RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE IP/C/W/34/Add.3/Suppl.2
8November 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-4723)
Original: Spanish Council forTrade-Related Aspects
ofIntellectual Property Rights
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES: INFORMATION FROM
DEVELOPED COUNTRY MEMBERS
Supplement
Spain
Thepresent document reproduces information onSpain'stechnical andfinancial cooperation
activities relevant totheimplementation oftheTRIPS Agreement, which hasbeenreceived fromthe
Permanent Mission ofSpain bymeans ofacommunication dated 4November 1996.
________________
1. Spanish technical cooperation intheareaofindustrial property
(a) Spain hasalongtradition ofindustrial property technical assistance todeveloping countries,
andhasbeencarrying onactivities tothisendsince 1982.
(b) Thebeneficiaries ofthiscooperation arebasically theSpanish-speaking, thatistosayLatin
American, countries. Spain hassigned 18bilateral memoranda withthese countries.
(c) Spanish cooperation isfinanced fromthegeneral budget oftheSpanish Patents andTrade Marks
Office (OEPM), which covers thetechnical cooperation personnel costsandother expenditures
forvarious activities.
(d) Ingeneral, itispreferred toprovide technical assistance activities (personnel training, sending
ofexperts forspecific projects, seminars, exchange ofinformation etc.)rather than"direct"
financing suchas,forexample, theprovision ofelectronic office machinery.
2. Detailed description ofthetechnical cooperation
(a) Multilateral cooperation
Themainforums usedbySpain toprovide development aidintheareaofintellectual property
aretwointernational organizations: theWorld Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) andthe
European Patent Office (EPO).
(i) Cooperation withWIPO
WIPO offers anextraordinarily widerange ofcooperation activities. Spain participates inthe
following activities:IP/C/W/34/Add.3/Suppl.2
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- Specific training: Onrequest fromdeveloping countries andWIPO, OEPM hasalso
provided two-week training courses forexperts. Twocourses areheldinMadrid every
year.
Oneofthese courses isdevoted totheoretical andpractical training of16patent
examiners, eachtrainee being assigned anOEPM tutor. OEPM funds thetravel and
subsistence costs ofseven trainees.
TheothercourseisaimedattheexecutiveofficialsofLatinAmericanindustrialproperty
offices, andfundamentally provides instruction ongeneral legalaspects ofindustrial
property andinternational treaties inthisarea.
Spain'sparticipation inthese annual training programmes dates backto1976.
- Information and/or training visits: Attherequest ofWIPO, every yearOEPM receives
delegations ofexperts ofalllevels fromdeveloping countries. These areoneortwo-day
visits designed todemonstrate thestructure orfunctioning ofOEPM, including
mechanismsfortheexaminationofprotectionapplicationsandthespecificadministrative
andfinancial issues ofconcern toanindustrial property office.
- Participation incourses andseminars organized byWIPO: Thecourses andseminars
organized byWIPO every yearinGeneva notably include theWIPO Academy, towhich
anOEPM official issentinorder tolecture oninternational aspects ofindustrial
property.
(ii) Cooperation withtheEuropean Patent Office (EPO)
These technical cooperation activities focus exclusively onpatents. TheEPOestablishes its
ownprogramme ofwork, butitalsocooperates inprogrammes funded bytheEuropean Union.
(iii) Cooperation withWIPO andEPO
There aresome tripartite cooperation programmes inwhich theOEPM, WIPO andEPO
participate, suchasthecooperation programme withChina.
Thisprogrammeconcernsthecomprehensivemodernization(trademarks,patents,organizational
aspects etc.)ofChina 'sindustrial property office.
(b) Bilateral cooperation
Thisisthemostimportant technical cooperation carried outbySpain intheindustrial property
area. Thebilateral memoranda, which datebacksome 15years, areperiodically updated toinclude
newactivities andfocus onthenewneeds ofthecountries concerned.
Broadly speaking, thecooperation activities arethefollowing:
(i) Sending ofexperts toLatin American offices forthefollowing tasks:
- Assistance inadjusting legislation totheTRIPS Agreement;
- assistance incarrying outpatent examinations, including search reports onprior
art;IP/C/W/34/Add.3/Suppl.2
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- assistance increating adhocindustrial property databases;
- assistance inorganizational structuring ofindustrial property offices, including
thedrafting ofstandards;
- assistance inrationalizing procedures forgranting oftrade marks;
- assistanceinoutreachactivities(organizationofseminars,exhibitions,inventors'
fairs, etc.);
- assistance inactivities relating tointernational patent classification (IPC) and
classification ofproducts andservices forthepurposes oftheinternational
nomenclature fortheregistration ofmarks established under theNice
Agreement.
(ii) Organization ofinformation visits
These cases concern on-site training ofstafffrom Latin American countries withwhich a
cooperationmemorandumhasbeensigned.Dependingonthetrainingneeded,OEPMtutorsareassigned
for"àlacarte" activities adapted tothetrainees 'needs.
Some 10suchvisits arereceived every year.
(iii) Exchange ofpatent documents andCD-ROMs withLatin American countries
Thepurpose oftheexchange ofpatent documents between OEPM andLatin American industrial
property offices isthefunctioning oftheSpanish-Language Patent Documentation Centre.
Alistofthebilateral memoranda signed withLatin American countries isannexed.
Bilateral Memoranda Signed withLatin American Countries
Country Initial Agreement Updated
Argentina 12.11.1982
Bolivia 12.11.1982
Brazil 16.6.1983 19.12.1988
13.4.1989
6.10.1989
29.12.1993
Colombia 12.11.1982
Costa Rica 20.1.1983 26.6.1995
Cuba 12.11.1982 19.12.1995
Chile 12.11.1982 24.1.1995
Ecuador 12.11.1982
ElSalvador 12.11.1982 31.10.1984
Guatemala 16.9.1986
Honduras 1.1.1983
Mexico 22.4.1982 7.6.1985
27.7.1994
Nicaragua 1.10.1984
Panama 12.11.1982
Paraguay 12.11.1982
Peru 12.11.1982
Uruguay 12.11.1982 9.5.1995
Venezuela 12.11.1982