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Aussie reappointed as head of global IP body
Australian lawyer Francis Gurry has been nominated for a second term as director general of the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
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The nomination is expected to be approved by the full membership at the WIPO General Assembly, scheduled for May.
Gurry joined the WIPO in 1985 as a consultant and senior program officer in the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific.
He was elected director general in 2008. His first six-year term will end on 30 September 2014.
The Coordination Committee, which comprises 83 member states, recently held one round of voting. Gurry received 46 votes, with 20 votes going to WIPO deputy director Geoffrey Onyeama of Nigeria and 10 votes for Panama Ambassador Alfredo Suescum Alfaro.
Before the second round of voting began, the candidacies of Onyeama and Suescum were withdrawn and Gurry was selected as the consensus nominee by delegates.
Gurry offered his “heartfelt and profound thanks” to member states from all regional groups for the support given to him.
He said his main goal was to “maximise opportunities for all member states”.
“I think that the world of intellectual property is a challenging one, but one with great opportunities,” Gurry told delegates.
