WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/377
11 September 2002
(02-4790)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES:
INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS
JAPAN
The present document reproduces the updated information on Japan's technical and financial
cooperation activities relevant to the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement, which has been
received from the Permanent Mission of Japan by means of a communication dated 30 August 2002.
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I. TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL
PROPERTY RIGHTS
1. Voluntary contributions for WIPO Funds-in-Trust/Japan
Since 1987, the Government of Japan (GOJ) has been providing voluntary contributions in
the field of industrial property to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).  The "WIPO
Funds-in-Trust/Japan" (FIT/JP) in the field of industrial property was established with these voluntary
funds and is used annually to finance various projects for WIPO member countries in the Economic
and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP), such as the holding of IP offices conferencesor symposia, acceptance of trainees and IPR research  students, dispatch of Japan Patent Office (JPO)
officers and support for automation and modernization of IP offices.  The voluntary fund for Japanese
fiscal year (FY) 2002 accounts for ¥178.21 million.
2. Human Resources Development
(a) Training Programme
In order to support developing countries obligated to implement the TRIPS Agreement, Japan
has been receiving trainees.  Between April 1996 and March 2002, Japan received 1419 trainees in
both public and private sectors mainly from 42 countries and one economy in the Asia-Pacific region.
In the future, with the goal of efficient implementation of laws in mind, Japan is scheduled to proceedwith human resource development activities emphasizing the area of enforcement of intellectual
property rights.IP/C/W/377
Page 2
(i) Training programmes for government officials
The JPO has been holding the group training courses on industrial property rights for
government officials.  In FY 2001, the following five group training courses were held.
For APEC member economies
- "Group Training Course in Intellectual Property for APEC Economies" is a
two-month course for administrative officials working in areas related to IPR and
examiners of IPR.  Participants are divided into four groups according to their
specialities:  administration, patents and utility models, industrial designs, and
trademarks.
This training course was implemented by the Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA) in cooperation with the JPO and the Asia -Pacific Industrial Property Center (APIC) of
the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation (JIII).
For the ESCAP region
- "Training Course on the Enforcement of IPR under WIPO Funds-in-Trust/Japan" is a
two-week course for senior officials engaged in the enforcement of IPR in
enforcement-related government agencies.
- "Training Course on the Use of Information Technology in IP Administration under
WIPO Funds-in-Trust/Japan" is a two-week c ourse for senior officials of IP offices
responsible for information technology matters.
- "Training Course on the Examination Practices of Industrial Property under WIPO
Funds-in-Trust/Japan" is a three-week course for examiners in the field of IPR.
Participants are divided into three groups according to their specialities:  patents and
utility models, industrial designs, and trademarks.
- "Training Course on Industrial Property Administration under WIPO
Funds-in-Trust/Japan" is a two-week course for senior officials in IP offices in chargeof general administration and policy planning.
These four training courses are managed by the JPO and organized by the WIPO in
cooperation with JIII APIC.
(ii) Training programmes for the private sector
The JPO has also been holding the following group training courses on industrial property
rights for trainees from the private sector.
For APEC member economies
- "Industrial Property Rights Training Course for Management".
Participants of this two-week course occupy middle and senior management
personnel positions or their equivalent in private companies, law firms, research
institutes and educational organizations.IP/C/W/377
Page 3
- "Industrial Property Rights Training Course for Operational Staff".
Participants of the course are operational staff in private companies, law firms,
research institutes and educational organizations.  This three-to-four-week course is
held five times a year.
- "Industrial Property Rights Tr aining Course for Lawyers".
Participants of this three-week course are law staff or lawyers in law firms and
specialists of industrial property law in educational organizations.
For non-APEC economies- "Training Programme on Industrial Property Management".
The participants occupy middle and senior management positions or their equivalent
in private companies, law firms, research institutes and educational organizations.The course is for two weeks.
These training courses are conducted by APIC of JIII with the assistance of the
Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship (AOTS).
