IP/C/W/603/Add.6  
 
21 October 2014  
(14-6042)  Page: 1/5  
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights  Original: English  
 
  TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES: INFORMATION FROM  
OTHER INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS 
UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TR ADE AND DEVELOPMENT (UNCTAD) 
Addendum 
At its meeting of 11 June 2014, the Council for TRIPS agreed to invite intergovernmental 
organization observers to the Council to update the information on their technical and financial cooperation programmes relating to the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement.  
The present document reproduces the information which has been received from the United 
Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) by means of a communication dated 
17 October 2014. 
 
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Responding to the mandate received from Member States at the Ministerial Conference in Doha, as well as to intergovernmental requests under th e WIPO Development Agenda and the World Health 
Assembly’s Resolution 61.21 on a Global Strategy an d Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation 
and Intellectual Property, the UNCTAD Secretariat,  through its Intellectual Property (IP) Unit, 
implements a work programme on the development dimensions of IP rights (IPRs). The IP Unit conducts research and analysis on trade and development aspects of IP and facilitates consensus-
building in international discussions on issues at the interface between investment and IP.  Located 
in the Division on Investment and Enterprise, In vestment Capacity-Building Branch, the IP Unit 
undertakes research and analysis, responds to requests for technical assistance and advises on 
policy options in these fields for successfully integrating developing countries into the world 
economy. This document provides an overview of  UNCTAD’s IP and development-related activities 
during the period of October 2013 to September 2014. More information on past activities is 
available at http://unctad.org/en/Pages/DIAE/Intellect ual%20Property/Development-Dimensions-
of-Intellectual-Property-Rights.aspx ; and  www.iprsonline.org . 
 
1  TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE  
1.  UNCTAD’s IP Unit conducts technical assistance activities with developing countries in the 
integrated areas of investment, trade and intelle ctual property. These projects are on a request 
basis and funded by donor governments and institutions.  
2.  IPRs and local pharmaceutical production and supply capacity of essential medicines.  
In 2005, UNCTAD was mandated by its Commi ssion on Investment, Technology and Related 
Financial Issues to engage on work related to the local manufacturing and supply of pharmaceutical products, in the context of MDG 8, Target 17.
1 The Commission recommended 
that: 
"UNCTAD should, within its work programme on investment, technology transfer 
and intellectual property, assess ways in which developing countries can develop 
                                               
1 "In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in 
developing countries". IP/C/W/603/Add.6 
 
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  their domestic productive capability in the supply of essential drugs in 
cooperation with pharmaceutical companies."2 
 3.  In the pursuit of this mandate, UNCTAD established in 2006 a pilot programme on local 
pharmaceutical production with the financial su pport of Germany and the United Kingdom. The 
overall objective of the programme, implemented by the IP Unit, is to assist developing countries 
and least-developed countries (LDCs) in particular, to establish domestic intellectual property 
regimes that facilitate increased access to affordable medicines; and, where feasible, create local 
or regional pharmaceutical production and supply capacities, including in cooperation with investors.  
4.  Policy coherence in local pharmaceutical production . Funded by the European 
Union (EU), UNCTAD in cooperation with the World Health Organization as the lead agency is 
examining coherence of policies in selected developing countries in respect of health, trade and industrial development. The overall objective of this  exercise is to assist developing countries in 
building capacities to promote such coherence to ensure that local pharmaceutical production 
increases access to medicines. UNCTAD is conducting fact finding and subsequent capacity building activities in four countries with the potential to serve the African market.  
5.  IPRs and biodiversity . In 2011, UNCTAD launched its new technical assistance programme 
on IP and biodiversity, with financial support from the Government of Germany (BMZ) and in 
cooperation with GIZ. The programme focuses on the building of local capacities, in developing countries, to design and enforce domestic trade, customs and IP laws in line with access and 
benefit sharing rules under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), its Nagoya Protocol and 
the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples.  
6.  Development Dimension of Intellectual Pr operty (DDIP) and other advisory reports . 
Developed initially under the UNCTAD-International Centre on Trade and Sustainable Development 
(ICTSD) Project on IPRs and Sustainable Development, UNCTAD produces, upon request by a developing country or LDC, advisory reports on the development dimensions of intellectual 
property (DDIP). The objective of a DDIP report is to provide well-researched and reasoned advice 
on developing countries' and LDCs’ policy, legal and institutional framework for IPRs, particularly as it relates to important development objectives such as innovation, technology, investment, competition, education and health. Developing countries specify the key development objectives 
they wish to examine. In addition, a DDIP report wi ll take into consideration the bilateral, regional 
and international commitments the target countries have entered into and the flexibilities available to them.  
7.  Based on this analysis, the reports incorporate medium to long-term recommendations on how 
governments and other stakeholders could make these frameworks more coherent and transparent, with a view to making IPRs contribute to a country’s sustainable economic and human 
development goals, and respond to emerging global opportunities. The aim is to present an 
analysis and recommendations designed to promote innovation and technology transfer from abroad, as well as a pro-competitive and transparent domestic IP system. The DDIP reports take due account of the importance of maintaining an  appropriate public domain and the means to 
pursue important public interest objectives.  
8.  Cooperation with other providers of  IP-related technical assistance.  Staff of UNCTAD's 
IP Unit frequently participate in capacity-building workshops on IP and development issues 
organized by other providers of IP-related technical assistance. For instance, UNCTAD’s IP Unit 
was invited by WIPO and WTO to contribute to the 2014 WIPO-WTO Advanced Course on IP for Government Officials.  
2  RESEARCH AND POLICY ANALYSIS 
9.  In 2014 UNCTAD published its Handbook on the Interface between Global Access and Benefit 
Sharing Rules and Intellectual Property: "The Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol: Intellectual Property Implications". It is available at 
http://unctad.org/en/pages/PublicationWebflyer.aspx?publicationid=1040 . The Handbook provides 
                                               
