IP/C/W/652  
 
8 February 2019  
(19-0762) Page: 1/2 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights  
 Original: English  
 
INTELLECTUAL PROPERT Y AND INNOVATION:  
PUBLIC -PRIVATE COLLA BORATIONS IN INNOVAT ION 
COMMUNICATION FROM AUSTRALIA; CANADA; CHILE; THE EUROPEAN UNION; 
HONG  KONG,  CHINA; JAPAN; THE REPUBLIC OF KORE A; SINGAPORE; SWITZERLA ND; 
CHINESE  TAIPEI ; AND THE UNITED  STATES  OF AMERICA  
The following communication, received on  8 February  2019, is circulated at the request of Australia; 
Canada; Chile; The European Union; Hong Kong, China; Japan; the Republic of Korea; Singapore; 
Switzerland;  Chinese Taipei ; and the United  States  of America.  
 
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1.1  Introduction  
1.  A key objective of intellectual property ("IP") is to promote innovation and creativity to meet 
societal challenges and needs. Strong collaboration between public and private sectors are important 
for eff ective innovation to help address global challenges. The public sector (e.g. public research 
agencies) and the private sector (e.g. manufacturing companies) possess different resources, 
expertise and risk profiles that can complement each other to create I P and deliver useful innovative 
solutions to benefit society. Such public -private collaborations can take various forms and occur at 
different stages of the innovation lifecycle . 
2.  Members could benefit immensely by sharing their varying experiences on publi c-private 
collaborations in innovation. The following themes are proposed as possible areas of discussion:  
a. Research and Development ("R&D") – collaboration frameworks/building capacity and 
engaging in R&D ; 
b. Innovation in Creative Industries and Branding ; and 
c. Commercialisation.  
3.  Possible discussion points on theme (a) are outlined below. Possible discussion points on themes 
(b) and (c) will be expanded upon later.  
1.2  R&D – collaboration frameworks /acquiring and developing expertise  
4.   An example of how technology and IP is created is through investment of public funds and 
expertise into R&D. However, as the public sector is not by itself typically geared towards, nor 
well-positioned to, commercialize the resulting innovation, the priva te sector often steps in to further 
develop the IP to meet market needs.  
5.  On the other hand, in some cases, the private sector, particularly small and medium -enterprises 
(SMEs), find it challenging to undertake R&D for various reasons, including that they m ay not have 
the financial means or even technical or organisational expertise to conduct the necessary further 
R&D to develop solutions to meet the needs in the industry or community. In these instances, the 
public sector can play an important collaborativ e role in initiating and supporting further innovation.  IP/C/W/652  
 
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  6.  Members could discuss and share experiences on frameworks and mechanisms for successful 
knowledge innovation  and R&D sharing mechanisms between the public and private sectors. In 
discussing these fram eworks and mechanisms, Members could also discuss the following issues:  
a. How to balance supporting innovative businesses with accountability for public funds;  
b. Considerations regarding how IP should be owned and managed; and  
c. How public agencies can help the private sector acquire and develop expertise in R&D and 
acquire IP.  
 
 
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