QMIPRI Reports on IP-NGO's

"Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are important players in intellectual property policy debates but should be aware of limitations and potential improvements to their influence with developing countries," writes Catherine Saez in a January 17, 2007 article for Intellectual Property Watch that reviews an extensive December 22, 2006 report by the Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute setting out the main findings of its the IP-NGOs project:

The report found that, in general, NGOs have won the trust of delegates and
have good working relationships with them. For some countries, NGOs are useful
because they can articulate viewpoints that it would be politically or diplomatically unacceptable for developing country governments themselves to make. The study shows that delegates acknowledge the assistance they have received from international NGOs.

However, according to the report, some delegates interviewed by IP-NGOs expressed concerns about the influence of their donors on NGOs. This can lead to
international NGOs being more inclined to be responsive to what developing
countries say they want to work on.