WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/110
7 September 1998
(98-3392)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English
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/79, dated 8 September 1997.  It
covers the period from September 1997 to August 1998.
2. This paper 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.  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 WTO provisions and mechanisms held in Geneva and outside Geneva and otherassistance.  For example, the regular and special WTO Trade Policy Courses include presentations on
the TRIPS Agreement, and the participants in the regular courses spend half a day at the World
Intellectual Property Organization (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.
1
Main Orientations
3. 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 be
needed 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 theactual implementation of TRIPS consistent legislation in the fields of standards and enforcement.  The
purpose has also been to assist Members to partic ipate 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 technical cooperation made available has been essentially
demand-driven, though the extent to which requests could be responded to was limited by theavailable resources.  Importance has been attached to ensuring complementarity and cooperation with
                                                     
1 A Manual on Technical Cooperation and Training published by the Secretariat provides a description
of technical cooperation and training activities available in the WTO, how Members can benefit from such
assistance and how requests should be filed to participate in the activities.  The guidelines for WTO technicalcooperation, adopted by the Committee on Trade and Development on 15 October 1996, are contained indocument WT/COMTD/8, and the implementation modalities for the administration of technical cooperationactivities are contained in document WT/COMTD/W/29, dated 25 July 1997.  A report on technical cooperationand training (1997) is contained in document WT/COMTD/W/36, dated 18 February 1998, and corrigenda 1
and 2.  A WTO programme for technical cooperation (three-year plan 1998-2000) is contained in document
WT/COMTD/W/32/Rev.1.IP/C/W/110
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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, seminars and workshops for developing countries, technical missions to
individual Members, and, to a lesser extent, NGO conferences.
Information and Advice Given to Members in Geneva
4. 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.  The issues raised have concerned, for the most part, the meaning of particular
provisions of the TRIPS Agreement, the fulfilment of notification requirements under the Agreement
and matters under discussion in the TRIPS Council.  Matters have been raised with the Secretariat not
only by local delegations but also, to a considerable extent, by visiting intellectual property officialsand 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
5. The Secretariat provided speakers to several international, regional and national seminars
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 directly concerned with implementation of the Agreement.
Many of these seminars were organized by WIPO.  In addition, a number of regional and national
seminars provided the Secretariat an opportunity to assist host governments on specific issues.  Someof the conferences of non-governmental organizations that were attended by Secretariat officials were
of particular interest also to developing countries.  The financial assistance of the International Bureau
of WIPO made it possible for WTO Secretariat officials to participate in WIPO organized meetings
outside Geneva.  Participation of the Secretariat of ficials in certain other seminars was also financed
by the hosts or organizers.  The Annex to this do cument contains a list of technical cooperation
missions outside Geneva in the TRIPS area.  In addition, the Secretariat provided speakers to a
number of seminars and training programmes or ganized in Geneva by others, notably WIPO.
6. As a follow-up to the High-Level Meeting on Integrated Initiatives for Least-Developed
Countries' Trade Development,
2 the WTO Secretariat organized in cooperation with the Governments
of Australia and New Zealand a seminar on TRIPS Agreement for officials from least-developed and
certain other developing countries from the Asia/Pacific region.  The seminar was held in Sydney,
Australia, from 27 April to 1 May 1998.  The main fi nancing for the event came from the contribution
by Hong Kong, China to the WTO Trust Fund, with additional funding provided by the Governments
of Australia and New Zealand.  The objective of the seminar was to familiarize officials with the basic
concepts, principles and obligations laid down in the TRIPS Agreement.  Twenty-eight officials from
16 countries in the Asia/Pacific region participated in the seminar.  Speakers included, in addition to
officials from the WTO Secretariat, officials from the Governments of Australia;  Hong Kong, China;New Zealand;  and the International Bureau of WIPO, as well as experts from academia and the
private sector.  This seminar complemented two earlier workshops organized by the Secretariat that
                                                     
