WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/202/Add.2
14 September 2000
(00-3604)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES:  INFORMATION FROM
OTHER INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NEW
VARIETIES OF PLANTS (UPOV)
Addendum
The present document reproduces the updated information on technical and financial
cooperation activities relevant to the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement, which was receivedfrom the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) by means of a
communication, dated 11 September 2000.
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TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR THE
PROTECTION OF NEW VARIETIES OF PLANTS (UPOV) FOR THE
BENEFIT OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
1. Introduction
1. The inclusion of Article 27.3(b) in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) and in order to promote private sector development in the field
of breeding have strongly encouraged a large number of developing countries to enact plant variety
legislation.  Consequently, the membership of UPOV has expanded worldwide, with many newmembers being drawn from developing countries.  In 1999 and the first eight months of 2000 alone,
eight new member States
1 acceded to the UPOV Convention.  As of 24 August 2000, the number of
UPOV member States reached 46.  Moreover, 16 countries and two regional organizations2 have
initiated with the Council of UPOV the procedure for becoming members of the Union.  Many other
non-member States currently have laws or proposals for laws to protect plant varieties.  Informationavailable to the Office of UPOV suggests that the number of States likely to have laws based on the
UPOV Convention in the near term will be at least 110.
                                                     
1 Bolivia, Brazil, China, Estonia, Kenya, the Kyrgyz Republic, Panama and Slovenia.
2 Belarus, Costa Rica, Croatia, Egypt, Georgia, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Morocco,
Nicaragua, Republic of Korea, Romania, Tajikistan , Venezuela and Zimbabwe, as well as the European
Community and the African Intellectual Property Organisation (OAPI).IP/C/W/202/Add.2
Page 2
2. Accordingly, there has been an increase in the number of requests received from developing
countries for legal and technical assistance in the preparation and implementation of plant variety
protection legislation.  In light of their emerging needs, UPOV places great importance on legal and
technical assistance activities subject to limited financial and human resources.  In the UPOV
Programme and Budget for 2000/2001, the Council of UPOV established sub-programme UV.05,with the following objectives:
• To assist governments, particularly the governments of developing countries and countries
in transition to a market economy, in the preparation and enactment of legislation
conforming with the UPOV Convention;
• To assist such governments in implementing effective plant variety protection systems.
UPOV also plans to strengthen the capacity of the Office in its assistance activities by creating two
new positions, one to specifically deal with the Asian and Pacific region and the other in charge of theArab and African regions.
3. The number of assistance activities has been increased.  However, because of the limited
financial and human resources and in order to meet the increase in demands, UPOV has organized
several technical assistance activities in cooperation with UPOV member States and otherinternational organizations, such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
2. Legal and Technical Cooperation Activities
4. Pursuant to the above-mentioned objectives, UPOV has organized the following technical
assistance activities, which have been carried out for the benefit of developing countries as well as
other countries, since the policy is that assistance should be provided regardless of the developmentalstatus of the countries which are involved.
3. Provision of Legislative and Technical Advice and Information
5. UPOV provided advice to States on plant variety protection laws, comments on draft texts
and, on request, prepared drafts of national laws and regulations.  During recent years, it has provided
assistance or advice on these matters to numerous developing countries.
6. The Office of UPOV has published model laws for the protection of new plant varieties in
Arabic, English, French and Spanish which are in conformity with the requirements of the 1991 Act
of the UPOV Convention.  These model laws, as well as other UPOV publications, are available free
of charge to the governments of developing countries.
7. UPOV also provided advice on the implementation of plant variety legislation, for example,
on the establishment of national offices and technical examination systems on demand, and assisted in
setting up technical examination systems through the provision of technical information.
8. From 1 January 1999 to 31 July 2000, the Office of UPOV provided information, advice or
assistance and, in some cases, organized advisory missions, to the following States:
Africa Asia/Pacific Latin America/
CaribbeanCountries in
transition to
Market Economy
Algeria Bhutan Argentina Albania
Burundi China Barbados Armenia
Cameroon Fiji Bolivia Azerbaijan
Comoros India Brazil BelarusIP/C/W/202/Add.2
Page 3
Africa Asia/Pacific Latin America/
CaribbeanCountries in
transition to
Market Economy
Côte d'Ivoire Indonesia Colombia Bulgaria
Djibouti Jordan Dominica Croatia
Egypt Lao People's
Democratic RepublicCosta Rica Czech Republic
Ethiopia Lebanon Cuba Estonia
Ghana Oman Dominican Republic The former Yugoslav
Republic of
Macedonia
Kenya Malaysia El Salvador Georgia
Madagascar Mongolia Honduras Kazakhstan
Mauritius Philippines Jamaica Kyrgyz Republic
Rwanda Republic of Korea Nicaragua Latvia
Seychelles Saudi Arabia Panama Lithuania
Tunisia Singapore Peru Republic of Moldova
Zimbabwe Sri Lanka Suriname Romania
Syrian Arab Republic Venezuela Russian Federation
