The document summarizes the key events and updates from the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA). It discusses the upcoming WCIT 2012 conference, WITSA leadership activities, and WITSA's position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. Specifically, it notes WITSA's concerns around lack of consultation, transparency, and potential fragmentation of trade rules and intellectual property policies under the TPP. WITSA advocates for multilateral agreements under organizations like the WTO and WIPO to establish consistent global standards.

1. WITSA 2012 Newsletter
Volume 1, 2012 World Information Technology and Services Alliance
In the News
WCIT 2012 Preliminary Program and Highlights! The World Tech Jam -
A Global Forum on
WCIT 2012 will bring digital gurus together with leaders of government
and industry for three days of debate and discussions around shared Digital Society
opportunities for digital innovation across all segments of the society.
WCIT 2012 will be hosting a
The Congress will also feature: World Tech Jam in June
2012, where thousands of
 The United Nations’ World Youth Summit Awards (WSYA) which stakeholders – ICT senior
promotes best practices in e-content and new media and executives, large technology
demonstrates young people’s potential to create outstanding digital users, representatives from
content; academia, governments,
 A B2B event with structured business meetings aimed at renewing NGOs, policymakers,
or developing multinational and cross-industry contacts and business leaders and young
partnerships; citizens will come together
 The C200 Investment Forum that provides a premium networking to crowd source hundreds
opportunity between selected Canadian companies seeking of new ideas, innovations
investment and invited members of the International ICT Investment and actions that the ICT
community; sector can adopt in order to
 A unique showcase of Canadian Innovations and Young Global help address societal and
Innovators, where presenters will demonstrate world-changing economic challenges.
ideas and answer questions from the audience; and
 The WITSA Global ICT Excellence Awards; identifying the most
outstanding ICT users and honoring organizations that have
demonstrated exceptional achievement in using ICT to benefit
societies, governments, individuals, organizations and the private
sector.
Registration is now OPEN.
www.witsa.org

2. WITSA 2012 Newsletter
Leadership Update
Khoo to speak at China Strategic Emerging Industry
Development Forum
WITSA Chairman, Dato’ Dan E CHITEC has been held every year
Khoo has been invited to speak in the month of May since 1998
at the China Strategic Emerging and jointly hosted by the State
Industry Development forum, Council, the Ministry of Science
Event Highlight to be held in Beijing, China and Technology, the Ministry of
from May 23 to 24. With the Commerce, the Ministry of
theme of Strategic Emerging Education, the Ministry of
Industry Development and Industry and Information,
WITSA Board to meet Economic Restructure, the State-owned Assets Supervision
in Brasilia forum will be held at the and Administration Commission
Diaoyutai State Guesthouse and of the State Council, the China
Sunword Dynasty Hotel. Council for the Promotion of
The WITSA Board of International Trade, the State
Directors which meets Intellectual Property Office and
The high-level officials’ forum
twice a year will be having
is typically attended by Beijing Municipal Government.
its next meeting in Brasilia
influential figures from
in June 2012. ASSESPRO of
selected institutions and
Brazil, who has won the
enterprises as well as
hosting rights to the Global
representatives from local and
Policy Action and Trade
foreign companies. It will be
Summit (GPATS) 2013 will
held in conjunction with the
be hosting the meeting.
15th China Beijing International
High-Tech Expo (CHITEC).
Poisant to speak at WSIS Forum 2012 (May 16-20, 2012 at Geneva)
The ITU, UNESCO, UNCTAD and UNDP will be
organizing the upcoming World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2012, a United
Nations (UN) summit from May 14 to 18, 2012 at
Geneva, Switzerland. Dr. Jim Poisant, WITSA’s
Secretary General has been invited to be among
the speakers in the High-Level Opening Session
to be held on May 14 with the theme “ICT for Sustainable Development: WSIS beyond 2015”. The session
will provide an interesting blend of panel of experts with audience interaction on specific topics identified
that would be relevant and crucial within the mandate of the WSIS.
WSIS Forum 2012 is a UN summit that is a unique two-phase initiative to create an evolving
multi-stakeholder platform aimed at addressing the issues raised by information and communication
technologies (ICTs) through a structured and inclusive approach at the national, regional and international
levels. Its goal is to achieve a common vision, desire and commitment to build a people-centric, inclusive
and development-oriented Information Society where everyone can create, access, utilize and share
information. For more information about WSIS, go to http://www.itu.int/wsis/basic/about.html.
www.witsa.org

3. Volume 1, 2012
Leadership Update
WITSA’s Advisory Council
WITSA recently introduced a program to
enable greater public policy engagement. Mr. Allan Marcus
Members of the council will be made up of Senior Director, Head Information Technolo-
multi-stakeholders representing ICT gies and Communications Industries
corporations, officials within governments and The World Economic Forum (WEF)
multilateral organizations, non profit New York, NY
organizations and academic institutions. The
council will offer perspectives and
recommendations to WITSA on important topic
and issues.
WITSA believes that this council will bring
added value to both WITSA’s policy endeavours
as well as WITSA members as a whole.
By participating in this program, WITSA Dr. Thomas Stelzer
believes that members will gain access to a true Assistant Secretary General
global network of people who have a common For Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs
purpose in fulfilling the promise of the Digital Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Age, across virtually all cultures, societies and United Nations, New York NY
stages of economic development, helping to
develop and deliver effective public policies
regarding the development, application and use
of ICT.
WITSA is pleased to confirm the following
Council members:
Mr. John S. Wilson
Lead Economist
Development Economics Research Group
Trade and International Integration
The World Bank
Washington, D.C. 20433
Mr. John Higgins
Chairman
WITSA Global Policy Action Committee
CEO Digital Europe
Dr. Robert Kahn (One of the Fathers of the Internet)
President & CEO
Corporation for National Research Initiatives
Reston, Virginia
WITSA is seeking additional members to join the council from all global regions.
www.witsa.org

