WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/304
12 September 2001
(01-4278)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property Rights
WTO SECRETARIAT TECHNICAL COOPERATION IN THE TRIPS AREA
Note by the Secretariat
1. This document updates the information on the WTO Secretariat's technical cooperation
activities in regard to TRIPS matters contained in document IP/C/W/201, dated 8 August 2000.  Itcovers a 12-month period from September 2000 to  August 2001.  It focuses on the Secretariat's
technical cooperation activities that specifically relate to intellectual property.  However, it should be
noted that the general technical cooperation and training activities of the WTO Secretariat usually
cover intellectual property.  These activities as they relate to intellectual property matters are briefly
discussed in the last section of this note.
Main Orientations
2. The focus of the Secretariat's technical cooperation activities specifically in relation to TRIPS
has continued to be on assisting Members to understand the rights and obligations which flow from
the TRIPS Agreement.  It has been aimed at helping Members to assess the amendments that may beneeded to their national legislation, the adaptations in institutions that may be called for and other
requirements for which they would need to plan, and to train staff, both for these purposes and for the
actual implementation of TRIPS-consistent legislation in the fields of standards and enforcement.
The purpose has also been to assist Members to participate fully in the operation of the TRIPS
Council, including to meet their procedural obligations under the Agreement, and the other
mechanisms of the WTO related to TRIPS matters.  The Secretariat is also frequently requested to
supply information about issues under review or negotiation in the Council for TRIPS or issues under
discussion in other fora perceived to have a relation to the TRIPS Agreement.
3. During the reporting period, an important part of the Secretariat's work has been assisting
developing countries to prepare notifications of their TRIPS implementing legislation and to
participate in the review of that legislation.  The TRIPS Council held three meetings including
reviews of legislation (in November 2000, April and June 2001);  the next review meeting will takeplace in November 2001.  The Secretariat has also provided assistance to countries seeking to join the
WTO by helping them to prepare for the accession process and by training officials.  In providing
general assistance related to the rights and obligations which flow from the TRIPS Agreement,
priority continues to be attached to assistance to least-developed countries.
4. The technical cooperation made available has been essentially demand-driven.  Importance
has been attached to ensuring complementarity and cooperation with other intergovernmental
organizations, in particular WIPO.  The main modes of supply of technical cooperation specifically
relating to the TRIPS Agreement have been information and advice given to Members in Geneva,
study programmes, training courses, seminars and workshops for developing countries in Geneva and
elsewhere, and, to a lesser extent, NGO conferences.  However, the extent to which requests forassistance could be responded to continued, in the course of the reporting period, to be constrained by
personnel and financial resources.  In addition, the heavy reliance on extra-budgetary funds has made
it difficult to plan future events in an efficient manner.IP/C/W/304
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Information and Advice Given to Members in Geneva
5. A large part of the work of Secretariat officials dealing with intellectual property matters has
been concerned with providing information in response to questions put to them by representatives of
Member governments.  During the reporting period, focus has been on notification and reviewprocedures.  Other issues raised have concerned, for the most part, the meaning of particular
provisions of the TRIPS Agreement and matters under discussion in the TRIPS Council.  Matters
have been raised with the Secretariat not only by local delegations but also by visiting intellectual
property officials and as a result of direct contacts from officials in capitals by phone or in written
form.  Often the issues raised relate to draft legislation under consideration.  Advice and information
has also been given to officials from acceding countries and representatives of the private sector.
Seminars and Workshops for Developing and Acceding Countries
6. During the reporting period, the Secretariat prov ided speakers to 14 international, regional
and national seminars, workshops and other events outside Geneva devoted in whole or in large part
to the TRIPS Agreement or to a specific aspect of the Agreement and aimed to be of benefit to
officials of developing and acceding countries directly concerned with implementation of theAgreement.  Participation of the Secretariat officials in certain events, including those organized by
WIPO, was financed by the organizers.  Annex 1 to  this document contains a list of technical
cooperation missions outside Geneva in the TRIPS area.