(b) Long-term fellowship
Under the long-term fellowship project funded by WIPO FIT/JP, an officer from Cambodia
(Intellectual Property Division, Ministry of Comm erce), a consultant from Sri Lanka (Sri Lanka
Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA)), and an officer from Thailand (Department of
Intellectual Property (DIP))  were invited to Japan to  study intellectual property issues for a period of
four months respectively.  In FY 2001, the JPO accepted one long term trainee each from Indonesia
and the Philippines for about six months under an independent project.
(c) Seminar on Intellectual Property Rights for IP-Enforcement Staff Members
The JPO has held an enforcement seminar as a third country training programme aimed at
developing human resources engaged in IPR enforcement and supporting relevant enlightenment and
dissemination of IPR systems in the Asia-Pacifi c region.  The seminar programme included basic
lectures on IPRs, presentations by participant countries on the present status of enforcement in their
respective countries, and information exchanges.
One seminar was held in the Republic of Korea in June 2001, and the other was held in
Singapore in March 2002.
(d) Expert missions
Experts and seminar instructors specializing in various areas of IPRs are dispatched by JPO
through WIPO FIT/JP and JICA mainly for periods  of about two weeks.  The dispatched experts
mainly provide on-site instruction regarding exam ination practices, computerization, PCT practices
and so forth.
The JICA also dispatches JPO officials as long-term experts in order to engage in JICA
project-type technical cooperation being implemented in the IP office of the respective recipient
countries and as individual experts on industrial property right administration.IP/C/W/377
Page 4
In FY 2001, 18 experts were dispatched under the WIPO scheme and 19 under the JICA
scheme (long-term:  7 persons /short-term:  12 persons).
(e) Symposia
Major symposia, etc., in FY 2001 funded by the WIPO FIT/JP are as shown below.
Title Venue/Date Theme Participants
WIPO Asian Regional
Forum(Director-General level
talks on regional IP
policies)Tokyo,
September 2001The Role of Intellectual
Property Offices in the21
st Century50 participants from 24
Asia-Pacific countriesand local participants
WIPO Asian RegionalWorkshopSocialist
Republic of Viet
Nam,
October 2001International Protection
of Marks28 participants from 21
Asia-Pacific countries
and approximately 70
local participants.
WIPO Asian RegionalWorkshopKingdom of
Thailand,
February 2002The Use of Information
Technology in the
Management of
Industrial PropertyRights for Small and
Medium-Sized
Enterprises (SMEs)52 participants from 21
Asia-Pacific countries
including 2 international
organizations and 60local participants
WIPO Asian RegionalWorkshopIslamic Republic
of Iran
April 2002Techology Management
and Commercialization
of Inventions and
Research Results36 participants from 22
Asia-Pacific countries
and 100 local
participants
WIPO Asian RegionalSymposiumPeople's
Republic of
China
July 2002The Importance of
Intellectual Property
System for High-tech
Industries31 participants from 21
Asia-Pacific countries
and 20 local participants
3. Computerization and Information Processing
(a) Modernization of Industrial Property Administration Project in the Philippines
JICA has been carrying out project-type t echnical cooperation in cooperation with JPO,
consisting of dispatch of two JPO employees as long term experts, for the Intellectual Property Office
of the Philippines (IPO) since May 1999.
The goal of this cooperation is to carry out human resource development through the
establishment of a patent administrative processing system over a period of four years.
Even before the start of the above cooperation, human resource development had been carried
out through the establishment of a trademark word search system from March 1995 to March 1997, atrademark clerical work system from May 1996 to May 1998, and a trademark management system
from April 1997 to April 2000.  One JPO employee for each of the above systems was dispatched as a
JICA long-term expert.IP/C/W/377
Page 5
(b) Modernization of Industrial Property Administration Project in Viet Nam
JICA has also been carrying out in cooperation with JPO, project-type technical cooperation,
for the National Office of Industrial Property of Vi et Nam (NOIP) consisting of dispatch of two JPO
employees as long term experts.
