IP/C/W/591/Add.3  
 
25 September 2013  
(13-5116)  Page: 1/6  
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 11-12 June 2013, 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 
18 September 2013. 
 
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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 the WIPO Development Agenda and the World Health Assembly’s Resolution 61.21 on a Global Strategy and 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 
intellectual property and facilitates consensus-building in international discussions on issues at 
the interface between investment and intellectual property. Located in the Division on Investment and Enterprise, Investment Capacity-B uilding 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 September 2012 to September 2013. More information on past activities is available at 
http://unctad.org/en/Pages/DIAE/Intellectua l%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. IP/C/W/591/Add.3 
 
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  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 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 financ ial support of Germany and the United Kingdom. 
The overall objective of the programme, implemen ted 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 producti on and supply capacities, including in cooperation 
with investors. 
4.  During the reporting period UNCTAD conducted the following training courses  for stakeholders 
from developing countries under this project: 
 Regional workshop on IP and local pharmaceutical production for South-East Asian countries 
in December 2012 in Bali/Indonesia, in cooper ation with German International Cooperation 
(GIZ). Beneficiary countries of this 4-day wo rkshop included Indonesia, the Philippines, 
Thailand and Viet Nam. 
 Regional workshop on IP and local pharmaceutical production for Southern African countries 
in April 2013 in South Africa, in cooperation wi th the United Nations Industrial Development 
Organization (UNIDO) and the Southern African Generic Manufacturers Association 
(SAGMA). Beneficiary countries included Bots wana, Mozambique, Lesotho, South Africa, and 
Zimbabwe. 
 Regional "Blended Learning Course on Intellectual Property, Public Health and 
Local Pharmaceutical Production" for Egypt and Jordan, in cooperation with GIZ. This course comprised two national face-to-face opening workshops in Amman and Cairo in June 2013, 
a three-month distance learning facility guided by UNCTAD and a regional face-to-face 
closing workshop in Amman in September 2013.  The distance learning tool is based on 
online training materials prepared by UNCTAD, GIZ and common sense | eLearning & 
training consultants GmbH, Vienna/Austria. 
 National workshop on IP and local pharmaceutical production for South Africa in July 2013, 
in cooperation with UNIDO. 
 In August 2013, UNCTAD organized awareness-building workshops for domestic 
stakeholders in Hanoi, Viet Nam on TRIPS-plus provisions in preferential trade and 
investment agreements, and their potential impact on the local production of pharmaceuticals. 
5.  All courses were based on UNCTAD’s Reference Guide to Using IP Rights to Stimulate 
Pharmaceutical Production in Developing Countries (United Nations, New York and Geneva, 2011) 
and UNCTAD’s Investment in Pharmaceutical Production in the Least Developed Countries. A Guide for Policy Makers and Investment Promotion Agencies (United Nations, New York and 
Geneva, 2011). 
                                               
1 "In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in 
developing countries". 
2 See at http://www.unctad.org /en/docs/c2l22_en.pdf  (paragraph 9 (c) of the 
Agreed Recommendations). IP/C/W/591/Add.3 
 
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  6.  During the reporting period, UNCTAD conducted the following advisory service under this 
project:  
 Elaboration of an IP Strategy for Indonesia, following a 2012 request from the country's 
Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights (DGIPR). UNCTAD in December 2012 
organized a national stakeholder workshop in  Jakarta to peer review the draft policy. 
The final document was accepted by DGIPR in July 2013. The IP Strategy covers areas such as innovation, creativity, biodiversity, access to medicines and knowledge, investment and 
technology transfer, and IP administration and enforcement. 
7.  Policy coherence in local pharmaceutical production. Funded by the European Union 
(EU), UNCTAD in cooperation with the World Health Organization as the lead agency examines 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. Building on a first phase of this project, during which UNCTAD analysed cases 
of pharmaceutical technology transfer to eight selected developing countries (see below, 2. 
Research and policy analysis ). UNCTAD during this second phase is conducting fact finding and 
subsequent capacity building activities in four countries with the potential to serve the 
African market. During the reporting period, the following activities took place: 
 Fact finding mission to Ethiopia in April 2013. The related capacity building workshop is 
envisaged for 2014. 
 Fact finding mission to Kenya in October 2013. The related capacity building workshop is 
envisaged for 2014. 
8.  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. The following training or related 
activities were implemented during the reporting period: 
 Regional "Blended Learning Course on Biodiv ersity and Intellectual Property" for Cambodia, 
Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand, in cooperation with Indonesia's 
Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights (DGIPR) and the ASEAN Secretariat. 
This course comprised a regional opening workshop in Jakarta/Indonesia in September 2012, a distance learning facility guided by UNCTAD and a regional closing 
workshop in Jakarta in December 2012. The distance learning tool is based on online 
training materials prepared by UNCTAD and common sense | eLearning & training 
consultants GmbH , Vienna/Austria. 
 Ad Hoc Expert Group Meeting on the Development Dimensions of Intellectual 
Property: Biological Diversity and Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) in April 2013 in Geneva. The purpose of this meeting was (1) to promot e an exchange of views among Geneva-based 
and other organizations on latest trends in the area of IP, biodiversity and ABS; and 
(2) to peer review the UNCTAD draft 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". The manual will be the basis for 
various UNCTAD and GIZ workshops planned in developing countries for 2013/2014. 
 In May 2013, the Chief of UNCTAD's IP Unit delivered a lecture at the United Nations 
University – Institute for Advanced Studies in Yokohama, Japan on why intellectual property 
still matters in the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol. 
 In August 2013, UNCTAD received a request from Cambodia's Ministry of Commerce 
to organize a national workshop on the interface between international access and benefit sharing rules and IP. IP/C/W/591/Add.3 
 
