14 January 2016, 2 pm
I speak to a nice man from the IPO, to ask if there is anything I need to know about WIPO before I visit them tomorrow. I find it fascinating talking to civil servants. It is becoming increasingly clear to me that whilst patent attorneys might feel very strongly about a particular IP law or procedure, what actually happens at the negotiating table is that concessions have to be made, deals brokered and battles carefully selected to avoid queering the pitch on something important simply to achieve an outcome that the patent attorneys think looks more elegant but the rest of the world isn’t too fussed about. In other words, there is political horse-trading to be done. And then at the eleventh hour, after three days of meetings, one of the 130 hugely diverse delegates will wake up, remember what IP is and stamp his feet in the interests of national sovereignty, ie veto everything agreed so far. Being a person of integrity (as the CIPA Pee has to be), although also one of naivety, I find I have a lot of learning to do in this area. A person of integrity should stick to their principles, and continue to shout about them long after she has been dragged kicking and screaming off her soapbox. CIPA members probably expect me to do this in their interests, if nothing else because they enjoy the spectacle but also because I am there to represent the Good and the Just and the Properly Punctuated. On the other hand, a certain degree of pragmatism is called for, if you actually want to achieve anything. You have to accept that some battles you are never going to win, and some are not worth expending energy on, and that if you stand on the wrong soapbox saying the wrong things for the wrong length of time, then however good your intentions, you are not going to go down as the world’s most influential operator. Which is also, ultimately, of little use to CIPA members and their clients. I guess this is what people call Diplomacy. It has never concerned me before, as anyone who has worked with me will know, especially Mr Davies. And I am not about to become expert at it in the four months I have left as Pee. I will just have to worry my tiny brain about it some other time: right now, there’s a toothbrush to pack.
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