03-month term until official appointment for these positions  by  January 01, 2021; consideration of the plan of evaluating WIPO external offices; approval of the report of WIPO Program and Budget Committee and the report of WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center./.

International Cooperation Division