7. In addition, the Secretariat organized special study programmes for individual countries or
groups of countries in Geneva, and provided speakers or briefings for a number of seminars andtraining programmes organized in Geneva by others, notably WIPO.
Cooperation with WIPO and Other Intergovernmental Organizations
8. As indicated in this note and earlier reports submitted to the Council for TRIPS, cooperation
with WIPO has been a key feature of WTO Secretar iat technical cooperation in the TRIPS area.  This
has been based on the Cooperation Agreement between the two Organizations, Article 4 of which
deals with legal-technical assistance and technical cooperation.1  Since the Agreement was concluded,
there has been intensive cooperation between the two Organizations on technical cooperation matters,
which has been regularly reported to the Council.2
9. In pursuance of the Cooperation Agreement, WIPO and the WTO launched, in July 1998, aJoint Initiative on Technical Cooperation to assist developing countries to meet their commitments
under the TRIPS Agreement by the year 2000.  The initiative was intended to draw the attention of therespective governments to the availability of assistance from the two Organizations in the
implementation of the TRIPS Agreement and to enable them to make use of the available resources
and expertise for their countries' benefit.  It also underlined the willingness of the two Organizations
                                                     
1 The Agreement Between the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Trade
Organization came into effect on 1 January 1996.  Article 4 of the Agreement provides for the InternationalBureau of WIPO to make available to developing country WTO Members which are not Members of WIPO thesame legal-technical assistance relating to the TRIPS Agreement as it makes available to Member States of
WIPO which are developing countries.  The WTO Secretar iat is required to reciprocate.  The Agreement also
provides for the International Bureau and the WTO Secretariat to enhance cooperation in their legal-technicalassistance and technical cooperation activities relating to the TRIPS Agreement for developing countries, so asto maximize the usefulness of those activities and ensure their mutually supportive nature.
2  See documents IP/C/W/201,156, 110, 79 and 36.IP/C/W/304
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to use their resources to provide, on request, assistance for these purposes, both individually and
jointly.3
10. On 14 June 2001, WIPO and the WTO launched the Joint Initiative on Technical Cooperationfor Least-Developed Countries (see Annex 2 to this document).  It is aimed at helping least-developed
country Members of the WTO comply with their obligations under the TRIPS Agreement and makebest use of the intellectual property system for their economic, social and cultural development.  It is
also open to other least-developed countries as well.  Under this Joint Initiative, the two
Organizations, together with countries requesting assistance, and, where appropriate, donor countries,
will endeavour to maximize the use of available resources in the coming critical period by ensuring
that technical cooperation activities are efficiently planned and coordinated.  It is to be noted that,
before the launching of this Joint Initiative, the WT O Secretariat has already participated in regional
or national meetings organized by WIPO for least-developed countries.
11. The WTO Secretariat has also cooperated in the provision of technical cooperation in the area
of TRIPS with a number of other intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental
organizations, as can be seen from Annex 1.  The WTO Secretariat will participate in a training course
organized by the WHO Secretariat on "The Public  Health Implications of Multilateral Trade
Agreements" (Geneva, 10-14 September 2001).
 4
Other Technical Cooperation and Training Activities
12. As noted above, the general technical cooperation and training activities of the WTOSecretariat usually cover intellectual property.  Secretariat officials working on intellectual property
matters have participated in these activities to the extent possible.  Such activities have included
seminars, workshops and training courses aimed at providing an overall appreciation of the WTOprovisions and mechanisms and other assistance;  they took place in Geneva and outside Geneva.  For
example, the regular and special WTO Trade Policy Courses include presentations on the TRIPS
Agreement, and the participants in the regular courses spend one  day at WIPO, learning about that
Organization, its conventions and activities.  In addition, the training material and other
documentation prepared by the Secretariat contain information on the TRIPS Agreement.