2 See at http://www.unctad.org /en/docs/c2l22_en.pdf   (paragraph 9 (c) of the Agreed 
Recommendations). IP/C/W/603/Add.6 
 
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  an overview of the international framework on IP  and access and benefit sharing (ABS). It also 
analyses in detail issues such as disclosure of source/origin and additional tools, positive protection of traditional knowledge (TK), the use of distinctive signs and private contract law.  
3  CONSENSUS-BUILDING  
10.  Consensus-building among stakeholders on issues of IP is an important element of the 
programme's work. UNCTAD’s substantive contributions on analysis of issues related to development and IP have enabled it to become an important forum, through its intergovernmental 
machinery, where governments, academia, civil society and the private sector can meet to 
exchange ideas. For example, UNCTAD and UNAI DS jointly organized the event "Investing in 
Sustainable and Universal Access to Medicines" at the UNCTAD World Investment Forum in Geneva on 14 October 2014.  
  
  IP/C/W/603/Add.6  
 
- 4 - ANNEX1 
UNCTAD’S TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES IN THE TRIPS AREA FROM 1 OCTOBER 2013 TO 15 OCTOBER 2014  
 
Beneficiary 
country(ies) Title and date of the event Partner agency Description 
Kenya  Fact finding mission Nairobi 30 
September - 4 October 2013 WHO Stakeholder interviews on  coherence among domestic 
health, trade and industry policies for access to medicines and local production. 
Armenia Parallel importation of medicines 
Yerevan, 6-9 October 2013 Armenian State Commission for the 
Protection of Economic Competition, Drug 
and Medical Technology Expertise Center of 
Armenia, State Revenue Committee, IP 
Agency of Armenia.  Provision of advisory services to the Armenian State 
Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition on 
international practice concerning the parallel importation of 
medicines.  
Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Paraguay Regional training course 
Buenos Aires, 9 - 11 October 2013 UNCTAD  Training on the development dimensions of intellectual 
property and the public heal th provisions of the TRIPS 
Agreement, 13 participants. 
Bangladesh, Bhutan, 
India, Maldives, Nepal, 
Pakistan, Sri Lanka Blended learning training course 
Chennai and online,  
November 2013 - January 2014 GIZ, UN University, Foundation for the 
Rehabilitation of Local Health Traditions Training of members of staff of IP offices, national 
biodiversity authorities, local indigenous groups on the 
interfaces between IP law and access to genetic resources 
and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of 
their utilization, 15 participants 
Viet Nam National training courses 
1. Hanoi, 3-5 December 2013 2. Hanoi,23- 5 June 2014  Vietnamese Judicial Academy Training on the development dimensions of intellectual 
property and the public heal th provisions of the TRIPS 
Agreement, 32 participants (Dec. 2013), 30 participants (June 2014) 
Ghana Fact finding mission  
Accra, 16-21 February 2014 WHO Stakeholder interviews on coherence among domestic 
health, trade and industry policies for access to medicines 
and local production.  
WIPO Member States; 
WTO Members WIPO-WTO Advanced Course on IP 
for Government Officials   Geneva, 11 March 2014 
 WIPO, WTO Presentation on UNCTAD’s activities in the area of IPRs and 
development    
                                               
1 In English only.  
  IP/C/W/603/Add.6  
 
- 5 - Beneficiary 
country(ies) Title and date of the event Partner agency Description 
Cambodia National workshop on the interface 
between international access and 
benefit sharing rules under the 
Nagoya Protocol and IP rights  
 
Phnom-Penh, Cambodia,  
11-12 March 2014.  Ministry of Commerce Training on the interface between international access and 
benefit sharing rules under the Nagoya Protocol and IP rules 
for a domestic multistakeholder audience. 32 participants.  
Indonesia National Workshop on the Interface 
between Intellectual Property and Competition Laws  Jakarta, 7 April 2014 Directorate General for Intellectual Property 
Rights (DGIPR), Commission for the Supervision of Business Competition (KPPU), Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC).  Workshop on the interface between intellectual property 
and competition laws, as a follow-up to prior advisory work by UNCTAD. 29 participants.  
The Philippines  Advisory services on Disclosure 
Requirements for Traditional 
Knowledge (TK) in the Philippines 
Manila, 20 May 2014  Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines 
(IPOPHL), National Council on Indigenous 
Peoples of the Philippines (NCIP).  Provide advice to IPOPHL and NCIP in the elaboration of 
regulations to require the disclosu re of TK in IP applications.  
Viet Nam National workshops on TRIPS and 
public health  Ho-Chi-Minh City, 16-17 June 2014;  Can-Tho, 19-20 June 2014; Hanoi, 26-27 June 2014.  UNIDO, Vietnamese National Pharmaceutical 
Companies Association (VNPCA).  Awareness-raising on the interface between TRIPS and 
public health for national ph armaceutical producers. 129 
participants at Ho-Chi-Minh Ci ty, 100 participants at Can-
Tho; 120 participan ts at Hanoi.  
UN Member States 12. Conference of the Parties to the 
Convention on Biological Diversity: 
CBD COP 12 Business and 
Biodiversity Forum 
Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, 
12 October 2014 UNEP Presentation of UNCTAD Han dbook “The Convention on 
Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol: Intellectual 
Property Implications” 
UN Member States  UNCTAD  World Investment Forum: 
Investing in Sustainable and Universal Access to Medicines Geneva, 14 October 2014  UNAIDS  This session introduced three investment models for the 
pharmaceutical industry: state-owned, public-private, and privately-owned enterprises. It examined the respective strengths and weaknesses of these investment options for meeting public health objectives, especially access to medicines.  
 
 
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