Thailand Tajikistan
Turkey Turkmenistan
Vanuatu Uzbekistan
Viet Nam Yugoslavia
4. Seminar, Workshop, Training Course
9. Subject to the budgetary limitations, the UPOV Office cooperated in the organization of
national seminars and symposia on plant variety protection and, on request, provided speakers for
other meetings.  In the recent past, UPOV has participated in the organization of many such national
meetings in developing countries.
10. Where extra-budgetary resources have been made available, UPOV has organized
international seminars and extended courses for developing countries on subjects related to plant
variety protection.
11. The seminars, workshops and training course s organized by UPOV from 1 January 1999 to
31 July 2000, were the following:
(a) one Joint Symposium in cooperation with WIPO and WTO on the Protection of Plant
Varieties under Article 27.3(b) of the TRIPS Agreement, followed by three Joint
Regional Workshops for the Asia and Pacific region, the Arab countries region and
the anglophone African region;
(b) one Regional Round Table on the sui generis  protection of plant varieties under
Article 27.3(b) of the TRIPS Agreement jointly organized by OAU and WIPO for
discussion with African regional organizations;
(c) four Regional Seminars for the Asian region, the Caribbean region, the Latin
American region and the Caucasian region;IP/C/W/202/Add.2
Page 4
(d) twelve National Seminars in Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Estonia, Honduras,
Latvia, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova, Philippines, Romania, Sri Lanka and
Zimbabwe;
(e) three Training Courses for Ibero-American countries, for the French-speaking
African region and mainly for the Asian and anglophone African regions;
(f) one Regional Technical Meeting for the Asian Region;
(g) one Technical Workshop on data handling in technical examination.
The above activities are listed in the Annex for further information.
12. UPOV also provided speakers and lecturers for seminars, symposia and workshops organized
by other organizations to assist with national efforts in the preparation and implementation of plant
variety protection legislation and to promote intern ational understanding of plant variety protection.
13. The member States of UPOV have expressed their willingness to cooperate with UPOV in the
organization of on-the-job training for individuals or courses for groups, subject to funding being
available for the travel and subsistence expenses of trainees, while some member States have made
funds available to UPOV for technical assistance purposes.
5. Other assistance
14. UPOV is prepared, in principle, subject to the availability of adequate funding, to participate
in, or to execute segments of, seed industry or intellectual property development projects which call
for the establishment of national plant variety protection systems.  A number of such projects have
been proposed.
15. UPOV does not provide direct financial support for the establishment or reinforcement of
domestic offices and agencies relevant to plant variety protection.IP/C/W/202/Add.2
Page 5
ANNEX
Seminars, Workshops, Symposiums, and Training Courses
from 1 January 1999 to 31 July 2000
Date Venue Co-organizers,
sponsorsActivities Participating (foreign)
countries/organizations
(a) Joint Symposium and Regional Workshop
1999
15 February Geneva WIPO
WTOSymposium on the
Protection of Plant
Varieties under
Article 27.3(b) of the
TRIPS AgreementMembers and observers
of UPOV, WIPO and
WTO
18-19 March Bangkok,
ThailandWIPO
WTO
Governments of
Thailand andNew ZealandRegional Workshop on the
Protection of Plant
Varieties under Article
27.3(b) of the TRIPSAgreementMembers of UPOV,
WIPO and WTO in the
Asia-Pacific region
3-4 May Cairo,
EgyptWIPO
WTO
Government ofEgyptRegional Workshop on the
Protection of Plant
Varieties under Article27.3(b) of the TRIPS
AgreementMembers of UPOV,
WIPO and WTO in the
Arabic region and Turkey
6-7 May Nairobi,
KenyaWIPO
WTO
Government of
KenyaRegional Workshop on the
Protection of Plant
Varieties under Article
27.3(b) of the TRIPSAgreementMembers of UPOV,
WIPO and WTO in the
Anglophone African
region
(b) Regional Round Table
2000
27-28
JanuaryHarare,
ZimbabweWIPO
OAURound Table on the Sui
Generis Protection of Plant
Varieties under Article
27.3(b) of the TRIPSAgreementOAU, OAPI, ARIPO,
AFSTA
3, ARCT4,
CMA/AOC5, WANA6
                                                     
3 African Seed Trade Association.
4 African Regional Centre for Technology.
5 Conference of Ministries of Agriculture of West and Central Africa.
6 Seed Network of West Asia and North Africa.IP/C/W/202/Add.2
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Date Venue Co-organizers,
sponsorsActivities Participating (foreign)
countries/organizations
(c) Regional Seminars/Workshop
1999
19-21
JanuarySan José,
Costa RicaOIRSA
WIPOWorkshop on Plant Variety
Protection LawsDominican Republic,
El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Nicaragua,
Panama
17-21 May Kunming,
Beijing
ChinaChina7
MAFF8,
JapanInternational Seminar on
Technological Innovation
and the National
Implementation of the
Protection of New Varieties
of PlantsMalaysia, Philippines,
Republic of Korea,
Thailand, Viet Nam
10-11
AugustBuenos
Aires,
ArgentinaInstituto
Nacional de
Semillas
ASTA9
ARPOV10Latin-American RegionalSeminar on the 1991 Act of
the UPOV ConventionBolivia, Brazil, Chile,
Colombia, Costa Rica,
Cuba, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador,El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Mexico,
Nicaragua, Panama,
Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay,
Venezuela
5-7 October Tbilisi,
GeorgiaWIPO Seminar on the Protection
of Plant Varieties under the
UPOV Convention, the
Patent System and theTRIPS AgreementArmenia
Azerbaijan
(d) National Seminars
1999
15 June Tallinn,
EstoniaWIPO National Seminar on the
Protection of Plant
Varieties under the UPOV
Convention, the Patent
System and the TRIPSAgreement
                                                     