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  9.  Development Dimension of Intellectual Prop erty (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 least-developed country, 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 
o b j e c t i v e s  t h e y  w i s h  t o  e x a m i n e .  I n  a d d i t i o n ,  a  D D I P  r e p o r t  w i l l  t a k e  i n t o  c o n s i d e r a t i o n  the bilateral, regional and international commitments the target countries have entered into and the flexibilities available to them. 
10.  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 pr omote 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. 
 UNCTAD in 2012 published its DDIP report for Indonesia, based on a 2011 request from 
the Directorate General of Intellectual Prop erty Rights. The DDIP Indonesia covers areas 
such as access to medicines, transfer of technology and competition. 
 In 2012/13, UNCTAD finalized an advisory report for Egypt, based on a 2011 request to 
UNCTAD and ICTSD to assist Egypt in the elaboration of a development-oriented IP policy. 
A draft version of this advisory report was peer reviewed by the Egyptian National IP 
Committee in January 2013. The report has been translated into Arabic by an UNCTAD consultant. It provides a set of policy recommendations related to the country’s national IP 
framework, the promotion of domestic technological capacities, the domestic creative sector 
and domestic IP administration and enforcement. 
 Based on a 2011 request, UNCTAD is currently elaborating a DDIP report for Nepal regarding 
IP and access to medicines, technology transfer and biodiversity. 
11.  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 2013 WIPO-WTO Advanced Course on IP for 
Government Officials. 
2  RESEARCH AND POLICY ANALYSIS 
 In the context of its joint project with WHO on policy coherence in local pharmaceutical 
production (see above), UNCTAD in September 2012 published on its website "Local Production of Pharmaceuticals and Re lated Technology Transfer in Developing 
Countries. A series of case studies by the UNCTAD Secretariat". The publication analyses 
examples of selected pharmaceutical companies in Argentina, Bangladesh, Colombia, 
Ethiopia, Indonesia, Jordan, Thailand, and Uganda and the elements needed for their relative successes. 
 UNCTAD in 2013 finalized 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 Implicat ions". An advanced draft of the handbook has 
served as the basis for the above-mentioned UNCTAD and GIZ workshops on biodiversity 
and IP. The final version will guide UNCTAD's future activities in this area. The handbook provides 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 kn owledge (TK), the use of distinctive signs and 
private contract law. IP/C/W/591/Add.3 
 
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   With a view to stimulating further deba te and research in the context of the 
WIPO Development Agenda, the UNCTAD-ICTSD project on IPRs and Sustainable Development has been publishing a series of Policy Briefs. The briefs aim to examine the issues in a creative manner with a view to identifying concrete recommendations and 
specific activities to foster the implem entation of the WIPO Development Agenda 
recommendations. A list of published Policy Briefs is available at:  
"http://unctad.org/en/Pages/D IAE/Intellectual%20Property/IPRs-and-Sustainable-
Development-Policy-Briefs.aspx ". 
3  CONSENSUS-BUILDING 
12.  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. An example of the IP prog ramme's consensus-building activities includes 
the UNCTAD Ad Hoc Expert Group Meeting on the Development Dimensions of Intellectual 
Property: Biological Diversity and Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) in April 2013 in Geneva. Experts from intergovernmental organizations, civ il society and the private sector exchanged views 
on issues such as the role of ABS rules in research and development (R&D) investment, latest 
trends in genetic resources R&D, and misapprop riation of genetic resources and related TK. 
  
  IP/C/W/591/Add.3  
 
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UNCTAD'S TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES IN THE TR IPS AREA FROM 1 SEPTEMBER 2012 TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2013 
 
Category Date Location Activity 
Training 3-7 December 2012 Bali/Indonesia Regional workshop on IP and local pharmaceutical production 
for South-East Asian countries 
Training 23-26 April 2013 Johannesburg/ 
South Africa Regional workshop on IP and local pharmaceutical production 
for Southern African countries 
Training 16 & 17 June; 19 & 20 June 2013 
(opening workshops). 
June – September 2013 (online training). 
29 & 30 September 2013 (closing workshop). Cairo/Egypt and 
Amman/Jordan Regional "Blended Learning Course on Intellectual Property, 
Public Health and Local Pharmaceutical Production" for Egypt 
and Jordan 
Training 15-17 July 2013 Pretoria/South Africa National workshop on IP and local pharmaceutical production 
for South Africa 
Training 13 & 14 August 2013 Hanoi/Viet Nam Awareness-building on TRIPS-plus provisions 
Training 19 & 20 September 2012 and 10-12 
December 2012 (opening and closing 
workshops). 
October – December 2012 (online 
training) Jakarta/Indonesia Regional "Blended Learning Course on Biodiversity and 
Intellectual Property" for ASEAN countries 
Advisory work Adopted in July 2013  IP Strategy for Indonesia 
Advisory work  Published 2012  DDIP report Indonesia 
Advisory work  Submitted in 2013  Advisory report Egypt 
Advisory work Ongoing  DDIP Nepal 
Research & 
policy analysis  Published September 2012  "Local Production of Pharmaceuticals and Related Technology 
Transfer in Developing Countries. A series of case studies by the UNCTAD Secretariat" 
Consensus-building 16 & 17 April 2013 Geneva Ad-Hoc Expert Group Meeting on the Development Dimensions 
of Intellectual Property: Biological Diversity and Access and 
Benefit Sharing (ABS) 
 
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1 In English only.