’ Response to Wikimedia Foundation’s WIPO Observer Application Being Blocked
Summary
WIPO is the UN agency that develops international treaties on copyright, patents, trademarks and related intellectual property issues. The Wikimedia Foundation is one of the world’s largest stakeholders and contributors in the sphere of access to knowledge and information, with its projects and community reaching a global audience. WIPO plays a pivotal role in shaping international rules that influence the sharing of free knowledge. This decision deprives the Wikimedia Foundation’s vast global communities of the opportunity to participate in this process. Creative Commons reaffirms its support for Wikimedia Foundation’s application and calls on WIPO members, including the People’s Republic of China, to reconsider this decision.” Restrictive copyright systems and other barriers to access and sharing of knowledge and information continue to threaten the foundations of our free and democratic societies.