Intellectual property and the commercial and technological developments in e-commerce will take centerstage at the WIPO conference in Geneva, Switzerland from September 19 to 21.

"This conference is not one to have an outcome. It is more for raising awareness," said Gurry. He said the conference that will be attended by representatives from industry, government, and the general public.

The main issues to be covered by the conference will include the ease of reproduction and distribution of materials on the Internet, the preservation and challenges facing intellectual property rights. Delegates will address intellectual property in relation to music, films and online publishing, domain name registration and the influence of new information technologies on intellectual property rights.

A major challenge in regulating intellectual property is the global access allowed by the Web, which is not bound by international borders. Legislation depends on individual countries, making the enforcement of national laws on the Internet extremely difficult. "There are laws in place; the problem is enforcing them," said Gurry. He stressed the need for international action in order to curb the violation of intellectual property laws.

The first WIPO conference was held in Geneva in September 1999. This led to the launch of the 'Digital Agenda,' a plan of action for adapting intellectual property to the digital age. This conference emphasized the importance of intellectual properties for the future development of e-commerce. The conference also aimed to educate developing countries on the problems faced by intellectual property rights in the digital age.

The first conference yielded two treaties, the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT). The WTC covers the reproduction and distribution of material on the Web, while the WPPT deals with the rights of performers, authors and artists. The WIPO feels confident that both the treaties will be ratified and entered into force by December 2001.

Neither of the two treaties directly address file-sharing software such as Napster. According to Gurry, this is so because when the treaties were signed in 1999 little was known of the capabilities of such technology. Despite this, laws are in place to prevent the defacing and altering of material, he said.

WIPO settles 70 percent of Web-related disputes globally. The rest are settled by organizations in the United States and Canada. When asked if in the future, there was a possibility for a sole international body to settle disputes, Gurry said, "The jury is still out on that one."

Some of the speakers will not be able to attend the conference because of flight difficulties following last week's terrorist attacks on the United States. Organizers said they are exploring the use video conferencing for the speakers. The conference will also be Webcast.