The cooperation aims at carrying out human resource development through the establishment
of an administrative processing system relating to industrial property rights over a period of four
years.
(c) Industrial Property Rights Information Center (IPIC) Project in Thailand
From July 1995 to June 2000, JICA carried out project-type technical cooperation in
cooperation with JPO for the Department of Intellectual Property of Thailand (DIP).  The cooperationwas titled the Industrial Property Rights Information Center (IPIC) Project.  During the
implementation period of the project, six JPO employees were dispatched as long term experts.
Through the establishment of  a patent search and external information dissemination system, this
cooperation contributed significantly to the DIP in such areas as improvement of examiner ability and
human resource development. To date, one JPO employee has been dispatched through JICA as an ITAdvisor to follow up the IPIC Project and give advice to DIP employees on system construction for
further modernization of the DIP.
(d) Support for Utilization of Information Technology through JICA Development Studies in
Malaysia
JICA also carries out development studies in c ooperation with JPO, such as that regarding
construction of an industrial design system for th e Intellectual Property Division of Malaysia (IPD).
(e) Provision of the "Patent Abstracts of Japan (PAJ)" on CD-ROM
Since 1995, the JPO has been providing about 85 national offices and other organizations all
over the world with the PAJ, which is a collection of abstracts of Japanese patent applications
translated into English, on CD-ROM.
(f) Electronic Data Processing Project for IP Information
The JPO has collected industrial property right laws and regulations of the world's major
countries including the APEC economies, and published both English and Japanese legislative texts in
CD-ROM form with search function.
In FY 2001, industrial property right laws (including laws and enforcement rules) from a total
of 45 countries and a total of 5 international agreements (agreements concerning the Benelux
countries, the Eurasian Patent Office, the EPO, the European Community and the TRIPS Agreements)
were recorded on CD-ROM and provided without charge to developing countries, mainly in the
APEC region.  Information from the Argentine Republic, Australia, the Republic of Austria,
the Republic of Belarus,  the Kingdom of Belgium, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Republic ofBulgaria, Canada, the Republic of Chile, People's Republic of China, the Czech Republic,
the Kingdom of Denmark,  the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Finland, the French Republic,
the Federal Republic of Germany, the Hellenic Republic, Hong Kong, the Republic of Hungary,
the Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Italy, Japan, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Malaysia,
the United Mexican States, the Kingdom of the Ne therlands, New Zealand, the Kingdom of Norway,
the Republic of the Philippines, the Portuguese Republic, the Republic of Korea, Romania,
the Republic of Singapore, the Slovak Republic, Spain, the Democratic Socialist Republic ofIP/C/W/377
Page 6
Sri Lanka, the Republic of Sudan, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Swiss Confederation, Chinese Taipei,
the Kingdom of Thailand, the Republic of Turkey, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland, the United States of America, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam is provided.
4. Assistance in Search and Examination
WIPO/State-of-the-Art-Search es for Developing Countries
The JPO provides search reports for which prior art search was requested by industrial
property offices or research institutes of developing countries through the WIPO International Bureau.
The JPO created search reports on 85 applications in FY 1998, 94 applications in FY 1999
and 103 applications in FY 2000 and sent them to requesting developing countries through the
WIPO/IB.
II. TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF COPYRIGHT
The Japan Copyright Office (JCO) has been planning and carrying out the following
programmes with a view to contributing to th e development of copyright systems in developing
countries as well as to strengthening regional cooperation among Asia-Pacific countries.
1. APACE Programme
This programme, which is called "APACE (Asia-Pacific Copyright Systems Enhancement)
Programme," was started in 1993 in cooperation with WIPO, targeting Asia-Pacific countries.  The
APACE Programme consists of the following six activities.