                                                     
3 For details on the implementation of this Joint Initiative, see documents IP/C/W/201, 156 and 110.
See also document IP/C/W/202/Add.3 and 155/Add.4, which contain information on WIPO's technical
cooperation activities relevant to the implementation of th e TRIPS Agreement, including those relating to the
implementation of this Joint Initiative.
4 Further details on cooperation with intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations in the
field of intellectual property and access to medicines ca n be found in document JOB(01)/82, of 13 June 2001.IP/C/W/304
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ANNEX 1
Technical Cooperation Missions in the TRIPS Area from September 2000 to August 2001
           Date Place Mission9-10 October 2000 Brijuni Islands,
CroatiaWIPO Regional Workshop on the Protection of
Geographical Indications
13-19 October 2000 Moscow,
Russian FederationWIPO – Moscow Intellectual Property Forum
17 October 2000 Doha,
QatarIslamic Development Bank - Trade Policy Course
23-25 October 2000 Khartoum,
SudanWIPO/Sudan – Workshop on Intellectual Property
for Arab Least-Developed Countries
2-3 November 2000 London,
United KingdomFIELD/UNCTAD – Strengthening Research and
Policy-Making Capacity on Trade and Environmentin Developing Countries
7 November 2000 Bangkok and
Chiang Mai,
ThailandFifth APEC /PFP Training Course on Management of
Intellectual Property Rights
7-8 November 2000 Hong Kong, China Governm ent of Hong Kong, China and Hong Kong
Group of the APAA (Asian Patent Attorneys'
Association) – Asian Symposium 2000
28 March 2001 New Delhi,
IndiaICC, IFPMA and Council for EU Chambers of
Commerce – Symposium on Foreign Direct
Investment, Research and Development and
Intellectual Property Rights
19-20 April 2001 Yaoundé,
CameroonMédecins Sans Frontières – Afrique de l'Ouest,
Conférence régionale:  "Globalisation et accès à la
santé:  accords commerciaux et propriétéintellectuellle" (West Africa, Regional Conference on
Globalization and Access to Medicines: Trade
Agreements and Intellectual Property)IP/C/W/304
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27 - 30 April 2001 Managua,
NicaraguaWTO mission - Notification and review procedures
and reviews of TRIPS legislation
8-10 May 2001 Kuala Lumpur,
MalaysiaUNHCHR – Workshop on the Impact of
Globalization on the Full Enjoyment of Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights and the Right to
Development
21-22 May 2001 Istanbul,
TurkeyTurkish Patent Institute/European Patent Office -
Symposium on the European Patent System:  Chance
and Challenge for Turkey
6-8 June 2001 Mangalia,
RomaniaWIPO-WTO Seminar on the Enforcement of
Intellectual Property Rights
11-15 June 2001 Hanoi and
Ho Chi MinhCity, Viet NamSwitzerland/Viet Nam – Special Programme of
Cooperation in the Field of Intellectual Property:Intellectual Property and the Integration of Viet Nam
into the Multilateral Trade SystemIP/C/W/304
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ANNEX 2
The text of the joint communication signed by the two Directors-General on 14 June 2001 and sent to
least-developed country governments
_____________
Joint Initiative on Technical Cooperation
for Least-Developed Countries
provided by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
and the World Trade Organization (WTO)
Madam,
Sir,
We have the honor to address you on an important matter.  As you are aware, the obligations
under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement)
will come into force on January 1, 2006, in the case of least-developed country Members of the WTO.
For these countries, fulfilling this commitment poses a considerable challenge;  however, it also
presents numerous opportunities to utilize intellectual property for accelerating their economic, social,and cultural development.
We have the pleasure to inform you that the WIPO and the WTO are launching a joint
initiative on technical cooperation to assist least- developed countries to meet this challenge.  This
joint initiative is being taken under the auspices  of the Agreement Between the World Intellectual
Property Organization and the World Trade Organi zation, which came into force on January 1, 1996.
This Agreement provides, inter alia , that the two Organizations will cooperate in providing legal-
technical assistance and technical cooperation related to the TRIPS Agreement for developing country
Members of either of the two Organizations.  The joint initiative is intended to build on the existing
cooperation between the two Organizations and their existing programs in this connection.
