By: Faith O. Majekolagbe
As the main international organization formed to promote intellectual property (including copyright) policies globally, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has a vital role to play in positioning the international copyright system towards better support for access to knowledge and human development. The 2007 WIPO Development Agenda (Development Agenda) introduced a development dimension into WIPO’s mandate. This Article argues that WIPO’s development mandate transcends promoting economic growth and includes supporting access to knowledge for human development. This is more so given WIPO’s position as a United Nations specialized agency which confers it with a responsibility to support UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), which include goals that support human development objectives like education and health. This Article reviews WIPO’s work in the implementation of major clusters in the Development Agenda and concludes that for WIPO to steer the copyright system effectively towards promoting human development and meaningfully addressing global development issues, WIPO must do more than it currently does under its implementation projects for the Development Agenda. This Article therefore recommends six steps that should be taken by WIPO to ensure that in its work programs and implementation of the Development Agenda, it directs the international copyright system towards greater support for the promotion of human development objectives through increased access to knowledge.