(a) Annual Regional Symposium (since 1993)
Year Venue Participants
1993 Tokyo, Japan 100 participants from 19 countries
1994 Phuket, Thailand 60 participants from 22 countries
1995 Denpasar, Indonesia 100 participants from 17 countries
1996 Chiang Mai, Thailand 60 participants from 23 countries
1997 Manila, the Philippines 100 participants from 27 countries
1998 Islamabad, Pakistan 70 participants from 24 countries
1999 New Delhi, India 80 participants from 21 countries
2001 Guangzhou, China 160 participants from 24 countries
2001 Mumbai, India 80 participants from 18 countries
(b) Training Programme in Tokyo, Japan (since 1994)
Year Participants
1994 5 trainees from China, India, Indonesia and Mongolia
1995 4 trainees from the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Viet Nam
1996 5 trainees from Bangladesh, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Tonga
1997 8 trainees from Bhutan, China, Indonesia, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, the Philippines and
the Republic of Korea
1998 8 trainees from Cambodia, Fiji, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Samoa, Thailand, and Viet
Nam
1999 12 trainees from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, China, India, Indonesia,
Laos, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore and Sri LankaIP/C/W/377
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2000 14 trainees from Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal,
Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vanuatu, Viet Nam
2001 17 trainees from China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan,
Philippines, Samoa, Thailand
(c) Sub-Regional Seminar (since 1995)
Year Venue Participants
1995 Suva, Fiji 30 participants from 12 countries
1997 Nuku'alofa, Tonga 30 participants from 10 countries
1998 Apia, Samoa 80 participants from 13 countries
2000 Apia, Samoa 50 participants from 13 countries
(d) Experts Missions (since 1999)
This programme was started in 1999, in order to assist the countries in developing and
strengthening infrastructure for the protection and management of copyright and neighbouring rights.
Year Venue
1999 The Philippines and Viet Nam
2000 Samoa and Sri Lanka
2001 Mongolia
2002 Fiji
(e) Training on Collective Management
This programme was started in 2000, which is on-the-job training for staffs of collective
management organizations or government officials in developing countries.
Year Country
2000 The Philippines
2001 Indonesia and Mongolia
(f) National Seminar on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights
This programme was started in 2000, in order to promote awareness of the protection of
copyright and neighbouring rights and the role it can play in cultural and economic development of
developing countries.
Year Venue
2000 Nepal, Samoa, Sri Lanka and Indonesia
2001 Mongolia
2002 Fiji
2. Asian Copyright Experts Invitation Programme
This programme was started in 1996 to invite each year a high official in charge of copyright
from governments of Asian countries.  Lecture and discussion meetings are organized, invitingJapanese experts, to share information and learn from each other.  The guests have been invited from
the following countries.IP/C/W/377
Page 8
Year Country
1996 Thailand
1997 The Republic of Korea
1998 Hong Kong, China
1999 Singapore
2000 China
2002 China
3. Asia-Pacific Copyright and Ne ighbouring Rights Seminar
This programme was started in 1997, to provide participating copyright experts of
Asia-Pacific countries with opportunities to exchange information and viewpoints as well as to
discuss possible regional common positions and/or actions in the future. It was organized in
cooperation with APEC in 2001.
Year Venue Participants
1997 Yokohama, Japan 40 participants from 7 countries
1998 Tokyo, Japan 80 participants from 14 countries and 3 NGOs
1999 Tokyo, Japan 80 participants from 26 countries and 3 NGOs
2000 Tokyo, Japan 100 participants from 25 countries and 3 NGOs
2001 Tokyo, Japan 110 participants from 20 countries (APEC members)
2002 Tokyo, Japan 90 participants from 25 countries and 3 NGOs
4. JICA Group Training Course
This JICA training course started in 1999 in cooperation with JCO, to contribute to the
copyright systems development.
