WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
IP/C/W/582/Add.2 
25 October 2012  
 
(12-5815) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English 
 
 
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES: 
INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS 
 
AUSTRALIA 
 
Addendum 
   The following communication, dated 11 October 2012, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of Australia. 
 
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 1. Australia is pleased to respond to the Council for TRIPS' request for information from 
developed country Members on techni cal and financial cooperation activ ities in the area of intellectual 
property rights in fulfilment of Article 67 of the TR IPS Agreement.  This report details the Australian 
Government's intellectual property (IP) related t echnical cooperation activities with developing and 
least developed countries during the period 2011-12 a nd highlights some anticipated future work in 
this area. 
2. Australia fulfils its Article 67 technical cooperation commitments through multilateral, 
regional and bilateral programmes and activities.  Many are focused on developing countries in Australia's own Asia-Pacific region, and from 2012 Au stralia is increasing its IP engagement with 
Africa, in particular through cooperation with th e African Regional Intellectual Property Organization 
(ARIPO) and South Africa.  Australia also work s closely with the World Intellectual Property 
Organization (WIPO), the Asia-Pacific Econo mic Cooperation (APEC) S ecretariat, APEC's 
Intellectual Property Rights Expert Group (APEC I PEG) and the Association of Southeast Asian 
Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat in assisting developing and least developed countries to build their IP 
capacity and systems. 
3. Key websites containing informati on on Australia's IP regime and which may be considered a 
technical cooperation resource include the IP Australia website covering patents, designs, trademarks 
and plant breeders' rights (http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au );  the Attorney-General's Department website 
on copyright developments (http://www.ag.gov.au/copyri ght);  and the Department of Foreign Affairs 
and Trade website on international IP developments (http://www.dfat.gov.au/ip). IP/C/W/582/Add.2 
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  I. AUSTRALIAN ACTIVITIES WITH TH E WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 
ORGANISATION (WIPO) 
Australian-WIPO Funds-in-Trust 
4. In 2012 the Australian Government donated $A 2 million to WIPO to support developing and 
LDCs continue to build their intellectual prope rty regimes and capabilities in facilitating innovation, 
creativity, investment and technology transfer.  In June 2012, Australia and WIPO signed a 
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) detailing ac tivities under the Funds-in-Trust, which will 
include: 
 the development and implementation of nationa l IP strategies in conjunction, wherever 
possible and appropriate for LDCs, with the deve lopment of needs assessments in relation to 
the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement; 
 assisting LDCs and certain developing countri es to accede to and implement WIPO treaties; 
and 
 providing experts to addr ess gaps or lack of expertise including in human resource matters, 
developing examiner manuals, advanced examiner or hearing officer training, undertaking 
public education and awareness activities and IT  automation and support to IP offices and 
other IP institutions. 
5. Requests for assistance may be received by either  WIPO or IP Australia, and specific tasks 
will be mutually decided by WIPO and IP Aust ralia before work commences.  Australia looks 
forward to reporting on activities and outcomes in due course. 
WIPO Voluntary Fund for Accredited Indigenous and Local Communities 
6. In September 2011, Australia made an $A100,00 0 contribution to the WIPO Voluntary Fund 
for Accredited Indigenous and Local Communities to support Indigenous people around the world to 
participate in negotiations toward an international legal instrument (or instruments) to ensure the 
effective protection of traditional knowledge (TK) , traditional cultural expressions (TCEs)/folklore 
and genetic resources.  Indigenous  people make a valuable contribution to these discussions, and 
Australia is committed to helping Indigenous and local communities to make the most of their IP. 
WIPO-IP Australia Joint Working Group on In tellectual Property Technical Assistance 
7. In 2000, WIPO and the Australian Government  signed a Joint Statement on Cooperation for 
IP Technical Assistance in the Asia and Pacific Re gion.  The parties agreed to work together to 
'…develop and implement joint projects in cases where Australia's and WIPO's expertise and resources would combine effectively to meet id entified needs for training and assistance'. 
8. In recent years, WIPO and IP Australia have  agreed an annual Work Plan of technical 
assistance activities.  Key activities in the financia l year 2011-12 included a public education and 
awareness training workshop aimed at the vocationa l education training sector; support for developing 
Samoa's national IP strategy; funding for the Qu eensland University of Technology/WIPO Academy 
Masters of IP Law course; and technical trai ning on trademarks and patents examination. 
9. IP Australia worked with WIPO to deliver a f our day workshop on IP Education and Training 
in February 2012 in Malaysia, with support from the ASEAN Austra lia New Zealand Free Trade Area 
(AANZFTA) Economic Cooperation Support Progr amme (ECSP).  The workshop attracted 
33 participants from the ASEAN region and New Zealand.  It was designed to assist countries to 
develop, implement and manage a package of IP  training products aimed at small and medium  IP/C/W/582/Add.2 
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  enterprises (SMEs) and delivered by vocational education and training schools (i.e., technical 
colleges/polytechnics).  The objectives were to: 
 provide participants with hands-on experience of  IP Australia's vocational education training 
package and to share experiences in developing IP training; and 
 discuss opportunities for sharing IP training pro ducts with other IP offices in the region. 
10. IP Australia provided financial support in 2011-12 for a WIPO expert mission assisting 
Samoa to develop its national IP strategy.  This consisted of three phases:  (a) a needs assessment, 
