IP/C/W/614/Add .2 
10 October  2016 
(16-5437) Page: 1/2 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights  Original:  English  
 
  TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES: INFORMATION FROM  
OTHER INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS  
ORGANISATION FOR ECO NOMIC CO -OPERATION  
AND DEVELOPMENT (OEC D) 
Addendum  
At its meeting of 7-8 June 2016, the Council for TRIPS agreed to invite intergovernmental 
organi zation 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 Organ isation 
for Economic Co -operation and Development (OECD) by means of a communication dated 
7 October  2016. 
 
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While the OECD undertakes a range of activities relating to intellectual property rights (IPRs) and 
relevant to the TRIPS Agreemen t, we have not separately targeted implementation of the 
Agreement as a specific focus for technical co -operation. The OECD d oes not operate financial 
cooperation programmes related to the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement.  
 
Please find here below seve ral projects underway or recently completed that may be of interest as 
they touch upon TRIPS -related topics:  
 
Trade -related aspects of intellectual property:  
 
• Trade secrets : Paper "Uncovering Trade Secrets - An Empirical Assessment of Economic 
Implicati ons of Protection for Undisclosed Data " takes stock of the protection of trade 
secrets for a sample of 37 countries, provides historical data for the period since 1985, and 
considers the relationship of the stringency of the protection of trade secrets to relevant 
economic performance indicators. The paper finds that there has been a notable increase in 
the stringency of trade secrets protection in a broad sample of countries during the period 
from 1985 to 2010. The paper also finds a positive association b etween the stringency of 
trade secrets protection and key indicators of innovation and international economic flows. 
The paper is available here: http://www.oecd -ilibrary.org/trade/uncovering -trade -secrets -
an-empirical -assessment -of-economic -implications -of-protection -for-undisclosed -
data_5jxzl5w3j3s6 -en. 
 
• Trade in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods : A study was conducted under the OECD Task Force 
on Counterfeit Illicit Trade which is a part of the OECD High Level Risk Forum. A report 
"Trade in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods: Mapping the Economic Impact " was published on 
16 April 2016 and  is available here: https://www.oecd.org/governance/trade -in-counterfeit -
and-pirated -goods -9789264252653 -en.htm . The report is built on two policy concerns. The 
first is the impact of crime and illicit trade activities on good governance, public safety and 
the rule of law. The second is the negative effect that counterfeit trade has on legitimate 
competitive advantage of rights holders, and consequen tly on innovation, employment and 
long-term economic growth.  IP/C/W/614/Add .2  
- 2 - 
   
Intellectual property rights in the fields of science, technology and industry:  
 
• Work on Patent Systems : As part of a long -term project aimed at comparing Intellectual 
Property Rights across countries work is underway to construct a set of indicators mirroring 
the key features of patent systems. To this end, a questionnaire aimed at collecting relevant 
information on these features of patent systems has been c ompiled, to be sent to all 
OECD  IP Offices in the near future. First results should be available by the end of 2017.  
 
• The OECD has a range of work underway concerning methodology and database 
development related to patent statistics. A conference on Intellectual Property Statistics for 
Decision Makers  (IPSDM) will take place on 15 -16 Novembe r 2016 in Sydney, Australia, 
co-organiz ed by the OECD and Intellectual Property Australia (IPA). The conference is 
organiz ed as part of the activities of the OECD -led "IP Statistics Task Force" , an ini tiative 
aimed at enhancing data availability and methodological developments in the field of 
IP statistics. The IP Statistics Task Force sees the presence of numerous intellectual property 
offices and statistical agencies including EPO, Eurostat, JPO, KIPO , NSF, USPTO and WIPO. 
Further information on OECD intellectual property statistics -related work can be found here: 
oe.cd/ipstats . 
 
• A report, entitled "World Corpo rate Top R&D Investors: Innovation and IP bundles ", focusing 
on the IP activities of top corporate R&D investors worldwide was published in March 2015, 
jointly with the European Commission Joint Research Centre. The report can be downloaded 
from: http://www.oecd.org/sti/intellectual -property -statistics -and-analysis.htm  and the 
underlying data can be obtained upon request.  
 
• Further information on OECD activities rela ted to intellectual property rights in the fields of 
science, technology and industry can be found on the OECD web site at 
www.oecd.org/sti/ipr . Recent work covers such issues as the OECD Patent Database, patent  
quality and collaborative mechanisms for intellectual property management in the life 
sciences.  
 
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