Australian wins vote to head U.N. patent agency

GENEVA, May 13 (Reuters) - Australian patent lawyer Francis Gurry was nominated on Tuesday as director-general of the United Nations' business-oriented World Intellectual Property Organisation, WIPO.

Gurry, a deputy director-general since 2003, beat his WIPO colleague and trademark registrations chief Jose Graca Aranha in a poll of 83 WIPO member states by 42 votes to 41 after earlier rounds had eliminated 12 other candidates.

The appointment has to be approved by a WIPO General Assembly in September and, if confirmed as expected, Gurry will take over from the agency's current head Kamal Idris of Sudan on Oct. 1. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay and Robert Evans; Editing by Stephen Weeks)