IP/C/R/TC/AUS/1  
5 October  2020 
(20-6749) Page: 1/7 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights  Original:  English  
 
  
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES:  
INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS  
AUSTRALIA  
The following communication, dated 18 September 2020 , is b eing circulated at the request  of 
Australia . 
 
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1  INTRODUCTION  
1.  Australia is committed to sharing information with other WTO Members on its  technical and 
financial cooperation activities in the area of intellectual property rights in fulfilment of Article 67 of 
the TRIPS Agreement. This is a full report on Australia 's intellectual property -related technical 
cooperation  activities with develop ing and least developed countries. It builds upon annual update 
reports provided in 2012 ( document IP/C/W/582/Add.2), 2013 ( document IP/C/W/593/Add.7), 
2014 (document IP/C/W/601), 2015 ( document IP/C/W/610/Add.4), 2016 ( document 
IP/C/W/617/Add.1), 2017 ( document IP/C/W/632/Add.1), 2018 ( document IP/C/W/647/Add.2) and 
2019 ( document IP/C/W/655/Add.4).  
2.  Australia fulfils its Article 67 technical cooperation commitment through multilateral, regional and 
bilateral program mes and activities. Many activities are focused on developing and least developed 
countries in the Indo -Pacific region. Australia works closely with the World Intellectual Property 
Organization (WIPO), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat and other 
partners to assist de veloping and least developed countries to build their intellectual property 
capacity and systems.  
3.  Many of the technical cooperation activities implemented under Article 67 of the 
TRIPS  Agreement align with Australia 's strategic focus on using aid as a c atalyst to promot e 
economic g rowth and poverty reduction. This is embedded in the UN Sustainable Development 
Goals and our future investments, including activities under the WIPO -Australia Funds in Trust 
programme , will in turn be influenced by these goals.  
4.  Websites containing information on Australia 's intel lectual property regime, which may be 
considered a technical cooperation resource, include the IP Australia website covering patents, 
designs, trademarks and plant breeders ' rights ( www.ipaustralia.gov.au ); th e Department of 
Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications website on copyright 
developments ( www.communications.gov.au/what -we-do/copyright ); and the Department of 
Foreign Affairs and Trade website on international IP developments ( www.dfat.gov.au/ip ). 
2  AUSTRALIAN ACTIVITIES WITH THE WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 
ORGANIZATION (WIPO)  
Australia -WIPO Funds in Trust  
5.  In December 2019, the Australian Government and WIPO agreed to a third iteration of the 
Australia -WIPO Funds in Trust (FIT3) with the commitment of an additional AUD 800,000 of aid for 
trade funding. The Australian -funded FIT3 programme will run until 30 J une 2021. The Australian 
Government has previously provided AUD 5 million to WIPO from 2012 to 30 June 2019. This funding IP/C/R/TC/AUS/1  
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  promotes economic growth in developing and least developed countries by helping these countries 
build their intellectual property regi mes and capabilities in facilitating innovation, creativity, 
investment and technology transfer. There are four themes under Australia 's FIT3 programme : 
development of the intellectual property system; technology transfer (knowledge transfer and 
commercial isation); addressing neglected tropical diseases; and copyright and related rights to 
assist the blind, visually impaired and other persons with print disabilities. Programmes implemented 
under this funding arrangement are developed in consultation with WI PO and the recipient countries. 
Beneficiaries are involved in project planning to ensure the programmes are well suited to their 
needs.  
6.  The review period of this report (October 2019 – September 2020) has been dedicated to 
developing a workplan of activities under the third iteration of funding. Due to the global COVID -19 
pandemic and subsequent travel restrictions a number of planned activities have been postponed. 
Capacity building activities are planned to be undertaken for trademarks, copyrights  and patents.  
3  OTHER MULTILATERAL AND REGIONAL ACTIVITIES  
7.  The AANZFTA 's Economic Cooperation Support Program (AECSP) consists of the Economic 
Cooperation Work Program and the AANZFTA Support Unit located in the ASEAN Secretariat. The 
AECSP was established i n 2010 as a five year programme with funding of AUD 20 -25 million. The 
Program me, which was subsequently extended further, aims to support the ASEAN Secretariat in 
servicing the AANZFTA Joint Committee and its subsidiary bodies to assist ASEAN Members, 
particularly least developed countries, with AANZFTA 's implementation. Intellectual property is a 
vital component of the AECSP, with the objective being to "provide comprehensive support for the 
development of sound and balanced intellectual property systems in the AANZFTA region ". The 
following paragraphs outline some of the intellectual property outcomes achieved under the AECSP 
with further detail provided in the annex to this report.    
8.  IP Australia 's Regional Patent Examination Training (RPET) Program me successfully delivered 
intensive competency -based patent examination training to examiners of ASEAN Intellectual 
Property Offices that conduct substantive patent examinations, to enable them to meet international 
Patent Cooperation Treaty standards. This programme trained a number of patent examiners, 
helping to improve patent examination outcomes within the region.    
9.  In 2017, IP Australia designed a second phase of RPET to deliver sustainable results in embedding 
the RPET learnings and best practice into int ernal patent examination training (RPET Mentoring). 
Experienced IP Australia Mentors have been assigned to each participating office, and all countries 
have finished developing competency -based training modules customised to their national legislation 
and practice. These modules are being piloted with the assistance of the IP Australia Mentors.  
10.  The second phase of RPET is scheduled to be wound down in December 2020.  
   