Year Participants
1999 7 trainees from Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and
Zambia
1999 7 trainees from Fiji, Kiribati, Palau, Palestine, Papua New Guinea (2) and Tonga
2000 7 trainees from Colombia, Kenya, Moldova, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Saudi Arabia
and Solomon Islands
2001 7 trainees from Ghana, Kenya, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Saudi Arabia and
Vanuatu
2002 7 trainees from Cambodia, China, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Viet Nam
III. TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF PLANT
VARIETY PROTECTION
Through the UPOV Trust Fund of Japan, the GOJ has supported a programme which provides
Asian countries with seminars and workshops on plant variety protection systems.
The seminars have been held since FY 1991 for the purpose of contributing to the promotion
and establishment of the plant variety protection systems.  And the workshop scheme has been held
since Japanese FY 1996, in order to provide some practical knowledge and technique relating to the
plant variety protection.  In addition, the regional technical meeting for Asian plant variety protectionIP/C/W/377
Page 9
system has been set up since Japanese FY 2000 in order to discuss regional technical issues and to
promote regional cooperation in variety testing.
Details of the seminars and the workshops which have been held are as follows:
International Seminars
Year Venue Participants
1996 Kyrgyz
Republic10 participants from Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Russian
Federation, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan
1999 China 10 participants from Malaysia, the Philippines, the Republic of
Korea, Thailand and Viet Nam
Regional Seminars
Year Venue Participants
1991 Japan 14 participants from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, the
Republic of Korea, Singapore and Thailand
1992 The Republic
of Korea13 participants from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore and Thailand
1993 China 18 participants from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and the Republic of Korea
1995 Indonesia 16 participants from Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, the
Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam
1996 Viet Nam 7 participants from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and
Thailand
National Seminars
Year Venue
1994 China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and the Philippines
1996 India and Bangladesh
2000 The Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia
2002 India
Workshops
Year Venue Participants Note
1997 Australia 64 participants from Asia-Pacific
countriesIn cooperation with Asia
Pacific Seed Association
(APSA)
1998 The United
Kingdom14 participants from China, Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, the Republic
of Korea, Thailand and Viet NamIn cooperation with WIPO
1999 The United
Kingdom7 participants from Bangladesh, China,
India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and
ThailandIn cooperation with WIPO
2000 Japan 10 participants from China, Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, the Republic
of Korea, Thailand and Viet NamIP/C/W/377
Page 10
2001 China 18 participants from India, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri
Lanka, Thailand, Republic of Korea,
and Viet Nam
2002 Republic
of Korea19 participants from Bangladesh,
Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia,Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan,
the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand
and Viet Nam
Regional Technical Meeting
Year Venue Participants
2000 Japan 10 participants from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Republic of Korea, Thailand and Viet Nam
2001 China 18 participants from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the
Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Republic of Korea, and Viet Nam
2002 Republic of
Korea19 participants from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia,
Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka,
Thailand and Viet Nam
1. JICA Group Training Course
This JICA training course was started in 2000 in cooperation with NCSS (National Center for
Seed and Seedling) to contribute to the protection of plant breeder’s rights .
Year Participants
2000 10 trainees from Bolivia, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Kenya,
Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam
2001 10 trainees from Bangladesh, Bolivia, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Philippines(2),
Thailand, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe
2002 10 trainees from Bolivia, China, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan,
Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam
IV. TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF BORDER
MEASURES
Since 1997, the Ministry of Finance, the GOJ has provided a training course in the field of
border measures for the enforcement of intellectual property rights.  The main purpose of this
programme is to assist in the smooth implementation of the TRIPS Agreement by customs officials in
developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
Date Venue Participants
5-14 March 1997 Japan 14 participants from China and Indonesia
5-14 November 1997 Japan 19 participants from The Philippines and Viet Nam
11-20 November 1998 Japan 9 participants from Peru and ThailandIP/C/W/377
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9-19 November 1999 Japan 10 participants from Chile and Malaysia
8-17 November 2000 Japan 8 participants from China and Viet Nam
14-23 November 2001 Japan 10 participants from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines and Thailand
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