(b) drafting the strategy document and (c) finalisati on of the document.  The project was completed in 
early 2012.   
11. IP Australia continued to support the Queensl and University of Technology (QUT)/WIPO 
Master of Intellectual Property Law course by fundi ng the IP commercialisation unit and some guest 
lecturers.  The course, developed in collaboration with the WIPO Academy, is the first WIPO-
endorsed postgraduate course to be offered in the Asia-Pacific region.  The first intake was in 
February 2010, and students from developing co untries have participated in the course. 
12. Australia also assisted developing countries w ith examiner training.  In October 2011, IP 
Australia sent Australian senior patent officials to a week-long WIPO expert mission to Malaysia to 
extend assistance in the field of patent examination training and to contribute to enhancing capacity 
building in patent administration.  In November-December 2011, IP Australia provided assistance 
with trade mark hearings training for two senior IP officials from Brunei. 
II. OTHER MULTILATERAL AND REGIONAL ACTIVITIES 
AANZFTA Economic Cooperation Su pport Programme (ECSP) 
13. The ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Tr ade Area (AANZFTA) Economic Cooperation 
Support Programme (ECSP) consists of a Support Unit within the ASEAN Secretariat and activities 
worth up to $A25 million over five years.  Aust ralia provided approximately $A20 million toward 
these activities.  The AANZFTA ECSP is designed to provide technical assistance and capacity 
building to help ASEAN Member States, particularly  LDCs, implement the free trade agreement.  IP 
is a vital component, with the objective being to 'provide comprehensive support for the development 
of sound and balanced intellectual pr operty systems in the AANZFTA region'. 
14. AANZFTA parties anticipated that  IP-related assistance provided under ECSP could take the 
form of direct training for IP examiners and other go vernment officials, IP judges, patent attorneys, 
academics and the business community, and could also  include study visits, policy discussions and 
seminars.  Such assistance is now beginning to be delivered.  As noted in the previous section, the 
AANZFTA ECSP supported the February  2012 workshop on IP Educati on and Training in Malaysia 
delivered by IP Australia and WIPO, and other activities are in train. 
15. Notably, IP Australia is developing an ongoi ng regional patent training programme to be 
delivered under the auspices of the AANZFTA ECSP.  The programme is expected to enhance patent 
examination standards in participating offices, and will provide in-depth patent examination training 
based on IP Australia's existing competency-b ased programme.  It will comprise one-on-one 
mentoring by experienced IP Australia trainers using remote e-learning opportunities, as well as 
traditional face-to-face training.  The IP offices of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines will be the 
first offices to participate in the two-year tr aining programme commencing in 2013.  Funding will 
come from the AANZFTA ECSP and IP Australia, which will contribute approximately 
$A1.3 million to the 2013-14 programme.  With separate financial assistance from WIPO, South IP/C/W/582/Add.2 
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  Africa and the African Regional IP Office (ARIPO ) are also invited to participate in patent 
examination training. 
Cooperation with the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) 
16. In February 2012 IP Australia and the African  Regional Intellectual Property Organization 
(ARIPO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Industrial Property Cooperation .  
The MoU aims to build IP examiner capacity and facilitate the provision and exchange of information 
relating to IP training and quality standards.  ARIP O has 18 members, all of which are developing or 
least developed countries.  These are Botswana, Gamb ia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, 
Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, 
Zambia, and Zimbabwe.  Australia will repor t on activities and outcomes in due course.   
III. BILATERAL ACTIVITIES 
17. In addition to those bilateral activities alread y noted in the WIPO section above, Australia 
engaged in cooperation with Cambodi a and Vanuatu in 2012.  In July, an Australian senior trade mark 
official undertook a week-long WIPO expert mission to Cambodia to extend assistance in the field of 
trade mark examination training and contri bute to enhancing capacity building in IP 
administration .  In May,  Australia received a high-level IP delegation from Vanuatu to discuss issues 
relating to the setup of Vanuatu's IP office  – a process for which Australia is committed to 
providing ongoing assistance.   
18. IP Australia continues to engage with Chin ese counterparts within the State Intellectual 
Property Office (SIPO) and provincial IP offices to facilitate information exchanges on the IP 
regimes  in both countries.  In May 2012, IP Austra lia and the IP Office of Papua New Guinea re-
signed a cooperation arrangement under which IP Aust ralia assists Papua New Guinea with aspects of 
patent search and examination .   
19. Australian Customs Counsellors deliver IP training in relatio n to border measures and 
Australia's Notice of Objection Scheme  on an on request, ad hoc basis.  In March 2012, Customs 
Counsellors delivered an IP information session to China Customs and industry in relation to the 
domestic and international legislative framework governing the Notice of Objection scheme.  In 
August 2011, Australian Customs provided information to India Customs and industry in relation to 
how counterfeit car parts are dealt with at the bor der under the Notice of Objection Scheme, and the 
exclusion of patents from the Scheme. 
IV. SEMINARS 
20. During the period July 2011-June 2012, Austra lian officials gave presentations at the 
following regional and in ternational forums: 
 WIPO Sub-regional seminar on the formulation and implementation of results-based 
intellectual property acti on, Bali, July 2011 
 WIPO National Seminar on the Madrid System, Kuala Lumpur, October 2011  
 International Seminar on Trademark Admini strative Management, Taipei, October 2011 
 WIPO Regional Workshop of Effective Strate gies for IP Public Education and Awareness 
Campaigns, Singapore, October 2011 
 WIPO Policy Dialogue on Patents Work-shari ng Initiatives, Singapore, June 2012.   
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