IP/C/W/617/Add.1  
21 October  2016 
(16-5750) Page: 1/6 
Counc il for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights  Original: English  
 
  TECHNICAL COOPERATIO N ACTIVITIES:  
INFORMATION FROM MEM BERS  
AUSTRALIA  
Addendum  
The following communication, dated 14 October 2016, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Australia.  
 
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1.  Australia is committed to shar ing inform ation with other WTO M embers on its technical and 
financial cooperation activities in the area of intellectual property rights in fulfilment of Article 67 of 
the TRIPS Agreement.  This is a full report on Australia 's intellectual property -related technical 
cooperation activities with developing and least developed countries . It builds upon annual update 
reports provided in 2012 (IP/C/W/582/Add.2), 2013 (IP/C/W/593/Add.7), 2014 (IP/C/W/601) and 
2015 (IP/C/W/610/Add.4).  
2.  Australia fulfils its Article 67 technic al cooperation commitment through multilateral, regional 
and bilateral programs and activities.  Many activities are focused on developing countries in the 
Indo-Pacific region . Australia works closely with the World Intellectual Property Organization 
(WIPO) , the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretariat and other partners to 
assist developing and least developed countries to build their intellectual property capacity and 
systems.  
3.  Many of the technical cooperation activities implemented under  Article 67 align with Australia 's 
strategic focus on using aid as a catalyst to promote economic growth and poverty reduction, 
including through a strong emphasis on aid for trade . Aid for trade is embedded in the UN 
Sustainable Development Goals and our future investments, including activities under the 
WIPO -Australia Funds -in-Trust program me will in turn be influenced by these goals.  
4.  Websites containing information on Australia 's intellectual property regime, which may be 
considered a technical cooperati on resource, include the IP Australia website c overing patents, 
designs, trade marks and plant breeders ' rights ( http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au ); the Department 
of Communications and the Arts website on copyright  developments 
(http://www.communications.gov.au/what -we-do/copyright ); and the Department of Foreign 
Affairs and Trade website on international IP developments ( http://www.dfat.gov.au/ip ). IP/C/W/617/Add.1  
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  1  AUSTRALIAN ACTIVITIES WITH THE WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 
ORGANISATION (WIPO)  
1.1  Australia -WIPO Funds -in-Trust  
5.  In February  2016, the Australian Government and WIPO agreed to a second iteration of the 
Australia -WIPO Funds -in-Trust with the commitment of an additional AUD 3  million  of funding . The 
Australian Government has previously provided AUD 2  million  to WIPO over a period from 2012 to 
30 June 2016. This funding promotes economic growth in developing and least dev eloped 
countries by helping these countries to build their intellectual property regimes and capabilities in 
facilitating innovation, creativity, investment and technology transfer . There are four themes under 
Australia 's Funds -in-Trust including : developm ent of the intellectual property system ; technology 
transfer (knowledge transfer and commercialisation) ; addressing neglected tropical diseases ; and 
copyright and related rights to assist the blind, visually impaired and other persons with print 
disabiliti es. Program mes implemented under this funding arrangement are developed in 
consultation with WIPO and the recipient countries.  Beneficiaries are involved in the project 
planning to ensure the programs are well suited to their needs.  
6.  The review period of th is report ( October  2015–September  2016) has been dedicated to 
establishing a workplan for activities under the second iteration of funding . New activities will 
include support for technology transfer in the area of climate change through the 
multi-stakehol der platform, WIPO Green . During the review period, key stakeholders in the WIPO 
Re:Search program have been exploring the potential for expanding Australia 's involvement to 
include placement of scientists from developing countries in leading Australian re search 
institutions . Work on the development and implementation of the National Intellectual Property 
Strategies in Myanmar, Kiribati and Viet Nam  has also continued.  
2  OTHER MULTILATERAL AN D REGIONAL ACTIVITIE S 
2.1  Economic Cooperation Support Program under the  ASEAN -Australia -New Zealand 
Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA)  
7.  The AANZFTA 's Economic Cooperation Support Program (AECSP) consists of the Economic 
Cooperation Work Program and the AANZFTA Support Unit located in the ASEAN Secretariat . The 
AECSP was establishe d in 2010 as a five year program with funding of AUD 20 -25 million . The 
Program, which has now been extended to 3 0 June 2018, aims to support the ASEAN Secretariat 
in servicing the AANZFTA Joint Committee and its subsidiary bodies to assist ASEAN Member 
States, particularly Least Developed Countries, with AANZFTA 's implementation . Intellectual 
property is a vital component of the AECSP, with the objective being to "provide comprehensive 
support for the development of sound and balanced intellectual property  systems in the AANZFTA 
region ". The following paragraphs outline some of the intellectual property outcomes achieved 
under the AECSP with further detail provided in the annex to this report.  