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ANNEX1 
Name of programme or project  Economic Cooperation Support Program under the ASEAN -Australia -New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA)  
Date and end date  1 January 2010 - 1 December 2022  
Beneficiary Member(s) or 
observer(s)  Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; Indonesia; Lao People 's Democratic Republic; Malaysia; Myanmar; Philippines; Thailand; Viet Nam  
Brief description  The AANZFTA 's Economic Cooperation Support Program (AECSP) consists of an Economic Cooperation Work Program and the AANZFTA 
Support Unit located within the ASEAN Secretariat. The AECSP was established in 2010 as a five year programme with funding of 
AUD 20-25 million.  The Program, which was subsequently extended until December 2021, aims to support the ASEAN Secretariat in 
servicing the AANZFTA Joint Committee and its subsidiary bodies to assist ASEAN Member States, particularly least developed 
countries, with AANZFTA 's implementation. Intellectual property is a vital component of AANZFTA and the AECSP work programme . 
The objective of the IP work is to "provide comprehensive support for the development of sound and balanced intellectual property 
systems in the AANZFTA r egion ". IP Australia 's Regional Patent Examination Training (RPET) Program me is a long running programme 
that has successfully delivered intensive competency -based patent examination training to examiners of ASEAN Intellectual Property 
Offices that conduct  substantive patent examinations, to enable them to meet international Patent Cooperation Treaty standards. This 
programme trained a number of patent examiners, helping to improve patent examination outcomes within the region. In 2020 
implementation of the  RPET programme was paused due to the impacts of COVID -19 however, in July 2020, IP Australia designed a 
six month extension of the RPET to deliver sustainable results in embedding the RPET learnings and best practice into interna l patent 
examination train ing (RPET Mentoring). Experienced IP Australia Mentors have been assigned to each participating office (Malaysia, 
Philippines, Viet  Nam, Indonesia and Thailand), and all countries have finished developing competency -based training modules 
customised to the ir national legislation and practice. The final six months of RPET Mentoring (September 2020 to February 2021) will 
embed a sustainable approach to patent examination training in participating offices. The programme includes training and case 
studies about  how to assess patent application of health -related inventions, including vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices. 
Improved training capacity in a post COVID -19 environment will support participating office in meeting the volume of patent 
applicatio ns received by the offices, including assessing these important patent applications related to health.  
Beneficiary institution or 
audience   
Technical cooperation 
provider(s)  A mix of Australian, New Zealand and ASEAN Member States government agencies and  private providers managed through a 
centralised support unit embedded in the ASEAN Secretariat.   
Outputs or impact  Technical assistance and capacity building.  
Website for further 
information  https://aanzfta.asean.org/ https://www.dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/in -force/aanzfta/Pa ges/asean -australia -new-zealand -free-
trade -agreement    
Contact point for further 
information   
 
 
1 In English only .   
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Name of programme or project  Funds in Trust - Development of an online training program on the Madrid System accession and implementation process  
Date and end date  1 January 2020 - 31 December 2020  
Beneficiary Member(s) or 
observer(s)  Afghanistan; Albania; Algeria; Angola; Antigua and Barbuda; Argentina; Armenia; Azerbaijan; Bahamas; Kingdom of Bahrain; 
Bangladesh; Barbados; Belarus; Belize; Benin; Bhutan; Plurinational State of Bolivia; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Botswana; Brazil; 
Brunei Darussalam; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cabo Verde; Cambodia; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Chile; Colombia; 
Comoros; Congo; Costa Rica; Côte d 'Ivoire; Cuba; Cu raçao; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Djibouti; Dominica; Dominican 
Republic; Ecuador; Egypt; El Salvador; Equatorial Guinea; Eswatini; Ethiopia; Fiji; Gabon; The Gambia; Georgia; Ghana; Grenad a; 
Guatemala; Guinea; Guinea -Bissau; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras ; Hong Kong, China; India; Indonesia; Iran; Iraq; Israel; Jamaica; 
Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Republic of Korea; the State of Kuwait; Kyrgyz Republic; Lao People 's Democratic Republic; Lebanese 
Republic; Lesotho; Liberia; Libya; Macao, China; Madagascar; M alawi; Malaysia; Maldives; Mali; Mauritania; Mauritius; Mexico; 
Republic of Moldova; Mongolia; Montenegro; Morocco; Mozambique; Myanmar; Namibia; Nepal; Nicaragua; Niger; Nigeria; North 
Macedonia; Oman; Pakistan; Panama; Papua New Guinea; Paraguay; Peru; P hilippines; Qatar; Russian Federation; Rwanda; Saint 
Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Samoa; Sao Tomé and Principe; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Senega l; 
Serbia; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Singapore; Solomon Islands; Somalia; Sout h Africa; South Sudan; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Suriname; 
Syria; The Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu; Tajikistan; Tanzania; Thailand; Timor -Leste; Togo; 
Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Tunisia; Turkey; Uganda; Ukraine; United Arab Emira tes; Uruguay; Uzbekistan; Vanuatu; Bolivarian 
Republic of Venezuela; Viet Nam; Yemen; Zambia; Zimbabwe  
Brief description  Development of promotional content to raise awareness of the course and to assist IP Offices in promoting the course and Madr id 
System to local users.  
Beneficiary institution or 
audience   
Technical cooperation 
provider(s)   
Outputs or impact   
Website for further 
information   
Contact point for further 
information   
   
