WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/408/Add.4
14 November 2003
(03-6110)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES:
INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS
SWITZERLAND
Addendum
The following communication, dated 6 November 2003, is being circulated at the request of
the delegation of Switzerland.
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Following documents IP/C/W/12/Add.3 of 13 September 1995, IP/C/W/34/Add.2 of
17 September 1996, IP/C/W/77/Add.3 of 30 Septem ber 1997, IP/C/W/109/Add.1 of 4 September
1998, IP/C/W/154/Add.2 of 8 October 1999, IP/C/W/203/Add.1 of 13 September 2000,
IP/C/W/306/Add.3 of 18 September 2001 and IP/C /W/377/Add.9 of 24 January 2003 in which much
of the description of the aims and organizational aspects of technical cooperation remains relevant,
this report describes the activities of the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property ("the Institute") in
the field of technical cooperation between 1 September  2002 and  31 August  2003.1  Drafted along
the same lines as the preceding reports, this document draws a distinction between multilateral
activities and purely bilateral activities.  It should be  recalled that the concern of the Swiss authorities
is to ensure optimum coordination of available resources, both at the multilateral and bilateral levels,
while avoiding duplication or overlapping of programmes.
I. MULTILATERAL ACTIVITIES
1. Technical cooperation in the framework of the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO)
(a) Annual basic training programme at WIPO
From 4 June to 4 July 2003, two experts, one from Bhutan and one from Viet Nam,  were able
to benefit from a training course which was held at WIPO in Geneva and at the Institute in Berne.  At
WIPO, the experts attended the Interregional Seminar on Industrial Property from 4 to 6 June 2003.
The programme at the Institute from 10 June to 4 July 2003 covered the entire field of intellectual
property, focusing in particular on patents, tradem arks, industrial designs and copyright.  Emphasis
was put on the practical, administrative and organizational work.  As in the past, the Swiss FederalAgency for Development and Cooperation of the Federal Department (Ministry) for Foreign Affairs
financed the entire programme.  Costs related to teaching and to guidance of the experts in Berne
were covered by the Institute.
                                                     
1 (unless otherwise indicated)IP/C/W/408/Add.4
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(b) Information and/or training visits
At the request of WIPO, the Institute received delegations from the following countries:1. African countries (ARIPO), Asian countr ies, CEEC, CIS, Arab countries:  On
3 October 2002, the Institute received a visit from Madrid Union Members, which
included representatives from Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Azerbaijan, Belarus,
China, Croatia, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea,
Estonia, FYR of Macedonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kenya, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia,
Lithuania, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Romania, Russia, Serbia and
Montenegro, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Turkey,
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Zambia.  The visit included a presentation on the
organization and management of the Institute, its procedures concerning theregistration of international trademarks (examination and administration) and its data
transfer with WIPO.
2. Arab Countries, ASEAN, CEEC, CIS, OAPI:  On 17 December  2002, a visit took
place in the framework of the WIPO Wo rkshop on services for the promotion of
innovation and their management, including representatives from Algeria, Benin,Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Morocco,
Niger, Moldova, Romania, Togo, Tunisia, Viet Nam.  The workshop included several
presentations on the promotion of innovation and its management and was held at
WIPO (Geneva), the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Lausanne), the Swiss
Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (Berne) and the Swiss Federal Institute ofTechnology (Zurich).
3. Ethiopia:  On 5 May 2003, senior officials from Ethiopia visited the Institute for a
presentation on the organisation and administration of the Institute as well as to study
aspects of IP law enforcement and the system of application and granting of
intellectual property rights.
4. India:  On 20 May 2003, the Director of th e Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India, visited the Institute for a
presentation on its organization as a new public management state agency.
(c) Free-of-charge searches on the state of the art for WIPO in favour of developing countries
Between 1 September  2002 and 31 August 2003, the Institute conducted, upon request of
WIPO, free-of-charge searches on the state of the art for the following countries (the searches were
financed through the Institute's ordinary budget):
Country Number of searches
Argentina 2
Chile  30
Democratic People's Republic of Korea  11
Guinea 1
Guinea Bissau 1Jamaica 4
Morocco 1
Trinidad and Tobago 3
Venezuela 2
Total 55 searchesIP/C/W/408/Add.4
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(d) Other WIPO Seminars
WIPO Seminar for the Lebanese administration (economy, consumers and trade marks),
17 to 19 March 2003 in Beirut (Lebanon):  A speaker from the Swiss Federal Office of Agriculture
held two presentations on "Use of Trademarks and Geographical Indications in Commerce" and
"Geographical Indications and Trademarks: Harmony or Conflict".  The seminar was financed by
WIPO.
WIPO Seminar for 15 Arab countries (representatives from the Intellectual Property Offices
as well as the Moroccan Ministers of Agriculture, Craft Industry and Commerce), 30 June to 2 July
2003 in Casablanca (Morocco):  A speaker from the Swiss Federal Office of Agriculture held two
presentations on "The Importance of a National Administration for the Protection of Geographical
Indications" and "Use of Geographical Indications in the Strategy of Collective Commercialisation".
The seminar was financed by WIPO.
II. BILATERAL ACTIVITIES
Socialist Republic of Viet Nam:  The Special Programme of Cooperation based on the
Agreement on the Protection of Intellectual Property and Cooperation in the Field of Intellectual
Property between Switzerland and the Socialist Repub lic of Viet Nam continued this year with the
implementation of several important tasks and programmes.
In December 2002, a high-level official delega tion from Viet Nam visited the Institute in
order to get a detailed insight into Switzerland's protection system of undisclosed information, trade
names, geographical indications, plant varieties, layout designs of integrated circuits and rules against
unfair competition.
In January 2003, an expertise mission was carried out in order to assess how to accelerate
Viet Nam's process of accession to various international IP treaties.
In April 2003, training was provided to representatives of the judiciary branch, in
collaboration with the Queen Mary and Westfield College, London; it included meetings with judges
from the UK patent court.  This was followed in July by a one-month training course at the Institute in
basic intellectual property law for officials from the main Vietnamese provinces havingresponsibilities in the field of IP rights.
New Vietnamese IP laws were translated into English for publication in due time.The preparation of IP materials for universities, English courses as well as the setting up of a
Vietnamese database for the protection of traditional knowledge were also underway this year.
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