UNCEAFACT Bureau report to 8th Forum

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DRAFT / Version 0.1
UN/CEFACT
Intellectual Property Rights Policy Mark Palmer
Vice Chair 24 May 2006
UNITED NATIONS CENTRE FOR TRADE FACILITATION AND
ELECTRONIC BUSINESS United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe
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Background

• Plenary established IPR Special Contact Group
• reviewed other SDOs IPR policies
• established fundamental principles
• editing team circulated drafts for comment
• 11th Plenary approved IPR principles
• reviewed and commented on draft IPR policy
• Draft policy sent to UN Office of Legal Affairs
  (UN OLA)

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Recent Progress

• IPR policy APPROVED by UN OLA
• May 2006
• addition of disclaimer
• IPR SCG updated the IPR documents
• Bureau distributed IPR Policy and Executive
  Summary to HoDs

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Overview of IPR Policy

• Goal Promote UN/CEFACT standards without burden
  of fees or restrictions
• Five key principles
• Waiver
• Disclosure
• Exception Handling
• Warranty
• Disclaimer

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Waiver Obligation

• All participants in a Forum Group waive their
  rights to enforce intellectual property (IP)
  necessary to use specifications from that Forum
  Group.
• The waiver is limited applies only to
  implementations of the specification all other
  rights are reserved.
• Waiver required as a condition to participate in
  a Forum Group.

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Disclosure Obligation

• Waiver may be avoided only if the participant
  discloses the relevant IP at designated steps in
  the development process.
• Disclosure is made by participants individual
  representative based on his/her knowledge. No
  duty to conduct extensive IPR search.
• Enforcement of IP is waived if not disclosed.

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Exception Handling

• Applies when a participant discloses IP
• Intellectual Property Advisory Group (IPAG) is
  formed to consider the IP at issue and to select
  one of the recommendations outlined in the IPR
  Policy.

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Warranties

• Every participant warrants that to the best of
  its representatives knowledge no third party
  contends that the participants contributions to
  a specification infringe that third partys IP.
• There are no other warranties.
• There are no indemnities.

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Completing the UN/CEFACT Adoption

• Plenary approval
• principles in IPR policy approved at 11th Plenary
• only minor edits to policy reviewed at 11th
  Plenary
• Apply the policy to UN/CEFACT operations
• procedures for all Forum Group participants to
  sign waiver
• inform all participants and individuals
• include in relevant documents
• Send for information to the Com. on Trade and
  Executive Com.

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Completing this Task

• Plenary approval
• principles in IPR policy approved at 11th Plenary
• only minor edits to policy reviewed at 11th
  Plenary
• Apply the policy to UN/CEFACT operations
• procedures for all Forum Group participants to
  sign waiver
• inform all participants and individuals
• include in relevant documents

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UN/CEFACT
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GLOBAL BUSINESS.