IP/C/W/601/Add.4  
 
17 October 2014  
(14-5943)  Page: 1/4  
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights  Original: English  
 
  TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES: 
INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS 
SWITZERLAND 
Addendum 
The following communication, dated 13 October 2014, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Switzerland.  
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 1.  Following documents IP/C/W/12/Add.3 of 13 September 1995, IP/C/W/34/Add.2 of 
17 September 1996, IP/C/W/77/Add.3 of 30 September 1997, IP/C/W/109/Add.1 of 
4 September 1998, IP/C/W/154/Add.2 of 8 October 1999, IP/C/W/203/Add.1 of 13 September 2000, IP/C/W/306/Add.3 of 18 September 2001, IP/C/W/377/Add.9 of 24 January 2003, 
IP/C/W/408/Add.4 of 14 November 2003, IP/C/W /426/Add.2 of 8 September 2004, IP/C/W/455 of 
5 October 2005, IP/C/W/476 of 14 September 2006, IP/C/W/496 of 28 September 2007, IP/C/W/514/Add.4 of 17 October 2008, IP/C/W/536 /Add.3 of 20 October 2009, IP/C/W/550/Add.2 
of 20 October 2010, IP/C/W/560/Add.5 of 14 October 2011, IP/C/W/582/Add.4  of 
25 October 2012, and IP/C/W/593/Add.5 of 4 October 2014 in which much of the description of 
the aims and organisational aspects of technical cooperation remains relevant, this report describes the activities of the Swiss Federal Inst itute of Intellectual Property (hereafter "the 
Institute") in the field of technical cooperation between 1 September  2013 and 31 August  2014
1. 
Drafted along the same lines as the preceding repo rts, this document draws a distinction between 
multilateral and bilateral activities. It is the objective of the Swiss authorities to ensure optimal 
coordination of available resources, both at the multilateral and bilateral level, while avoiding 
duplication or overlapping of programmes. 
1  MULTILATERAL ACTIVITIES - TECHNICAL COOPERATION IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE 
WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION (WIPO) AND WORLD TRADE 
ORGANIZATION (WTO) 
1.1  Participation of Representatives of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual 
Property as Speakers in Worksh ops (Co-)Organised by WIPO/WTO 
2.  An expert from the Institute participated as speaker in a workshop organized by the WTO in 
close collaboration with the WHO and WIPO on IP and public health (December 2013). Another 
expert conducted an advanced course on intell ectual property for gove rnment officials ("IP-
Valuation, a practical approach") in WIPO and WTO (March 2014). 
1.2  Free-of-Charge Searches for WIPO in Favour of Developing Countries  3.  Since 1987, the Institute has been participating in the "WIPO Patent Information Services for 
Developing Countries (WPIS)," which WIPO set up and operates for handling individual requests 
for patent information (state-of-the-art search reports).  Additionally, since 1 January 2011, the 
Institute has been participating in the "International Cooperation on Examination (ICE)" part of 
                                               
1 Unless otherwise indicated. IP/C/W/601/Add.4 
 
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  WPIS. The Institute thus not only establishes "state-of-the-art search reports", but also "search 
and examination reports". These types of reports are established to facilitate national patent 
applications in the beneficiary countries. The programme supports the national patent offices in building up their competencies in search and exam ination procedures and helps to strengthen the 
patent system and legal certainty worldwide. 
4.  Between 1 September 2013 and 31 August 2014,  the Institute conducted, at the request of 
WIPO, free-of-charge searches for the following countries: 
Country Number of 
searches 
ICE-Searches:  
Madagascar 5 
Jordan 6 
Kenya 5 
WPIS-Searches:  
South Africa 1 
Total  17 
 
2  BILATERAL ACTIVITIES 
2.1  Bangladesh 5.  The Bangladeshi–Swiss Intellectual Property Project (BSIP) was approved by Switzerland in 
2011 and has since then been ready to be launched. Approval from the Bangladeshi side is 
pending. 
2.2  China 
6.  Five delegations of government officials from the P.R. China (from Beijing and provinces) were 
welcomed at the Institute and introduced to the Swiss system of intellectual property rights protection during the reporting period.  
2.3  Colombia 
7.  The Colombian–Swiss Intellectual Property Pr oject (COLIPRI) started early 2013 and will last 
four years. The overall goals of the project are higher competitiveness, more value added to Colombian products, and a positive impact on Colombia’s social and economic development. The 
two direct beneficiaries of COLIPRI are the Supe rintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC) and 
the Ministerio del Interior (MinInt) of Colombia. Besides the general project inception process, the following activities have been undertaken so far: 
 Participation of three representatives (one each from SIC, Artesanías de Colombia, and 
bocadillo veleño producers) in a two-week international InterGI training on Geographical Indications (GIs) in Switzerland in October 2013. 
 Six series of strategic workshops by a Swiss consultant were held in Bogotá between 
June 2013 and June 2014, serving as a basis for further project activities such as patent 
administration and technology transfer. During the reporting period, a market 
assessment of the bocadillo veleño (guava paste) sector was conducted and used as 
input for the development of a GI implementa tion strategy by an international expert. 
 Needs and market assessment for handicraft products of Artesanías de Colombia started 
at the end of 2013 and is ongoing. IP/C/W/601/Add.4 
 