2 An "Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance, including for Human and
Institutional Capacity-Building, to Support Least-Developed Countries in Their Trade and Trade-Related
Activities" was endorsed at the High-Level Meeting on Integrated Initiatives for Least-Developed Countries'Trade Development, held on 27 and 28 October 1997.  A description of the Integrated Framework is containedin document WT/LDC/HL/1/Rev.1.  More information on the outcome of the High-Level Meeting for least-
developed countries can be found on the WTO website at http://www.wto.org/wto/develop/hlm.htm.IP/C/W/110
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were oriented towards the other least-developed countries, held in Geneva in October 1996 and June
1997 for English-speaking and French-speaking Sub-Saharan African countries respectively.
Cooperation with WIPO and Other Intergovernmental Organizations
7. As indicated in this note and earlier reports submitted to the Council for TRIPS,3 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.4
8. In July 1998, WIPO and the WTO launched a Joint Initiative on Technical Cooperation to
assist developing countries to meet their commitments under the TRIPS Agreement by the year 2000.
The joint initiative is being taken under the auspices of the Cooperation Agreement.  The joint
initiative is intended to build on the existing cooperation between the two Organizations and their
existing programs in this connection.5  Under the joint initiative, the two Organizations commit
themselves to use available resources to provide, on request, assistance to enable developing country
Members of the WTO to comply with obligations  under the TRIPS Agreement within the applicable
time limits.  The two Organizations will provide technical cooperation, both individually and jointly,
using both in-house resources and outside experts, and, wherever appropriate, in conjunction withdonor countries.  The joint initiative aims to fa cilitate enhanced utiliza tion of programmes both in
respect of matters of substantive intellectual property rights and in respect of procedures and remedies
for their enforcement.
9. In launching the Joint Initiative, the two Organizations stressed that assistance given to other
countries - in particular least-developed countries, which do not have to meet the year-2000 deadline -will not suffer, and renewed their commitments to continue to provide technical cooperation to these
countries.
10. The International Bureau of WIPO and the WTO Secretariat will organize a Joint Symposium
on "The Process of Implementation of the TRIPS Agreement" in Geneva on 16 September 1998.
6
11. The WTO Secretariat has cooperated in the provision of technical cooperation in the area of
TRIPS also with a number of other intergovernmental organizations, including the European Patent
Office (EPO) and the World Bank.
                                                     
3 See documents IP/C/W/79 and IP/C/W/36.
4 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.
5 Information on WIPO's technical cooperation activ ities relevant to the implementation of the TRIPS
Agreement can be found in documents IP/C/W/35/Add.3 and IP/C/W/78/Add.1 and supplement.  Updated
information on WIPO's technical cooperation activities will be circulated in an addendum to document
IP/C/W/108.
6 The Symposium is a follow-up to two joint workshops on specific aspects of technical cooperation,
one on the "Border Enforcement Provisions of the TRIPS Agreement", held in September 1996, and the other on"Technical Cooperation Aimed at Improving Human Re sources and Institutional Capacities Required to
Implement the TRIPS Provisions on Domestic Enforcement", held in July 1997.IP/C/W/110
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12. In addition, the Secretariat has cooperated with a number of non-governmental organizations,
notably the AIPPI (Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété Industrielle).IP/C/W/110
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ANNEX
Technical Cooperation Missions in the TRIPS Area from September 1997 to August 1998
Date Place Mission
15-17 October 1997 India WIPO Asian Sub-Regional Symposium on the
Implications of the TRIPS Agreement
21-23 October 1997 Egypt Symposium on "Challenges in Intellectual Property
Protection:  International & Arab World Perspectives"
organized by the Egyptian Group of AIPPI (Association
Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété
Industrielle) and the Arab Regional Group of AIPPI
29 October 1997 Venezuela CONAPRI (Consejo Nacional de Promoción de
Inversiones) meeting on Intellectual Property and Juridical
Security
15-17 December
1997Israel National Seminar on TRIPS
17 January 1998 Singapore Lecture on TRI PS at the WTO Trade Policy Course
28-31 January 1998 Moldova Technical Mission9-11 February 1998 Poland Seminar on Enforcement for Customs Officers organized
by the EPO (European Patent Office)
23-24 April 1998 Slovak Republic EPO Regional Seminar on TRIPS27 April – 1 May
1998Australia Seminar on the TRIPS Agreement for Officials from
LDCs from the Asia/Pacific Region organized by the
WTO in cooperation with the Governments of Australia
and New Zealand
4-5 May 1998 Brazil (Sao
Paulo)WIPO National Seminar on Intellectual Property
6-7 May 1998 Brazil (Porto
Alegre)WIPO National Seminar on Intellectual Property
11-13 May 1998 Mali WIPO Sub-Regional African Seminar
24-29 May 1998 Brazil XXXVIIth Congress of AIPPI1-3 June 1998 Hong Kong,
ChinaWIPO Asian Regional Symposium on Enforcement of
IPRs under the TRIPS Agreement
4 June 1998 Hong Kong,
ChinaTechnical MissionIP/C/W/110
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Date Place Mission
11-12 June 1998 United States World Bank Workshop on IPRs and Agriculture
18-19 June 1998 Croatia WIPO National Seminar on IPRs24-26 June 1998 Bulgaria WIPO National Seminar on Enforcement of IPRs29 June – 1 July
1998Russia WIPO Academy Special Session on the TRIPS
Agreement for the CIS Countries
24-26 August 1998 Mexico ATRIP (International Association for the Advancement of
Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property) Annual
Meeting
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