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Name of programme or project  Funds in Trust - Accessible Books Consortium  
Date and end date  1 January 2020 - 31 December 2020  
Beneficiary Member(s) or 
observer(s)  Indonesia; Viet Nam  
Brief description  Training in accessible book production to be held in Viet Nam and Indonesia. Training to Indonesian and Vietnamese students with 
print impairments in the use of technology for accessing and reading materials in accessible formats will be held. Planned 12 5 books 
will be developed in Viet Nam and 100 books developed in Indonesia.  
Beneficiary in stitution or 
audience   
Technical cooperation 
provider(s)   
Outputs or impact   
Website for further 
information   
Contact point for further 
information   
   
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Name of programme or project  AECSP - Regional Patent Examination Training Mentoring (RPET Mentoring)  
Date and end date  1 June 2017 - 1 February 2021  
Beneficiary Member(s) or 
observer(s)  Indonesia; Malaysia; Philippines; Thailand; Viet Nam  
Brief description  Delivered under the economic cooperation programme of AANZFTA, the AECSP has supported the RPET Mentoring programme since 
2017. The central aim of the programme is to assist with internal capacity development so that offices can train their own patent 
examination cohort. All countries have finished develop ing competency -based training modules customised to their national legislation 
and practice. The modules have been piloted with the assistance of an experienced IP Australia Mentor. Malaysia, Philippines,  Viet 
Nam, Indonesia and Thailand have introduced co mpetency -based training (CBT), which aligns with the Ideal Patent Examination 
Training (IPET) and RPET material and is customised to national legislation.  A final six month extension to the current programme has 
been developed to ensure: 1. Participating ASEAN IP offices embed relevant aspects of the RPET programme 's learning and best 
practices in the development of competency -based training programme for new examiners; 2. ASEAN IP offices increase internal 
training capacity and self -sufficiency to provide their own training with a view to increasing South -South cooperation between ASEAN 
Member States; 3. Participating ASEAN IP offices improve their quality standards based on international standards through bes t 
practice training delivery.  
Beneficiary institution or 
audience  ASEAN Member States are the audience and ODA eligible states receive support. Non -ODA eligible ASEAN countries fund their own 
engagement.  
Technical cooperation 
provider(s)  IP Australia del ivering technical assistance supported by the ASEAN Support Unit embedded within the ASEAN Secretariat.  
Outputs or impact  Improved capacity of IP patent examining cohort.  
Website for further 
information  https://aanzfta.asean.org  
Contact point for further 
information   
   
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Name of programme or project  International Fund for Cultural Diversity  
Date and end date  1 January 2010  
Beneficiary Member(s) or 
observer(s)   
Brief description  The International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) is a multi -donor fund established under Article 18 of the UNESCO Convention on 
the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions 2005 (2005 Convention)  to which Australia is a signatory. The 
IFCD promotes sustainable development and poverty reduction by funding projects in developing countries that foster the emerg ence 
of dynamic cultural sectors, revitalisation of the local economy and create positive s ocial change. The Office for the Arts (OFTA) in the 
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications is responsible for implementing programmes 
and policies that meet Australia 's obligations under the IFCD as a signatory to the 2005 Convention. UNESCO calls for Member s 
contributions to IFCD annually. Australia makes voluntary contributions to the IFCD where feasible to support Australia 's international 
obligations under the 2005 Convention and demonstrate practically its comm itment to supporting UNESCO international cooperation 
and assistance for developing countries.  Since the IFCD was established in 2010, the OFTA (on behalf of Australia) has made a total 
voluntary contribution of AU D 354,025. (AU D 105,333 in 2018; AU D 88,69 2 in 2016; AU D 80,000 in 2013; and AU D 80,000 in 2011.) 
In 2020, Australia will make a voluntary payment to the IFCD of approximately AU D 110,000. Beneficiary Members are: Members to 
the 2005 Convention . 
Beneficiary institution or 
audience   
Technical cooperation 
provider(s)  UNESCO  
Outputs or impact  Since 2010, the IFCD has provided more than US D 8 million in funding for 114 projects in 58 developing countries, covering a wide 
range of areas, from the development and implementation of cultura l policies, to capacity -building of cultural entrepreneurs, mapping 
of cultural industries and the creation of new cultural industry business models.  
Website for further 
information  http://en.unesco.org/creativity/ifcd  
Contact point for further 
information   
 
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