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   In October 2013, a Swiss consultant conducted a mission to assess the current GI 
system of Colombia, and provided recommendations on needs and training priorities. 
 In November 2013, a study tour on the Swiss technology transfer system took place for 
Colombian officials of the National Planning Department who visited several institutions 
in Switzerland. Inputs from the study tour will be used for drafting the Colombian 
national strategy on technology transfer. 
 A workshop in the area of Traditional Knowle dge (TK) took place in November 2013. The 
goal was to exchange experience and to prov ide further insights for a Colombian national 
strategy for the protection of TK. 
 In June and July 2014, two study tours to the IPI were conducted for the training, patent 
search, trademark and patent examination units of SIC. The IPI trademark and patent 
departments were closely involved in these activities. 
2.4  Ghana 8.  The first phase of the cooperation project "S trengthening the Intellectual Property Rights in 
Ghana" started in 2009 and was finalised in July 2 013. During the reporting interval, a joint team 
of Swiss and Ghanaian experts conducted an exploration mission and a feasibility study for the elaboration of the second phase of the Swiss-Ghanaian cooperation in the field of intellectual 
property. The focus of the second phase would be on making businesses aware of the importance 
of protecting their IP assets, supporting the private sector to commercialise its intellectual property rights, and establishing a National Intellectual Property Institution in Ghana. A joint project proposal was elaborated and is currently in the approval process. The start of the second phase 
project is targeted for 2015. 
2.5  Indonesia 9.  The Indonesian-Swiss Intellectual Property Pr oject (ISIP) started in early 2012 for a term of 
four years. During the reporting period, the following activities were conducted: 
 F i n a l i s a t i o n  o f  a n  e x p e r t  r e v i e w  o f  t h e  e x i s t i n g  l e g i s l a t i o n  o n  G I s  i n  I n d o n e s i a ,  a n d  
discussion of the results with key persons from the Directorate General of Intellectual 
Property Rights (DGIPR). 
 A patent lawyer conducted a three-day training course on patent drafting for "IP 
consultants". 
 A follow-up workshop on the expert analysis of the PE&A (public education and 
awareness raising) activities of the Indonesian IP Office was organised and conducted, 
and a draft PE&A strategy has been developed. 
 Two experts from the Danish IP Office im plemented a one-week on-site training for 
patent examiners in chemistry. 
 Another two experts from the Danish IP Office implemented a one-week on-site training 
for patent examiners in pharmacology and biotechnology. 
 Two pairs of two students conducted an in-dep th analysis of the four GI supply chains 
supported by the ISIP project (Sidoarjo Milkfish, Amed Salt, Sikka Ikat, and Soe Oranges) as their master theses. 
 Concrete support activities for the four supply chains were designed together with 
international experts. 
 A first expert mission to Sikka was carried out with the aim of developing a GI 
implementation strategy. IP/C/W/601/Add.4 
 
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   A first expert mission to Soe was carried out with the aim of developing a GI 
implementation strategy and drafting a Code of Practice. 
2.6  Tajikistan 10.  Following a request from the Tajik Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MoEDT), and 
from the National Centre for Patents and Information (NCPI), a project proposal was developed in 
close cooperation with the Tajik partners in 2012.  The Tajik-Swiss Intellectual Property Project 
(TSIP) is a three-year project; it aims at strengthening the Tajik intellectual property rights system 
in line with the requirements of the TRIPS Agreem ent. The technical support will be provided at 
three levels by combining (a) capacity building at the policy level, (b) supporting IP offices to better serve IP clients, and (c) promoting IP among key target users.  During the reporting period, the following activities were conducted:  
 The TSIP project supported the organisation  and conducting of the promotion event 
"Best Brand of Tajikistan" in Dushanbe. This  competition, organised by the Tajik NCPI, 
was the first ever governmental initiative for broad awareness raising on IP in Tajikistan. 
Branding and IP were presented as a tool for economic development and promotion 
(December 2013).  
 In cooperation with WIPO, TSIP contributed to the formulation of the National Strategy 
on Intellectual Property of Tajikistan 2014-2020, which was adopted by the Tajik 
Government in June 2014 (April – June 2014).  
 The seminar "Introduction into Basics of Intellectual Property Rights" was conducted by a 
national expert for the staff of the WTO Di vision of the MoEDT. Officials from other 
relevant ministries and agencies, such as Health, Culture, Internal Affairs, Customs, and 
Antimonopoly, also attended the seminar (June 2014). 
 The TSIP project financed the participation of three officials (one from MoEDT and two 
from NCPI) in the Hong Kong, China Summer Programme on IP. Several Swiss IP 
experts conducted lectures during this Programme (July-August 2014).  
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