WIPO Director General announces new leadership

By Emmanuel Legrand

Member states at the World Intellectual Property Organisation have approved the new leadership proposed by new Director General Daren Tang (pictured, above), who will be seconded by four Deputy Directors General and four Assistant Directors General. 

  Tang, who was chief executive of Singapore's IP Office(IPOS), was elected for a six-year mandate and succeeded Francis Gurry on October 1, 2020. 

  The eight executives are:
  - Lisa Jorgenson (United States of America): Deputy Director General, Patents and Technology Sector;
  - Wang Binying (China): Deputy Director General, Brands and Designs Sector;
  - Sylvie Forbin (France): Deputy Director General, Copyright and Creative Industries Sector;
  - Hasan Kleib (Indonesia) Deputy Director General, Regional and National Development Sector;
  - Kenichiro Natsume (Japan): Assistant Director General, Infrastructure and Platforms Sector;
  - Edward Kwakwa (Ghana): Assistant Director General, Global Challenges and Partnerships Sector;
  - Marco Aleman (Colombia): Assistant Director General, IP and Innovation Ecosystems Sector;
  - Andrew Staines (United Kingdom): Assistant Director General, Administration, Finance and Management Sector.

  The terms of the incoming Deputy Directors General and Assistant Directors General will start on Jan. 1, 2021, and will coincide with the term of the Director General.

A pro-creators agenda

  For the creative sector, the confirmation of of Sylvie Forbin, who was first appointed deputy DG in charge of Copyright and Creative Industries in 2016, will be welcomed news. Working formerly for French conglomerate Vivendi, Forbin has set a pro-creators and pro-creative industries agenda since she joined WIPO.

  Forbin's remit includes:
  > Supporting the work of member states in the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR);
  > Developing copyright infrastructure, including support to collective management organisations and national copyright offices;
  > Conducting studies on the economic performance of creative industries; building capacity in developing countries to use the copyright system to extract greater economic value from their cultural and other creative works;
  > Administering the Accessible Books Consortium.

Concrete plans and initiatives

  Tang said in a statement that he selected the eight Sector leads for their "technical attributes and ability to work together to lead WIPO into its next chapter." He explained: “The Sector leads play an important role as senior leaders of the Organisation. Collectively, and together with me, we set the tone at the top. As a team, we are responsible not just for strategy and leadership but also translating strategy into concrete plans, initiatives and actions.” 

  Tang noted the rich geographical and gender diversity of the team, with in particular, three of the four Deputy Directors General being women. “This is the most gender diverse senior leadership in WIPO’s history," said Tang: "It will be a source of strength for WIPO and demonstrate our seriousness about gender diversity.”

Driving economic recovery

  Tang said the new team will be equipped to deal with the challenges of the Covid-19 era. “The pandemic has accelerated the shift to digital and increased the importance of innovation and technology. This will mean an increased demand from Members for support and assistance as they look towards innovation and creativity as drivers of economic recovery,” said Tang. 

  “In this new chapter, WIPO needs to continue being strong in our core areas of running IP registries, providing tools, services and information, and shaping the normative agenda," added Tang. "At the same time, we need to broaden our work now to look at IP from an enterprise and economic perspective.”