7 Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Agriculture and the State Forestry Administration.
8 Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan.
9 American Seed Trade Association.
10 Asociación Argentina de Protección  de las Obtenciones Vegetales .IP/C/W/202/Add.2
Page 7
Date Venue Co-organizers,
sponsorsActivities Participating (foreign)
countries/organizations
17 June Riga,
LatviaWIPO National Seminar on the
Protection of Plant
Varieties under the UPOVConvention, the Patent
System and the TRIPS
Agreement
21 June Vilnius,
LithuaniaWIPO National Seminar on the
Protection of Plant
Varieties under the UPOVConvention, the Patent
System and the TRIPS
Agreement
4-6 October Havana,
CubaCuban Industrial
Property OfficeNational Seminar on the
Protection of New Plant
Varieties
2000
1 February Harare,
ZimbabweNational Seminar on Plant
Variety Protection
15 February Manila,
PhilippinesMAFF, Japan National Seminar on the
Protection of PlantVarieties under the UPOV
Convention
13 March San Jóse,
Costa RicaWIPO
SIECA
11
COMEX12
MAG13National Seminar on theProtection of Plant
Varieties under the UPOV
ConventionGuatemala, Nicaragua,
Panama
13-14 March Kishinev,
Republic of
MoldovaWIPO National Seminar on the
Protection of Plant
Varieties under the UPOV
Convention
15 March Tegucigalpa,
HondurasWIPO
SIECA
Secretariat for
Agriculture andLivestockNational Seminar on the
Protection of Plant
Varieties under the UPOV
ConventionGuatemala, Nicaragua,
Panama
16-17 March Bucharest,
RomaniaWIPO National Seminar on the
Protection of Plant
Varieties under the UPOVConvention
                                                     
11 Secretaria de Integración Económica Centroamericana .
12 Ministry of Foreign Trade.
13 Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.IP/C/W/202/Add.2
Page 8
Date Venue Co-organizers,
sponsorsActivities Participating (foreign)
countries/organizations
17 March San
Salvador,
El SalvadorWIPO
SIECA
MAGASPRODES
14National Seminar on the
Protection of Plant
Varieties under the UPOVConventionGuatemala, Nicaragua,
Panama
27 April Peradeniya,
Sri LankaMAFF,
JapanNational Seminar on the
Protection of Plant
Varieties under the UPOV
Convention
(e) Training Courses
1999
5-16 July Cambridge,
United
KingdomMAFF,
Japan
Ministry of
Agriculture,
Fisheries andFood
National
Institute of
Agricultural
BotanyBriefing Workshop on
Plant Variety Protection
under the UPOV
ConventionBangladesh, Bulgaria,
China, Croatia, Egypt,
India, Indonesia, Kenya,
Kyrgyz Republic,
Malawi, Mauritius,Sri Lanka, Thailand,
Trinidad and Tobago,
Turkey, Uganda,
Tanzania, Zambia,
ZimbabweARIPO, OAU
2000
29 May to
2 JuneCartagena de
Indias,
ColombiaINIA15
AECI16Training Course on the
Protection of Plant
Varieties for Ibero-
American Countries19 Ibero-American
countries
5-16 June Angers and
La Rochelle,
FranceWIPO
Ministry of
Agriculture andFisheries of
France
GNIS
17Seminar on the Protection
of Plant Varieties under the
UPOV ConventionAlgeria, Cameroon,
Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon,
Morocco, Senegal,Tunisia
OAPI
                                                     
14 Seed Producers Association of San Salvador.
15 Institute for Agricultural and Food Technology.
16 Spanish Agency for International Cooperation.
17 Groupement national interprofessionnel des semences et des plants .IP/C/W/202/Add.2
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Date Venue Co-organizers,
sponsorsActivities Participating (foreign)
countries/organizations
(f) Regional Technical Meeting
(g) Techncial Workshop
2000
17-19 May Tsukuba,
JapanMAFF,
JapanTechnical Coordination
Meeting for Asian Plant
Variety Protection SystemsChina, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines,
Republic of Korea,
Thailand, Viet Nam
9-10 June Kyiv,
UkraineState Committee
of Ukraine for
Testing and
Protection of
Plant varietiesWorkshop on Data
HandlingCzech Republic, Croatia,
Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Kyrgyz
Republic, Latvia, Mexico,Poland, Republic of
Moldova, Russian
Federation, Slovenia,
United Kingdom
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