In the first phase of the initiative, the two Or ganizations will organize two regional workshops
in the year 2002, one for the least-developed sub-Saharan African countries and Haiti, and the other
for the least-developed countries in the Asia-Pacific region.  The objective of these workshops will beto ensure that officials from these countries are fully familiar with the basic concepts, principles and
obligations laid down in the TR IPS Agreement, in particular with a view to facilitating its
implementation and identifying critical implementation challenges.  Invitations to these workshops
will be extended also to those least-developed countries that are neither Members of the WTO nor
Member States of the WIPO.  These workshops, together with bilateral contacts, will also help todraw up a list of priority forms of assistance that should be provided under the joint initiative in the
second phase, which will focus on country specific action plans.
Under this joint initiative, the two Organizations commit themselves to use available
resources to provide, on request, assistance to enable least-developed country Members of the WTOto comply with obligations under the TRIPS Agreem ent within the applicable  time limits.  Our two
Organizations will provide technical cooperation, both individually and jointly, using both in-house
resources and outside experts, and, wherever appropriate, in conjunction with donor countries.  The
joint initiative aims to facilitate enhanced utilization of programs both in respect of the provision of
substantive intellectual property rights and in respect of procedures and remedies for theirenforcement, which is an integral part of the TRIPS Agreement.IP/C/W/304
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Please find annexed to this letter a list of the forms of assistance and cooperation that are
available on request from your Government.  This is not an exhaustive list and we will give
consideration to requests for other forms of assistance that you may require, within the limits of our
resources.
We hope that this initiative will enable your Government to utilize the resources and expertise
of our two Organizations in implementing the TRIPS Agreement and making use of it for your
country's benefit.  Requests for technical cooperation under this initiative can be sent to either
Organization.
This letter is being sent to the Permanent Repr esentatives of least-developed countries to the
WIPO and to the WTO and copies to their industrial property offices and copyright offices.
Accept, Madam, Sir, the assurances of our highest consideration.
Kamil Idris Mike Moore
Director General Director-General
World Intellectual Property Organization World Trade Organization.....IP/C/W/304
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ANNEX (to the Joint Communication)
FORMS OF ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE
Assistance Regarding Legislation
• Advice on compatibility of existing legislation with the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement
• Advice on the preparation of new legislation including the preparation of draft legislation with
commentaries or explanatory notes or the prep aration of comments and suggestions on draft laws
or legislative provisions prepared by Governments
• Preparation of draft implementing regulations including schedules of fees and forms
Notification Obligations under the TRIPS Agreement
• Assistance in meeting the notification obligations under the TRIPS Agreement
Human Resource Development
• International, regional, sub-regional and national meetings to explain and discuss the provisions
and implications of the TRIPS Agreement
• Training courses, fellowships, study visits, advisory missions and on-the-job training
• Special meetings and courses for policy makers/advisors, officials, judiciary and enforcement
agencies (customs/police), attorneys, scientific, research and academic institutions, inventors andinventors' associations, etc.
• Assistance regarding technology transfer and licensing arrangements
• Teaching of intellectual property law
Institution Building and Modernization of Intellectual Property System
• Establishing and modernizing intellectual property offices
• Assisting the setting up of collective administrations for copyright
• Preparation of work manuals and rationalization and simplification of work procedures
• Information technology, automation and computerization
• Patent information services
• Collaboration with regional and national training institutions
• Preparation and implementation of Nationally Focused Action Plans (NFAPs), inter alia , for the
above.
Enforcement
• Training of trainers
• Networking of and coordination among the enforcement agencies
• Facilitating the creation of data bases
• Special fora for judiciary
• Training for enforcement agencies including customs and police officials
• Liaison with the private sector and rights holders associations.IP/C/W/304
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Online
• Provision of information through the Internet websites of the two Organizations (www.wipo.int
and www.wto.org)
__________