IP/C/W/609/Add.2  
 
25 September 2015  
(15-4983)  Page: 1/3  
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights  Original: English  
 
  TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES: INFORMATION FROM  
OTHER INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS 
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION  
AND DEVELOPMENT (OECD) 
Addendum 
At its meeting of 9-10 June 2015, 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 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) by means of a communication dated 
23 September 2015. 
 
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 While the OECD undertakes a range of activities rela ting to intellectual property rights (IPRs) and 
relevant to the TRIPS Agreement, we do not operate financial co-operation programmes related to 
the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement. 
 The OECD would like to draw attention to severa l projects underway or recently completed that 
may be of interest as they touch upon TRIPS-related topics:   
  OECD and innovation in science, technology and industry:  Following release of the OECD 
Innovation Strategy  reports and related materials in 2010-11, the organisation remains 
actively engaged in this issue area including with respect to IPRs. The 2015 OECD Innovation Strategy (an update of the 2010 version) will be released on 14 October 2015. See: http://www.oecd.org/sti/inno/  and http://www.oecd.org/sti/sci-
tech/intellectualpropertyrightsipr.htm .  
 Recent IPR-related activities with respect to science, technology and industry include: 
o The Knowledge Based Capital horizontal project:  Enquiries into Intellectual Property’s 
Economic Impact: The rise of KBC creates new challenges for policymakers, for business 
and for the ways in which economic activity is measured. As part of phase two of the OECD KBC project, this report takes a closer look at IP’s role in OECD economies while 
examining some of the most significant changes to the landscape in which it is operating, 
including digitisation and the growth of the Internet. See:  
http://www.oecd.org/sti/iec onomy/intellectual-property-economic-impact.htm.   IP/C/W/609/Add.2 
 
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  o OECD Reviews of Innovation Policy  offer a comprehensive assessment of the innovation 
system of individual countries, focusing on th e role of government. They provide concrete 
recommendations on how to improve policies which impact on innovation performance, including R&D policies. Each review identifies good practices from which other countries 
can learn. Recent studies have included increased emphasis on IPRs and include reports 
on: Croatia, Colombia, France, Korea, the Netherlands and Viet Nam:  http://www.oecd.org/sti/inno/oecdr eviewsofinnovationpolicy.htm .  
o National Intellectual Property Systems, Innovation and Economic Development with 
perspectives on Colombia and Indonesia:  An initiative in the area of IPR is considering 
national IPR systems in emerging countries  notably through their impact on innovation 
and the diffusion of knowledge. Initial country  studies based on a framework to identify 
key mechanisms for IPRs to support development objectives cover Colombia and 
Indonesia. See: http://www.oecd.org/sti/inno/natio nal-ip-systems-innovation-and-
economic-development.htm .  
o Intellectual  Property (IP) statistics and analysis:  This report looks at the innovative 
output of top Research and Development (R&D) investors worldwide using patents and trademarks as proxy indicators. Essentially descriptive in nature, it presents statistics 
about the technological profiles of companies, their trademark strategies for new 
products and services and the extent to which these two forms of IPR are bundled to protect and appropriate the returns from investment in knowledge-based assets. An analysis of these statistics provides interesting insight to the innovation strategies of this 
sample of world leading corporate R&D investors. See: 
http://www.oecd.org/sti/int ellectual-property-stati stics-and-analysis.htm .   
o Patent Statistics : The OECD has a range of work underway concerning methodology and 
database development related to patent statistics. This year’s IP Statistics for Decision 
Makers (IPSDM) conference will take place on 3-4 November in Vienna, Austria: http://www.oecd.org/site/stipatents/ . 
o Innovation Policies for Inclusive Growth: This report looks at a variety of inclusive 
innovation initiatives and innovative products aimed at improving the welfare of lower-income and excluded groups, notably in terms of essential public services (education, infrastructure and health). It discusses  the policy trade-offs between traditional 
innovation policies and a more inclusive innovation approach, and provides 
recommendations for aligning current policies. It also deals with the impacts of innovation and innovation policies on industrial and territorial inclusiveness, describing 
how information and communication technology (ICT) and technology diffusion may 
influence smaller firms’ chances of succeeding with their innovations: http://www.oecd.org/sti/innovation-polic ies-for-inclusive-growth-9789264229488-
en.htm . 
o Project on measuring  design and its role in innovation:  This project has reviewed how the 
current measurement frameworks capture the broad range of innovation activities in firms, and in particular how design activities are reflected. It highlights which concepts, 
definitions and measurement approaches ca n be used to produce policy-relevant 
indicators on the role of design in innovati on. It also demonstrates how survey data can 
be used to study the relationship between design use, innovation and economic 
performance, with a quantitative analysis of the results of a set of experimental design-
related questions introduced by Statistics Denmark in its 2010 innovation survey: http://www.oecd.org/sti/inno/measu ring-design-and-innovation.htm .  
 Trade-related aspects of intellectual property:  
o Uncovering Trade Secrets - An Empirical Assessment of Economic Implications of 
Protection for Undisclosed Data: This paper takes stock of the protection of trade secrets 
for a sample of 37 countries, provides hist orical 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 IP/C/W/609/Add.2 
 
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  period from 1985 to 2010. The paper also finds a positive association between the 
stringency of trade secrets protection and key indicators of innovation and international economic flows: http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/trade /uncovering-trade-secrets-an-
empirical-assessment-of-economic-implications-of-protection-for-undisclosed-
data_5jxzl5w3j3s6-en  
 Intellectual property rights and investment :  T h e  O E C D  c o n d u c t s  a n  o n - g o i n g  s e r i e s  o f  
investment policy reviews, covering a broad range of countries. Investment policy reviews 
include a section on intellectual property rights and are conducted using 
http://www.oecd.org/daf/inv/mne /investmentinstruments.htm   and - since its adoption in 
2006 - the http://www.oecd.org/daf/inv/i nvestment-policy/pfi.htm . Over the past year, 
reports have been issued or are forthcoming for: Botswana, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Mauritius, 
Myanmar, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Viet Nam. See: 
http://www.oecd.org/daf/inv/inves tment-policy/countryreviews.htm .  
 Intellectual property rights and taxes : 
o Guidance on Transfer Pricing Aspects of Intangibles: This report contains revisions to the 
OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines to align tran sfer pricing outcomes with value creation in 
the area of intangibles. The changes clarify the definition of intangibles and provide 
guidance for related parties; including transactions involving intangibles and the transfer 
pricing treatment of local market features an d corporate synergies. Some transfer pricing 
issues relating to intangibles are closely related to other issues that are to be addressed during 2015, most notably in relation to the allocation of risk among MNE group 
members and recharacterisation of transactions. See: http://www.oecd-
ilibrary.org/taxation/guidance-on-transfer-pricing-aspects-of-
intangibles_9789264219212-en .  
 
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