4. WITSA 2012 Newsletter
 Only four associations
across these countries
have had consultations
with their government
on the TPPA; of these,
only three had been
consulted about IP
issue;
 Most associations have
Promise of the Digital Age formal IP policies, and
all support WITSA's
position;
Trans-Pacific Partnership  There are still no
The Trans-Pacific Partnership In the wake of the groundswell "public" versions of the
(TPP), also known as the against the proposed US Protect negotiating texts;
Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic IP Act (PIPA) and Stop Online  Virtually all speakers at
Partnership Agreement, is a Piracy Act (SOPA), and also the the Stakeholders
multilateral free trade agreement Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Forum expressed
that aims to further liberalise the Agreement (ACTA), to which the concern about the
consultation processes
economies of the Asia-Pacific EU recently indicated it was of governments, and
region; specifically, Article 1.1.3 delaying accession, WITSA the lack of
notes: "The Parties seek to canvassed members and transparency in these
support the wider liberalisation associations in countries affected negotiations especially
process in APEC consistent with or potentially affected by the TPP around reported IP
clauses;
its goals of free and open trade to indicate the extent to which  Despite this concern,
and investment." they have been consulted by, or the briefing of
engaged in discussions with, their stakeholders by
The original agreement between governments on the contents of negotiators that was
the countries of Brunei, Chile, any proposed agreement. held on 7 March
New Zealand and Singapore was contained little new
information, nor was
signed on June 3, 2005, and Based on the survey results, Tim there any request from
entered into force on May 28, Conway, WITSA's Senior Policy negotiators for
2006. Six additional countries – Advisor, made a presentation to information from
Australia, Malaysia, Peru, Japan, stakeholders and negotiators stakeholders on issues
United States, and Vietnam – during a Forum organised as part such as cloud
are negotiating to join the of the Melbourne round of computing, which was
reported to have raised
group. Canada is an observer in negotiations. A copy of Tim's some concerns
the TPP talks but has not speech and slides is available at
committed to join. South Korea this download link Key points are This concerns WITSA.
has been requested to join and is as follows:
expected to do so in due course.
 WITSA has strong
-continue to next page-
The eleventh round of membership across the TPPA
negotiations took place on March country group, including
1–9, 2012, in Melbourne, among those invited (Japan,
Australia. Canada, Mexico) and
interested (South Korea);
www.witsa.org

5. Volume 1, 2012
WITSA on Twitter
WITSA now has a
twitter feed! Please
follow us @WITSA1,
and remember to
include us in your
Continue from page 3 tweets where you are
seeking wider
In principle, WITSA supports actions that reduce barriers to trade in circulation. You are
goods and services between nations. This is a central element in our also encouraged to
re-tweet ours where
mission of "fulfilling the Promise of the Digital Age". However, our appropriate.
preference is this be undertaken, where possible, as part of a multilateral
process under the auspices of organisations such as the World Trade This is the start of a
Organisation (WTO) and the World Intellectual Property Organisation wider social media
(WIPO). We note these processes take a long time and can be complex, strategy for WITSA,
but they at least occur around agreed common goals and lead to which will be rolled out
over the year, along
standardised approaches. with a redesign of the
Because of problems of delay and complexity in laws. To do WITSA website,
achieving multilateral agreements, there has been otherwise will incorporating blog
a strong push towards bilateral (country to set back trade spaces.
country) and plurilateral/regional trade development.
negotiations - the TPPA being one of the latter. As The TRIPS
the current TPPA negotiations show (along with agreement
current concerns arising with the provides the base, and efforts should focus on
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement - ACTA), the amending this for technological requirements
outcome of a more fragmented approach is exactly on a global basis.
that - fragmentation of trading arrangements and 4. Any proposed amendments to IP policies,
applicable laws, such as those affecting IP. There regulations and rules must always balance the
are also concerns regarding extra-territorial critical interests of reward for innovation, on
enforcement of one country's laws in the one hand, and access to technology on the
another. Consultation processes and other.
transparency, discussed above, are also often 5. Enforcement of IP laws is a very sensitive issue,
weak. The exclusive nature of these types of and must be recognised as such. Wherever
agreements is also troubling; for example, the TPP possible, extra-territorial enforcement of one
excludes China and India. nation's laws over another should be avoided.
In the TPPA presentation linked above, WITSA set As WITSA's concerns are also reflected in other
out five principles that governments should follow proposed treaties, such as ACTA, WITSA members
in relation to these types of negotiations: are urged to pay attention to them, and seek
discussions with their country's trade negotiators
1. Consultation with affected industries and other and government officials who are currently, or may
stakeholders. This appears not to be be, involved in the negotiating rounds. If you agree
happening in many countries, at least in with the principles set out above, please advocate
relation to the ICT sector these at meetings with government and trade
2. Any proposed policy or regulatory change must officials. Please seek their feedback on the
be supported by proven cost/benefit evidence. negotiations to-date, and ask them to work with
This is, in fact, the reason why governments you, as the national ICT association, on issues that
should be consulting more actively and affect the ICT industry in your country.
transparently.
3. Trade rules generally, and IP rules and By all means, please share any information or
regulations in particular (because they insights you have on the process with your WITSA
underpin ICT) should be a global development, colleagues.
leading to standardised approaches in national
If you have any concerns with the principles above,
or any other aspect, please contact Tim Conway.
www.witsa.org