[Chapter-delegates] Internet Society 2011 IPR activities - Building a truly open and international dialogue

[runnegar at isoc.org]

Dearcolleagues,

As you may recall, last year, the Internet Society was granted PermanentObserver Status with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). 

Building on the 2009-2010 membership consultation on emerging policy responsesto online copyright infringement (the ISOC Copyright WG) and the workundertaken by the Internet Society on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement,the Internet Society will be expanding its outreach in 2011 on online IPRissues to governmental and inter-governmental organizations (at theinternational, regional and local level).  
Creating the conditions of an open and multi-stakeholderdialogue
Asgovernments and international organizations elaborate their policy frameworks, wehave observed a critical need to encourage a multi-level discussion (among andbetween international organizations, regional forums, national authorities andall stakeholders).  Rather than commenting on specific frameworks, ourprimary mission in 2011 will be to engage with all relevant actors with a viewto enroling them in an international and multi-stakeholder dialogue. 
Ourcontribution and message will focus on international aspects of the debate(e.g. international comparisons of policy frameworks presented by the soon tobe finalised ISOC Copyright WG discussion document). The rationale is that, asnational frameworks cannot be conceived independently from the global network,policymakers must engage in a dialogue with relevant stakeholders and internationalorganizations. Additionally, since the issues are global in nature, it iscritical to facilitate multi-stakeholder international platforms for discussionto help governments identify the best solutions. In any case, there isincreasing governmental interest in global solutions, particularly in the areaof enforcement (e.g. ACTA). 
 2011 Multi-level engagement plan
In 2011, we plan to respond to independent advisoryrequests and engage with all relevant authorities and stakeholders to leverageour advocacy plan. Our recently obtained Permanent Observer status with WIPOwill be very helpful in this regard.  We also plan to advise the OECDcountries through the work of the Internet Technical Advisory Committee (ITAC)which is coordinated by ISOC. Our call for an international andmulti-stakeholder dialogue will also be promoted at regional levels through,for example, meetings organised by African inter-governmental organisations,where I am planning to provide advice to African ministers, and national levelssuch as the French Hadopi, which has requested that Constance Bommelaer provideexpertise on international issues to the Secretariat. We will look for otheropportunities to engage with policymakers (e.g. G8, G20, WTO, EU, nationalauthorities) and other stakeholders on these issues, and continue engaging withour membership as further participation opportunities arise.
Finally,we are working on the organization of a joint workshop with WIPO in the summerwhere all relevant actors, from all sectors, at the international, regional andnational level, will be invited to participate. The objective will be to gatherall the above-mentioned actors and create the conditions for an open andinclusive dialogue. Input from our membership will again be critical.
Inbrief, the Internet Society’s objectives will be to provide independentexpertise and to: 
-        Promote and create dialogue opportunities amongstakeholders at all levels
-        Put issues in an international perspective
-         Inform policymakers about the founding principles ofthe Internet architecture and ecosystem
Wewill shortly be launching a blog dedicated to these issues to share informationand exchange ideas with our members and hope you will be able to participate. 
Best regards,
ChristineRunnegar
SeniorManager
PublicPolicy
InternetSociety
ConstanceBommelaer
Senior Manager
Strategic Global Engagement
Internet Society
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