8.  IP Australia 's Regional Patent Examination Training (RPET) Progr am delivers intensive 
competency -based patent examination training to examiners of ASEAN Intellectual Property 
Offices that conduct substantive patent examination, to enable them to meet international Patent 
Cooperation Treaty standards . This program has t he potential to create a critical mass of patent 
examiners that can assist with improving patent examination outcomes within the region . 
Recently, the RPET program won two  Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards 
(http://www.brandonhall.com/excellenceawards ) including a Gold Award for the "Best Advance in 
Custom Content ", and a Silver Award for the "Best Use of Blended Learning ". 
9.  To date, the 18 participants from the ASEAN region have graduated from t he two -year program 
from the first (2013) and second (2014) intakes . There are currently an additional 24 participants 
progressing through the third (2015) and fourth (2016) intakes from Indonesia, Malaysia, 
Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.  
10.  In 2016, IP Australia developed complementary modules for the RPET program, called Train 
the Trainer . The program is designed to equip RPET graduates and local supervisors with the skills 
to deliver RPET training material to new examiners within their offices.  IP/C/W/617/Add.1  
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  11.  ASEAN 's Member States accession to and implementation of the Madrid Protocol enables a 
trade mark owner from ASEAN to seek trademark protection in multiple jurisdictions 
simultaneously - by filing a single application before a single office and payment of one set of fees.  
Since 2011, Australia has  supported this process, organiz ing workshops and developing national 
roadmaps to guide ASEAN 's accession process . In 2015, Australia 's involvement included 
participating in training activities on Madrid operations and IT systems for intellectual property 
offices and examiners . IP Australia has provided a presenter to participate in workshop on aspects 
of the Madrid Protocol as part of the AANZFTA Madrid Protocol Phase III . Cambodia and Lao PDR 
became parties to the Madrid Protocol in 2015 and 2016 respectively.  
3  BILATERAL ACTIVITIES  
12.  Australia continues to engage actively with partners to share experiences on aspects of the 
implementation of the standards in TRIPS . The annex to this report includes examples of our 
bilateral e ngagement to facilitate this outcome.  
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  IP/C/W/617/Add.1  
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ANNEX1 
TECHNICAL COOPERATIO N ACTIVITIES IN CONN ECTION WITH TRIPS IM PLEMENTATION  
FROM OCTOBER  2015 TO SEPTEMBER  2016 
Activities undertaken under the Australia World Intellectual Property Organization Funds -in-Trust Arrangement  
Activity  Date  Beneficiary or beneficiaries  Brief Description  
Drafting a National IP 
Strategy  Finaliz ed 
February  2016 Myanmar  The process of assisting Myanmar with articulation of a National IP 
Strategy continued until the end of  2015 and these remaining 
activities were funded by the WIPO regular budget.  The draft Strategy 
was finalised in February  2016 by WIPO and submitted to the 
interested national authorities of Myanmar for consideration.  
Hosting arrangement with the 
Univers ity of 
California -San Diego (UCSD) 
for Dr Christian Agyare and 
for his student Ms Gertrude 
Kyere -Davies  October  2015 – 
March  2016 Dr Christian Agyare and 
Ms Kyere-Davies of the Kumasi 
Center for Collaborative Research 
in Tropical Medicine (KCCR) / 
Kwame Nk rumah University, Ghana  Dr Agyare and his team are participating in schistosomiasis drug and 
diagnostic development.  Through this fellowship, he and his students 
gain exposure to leading edge academic drug discovery and 
parasitology research.  He has acquir ed the basic skills and experience 
in the cultivation and maintenance of various parasites, and the 
required screening protocols.  
Starter Kit on how to produce 
book in accessible formats  June 2014 – 
December  2015  Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka  
 Several ver sions of the Starter Kit were exchanged throughout 2015, 
with the members of the Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) Board 
contributing comments and suggestions as well as the ABC 
Secretariat . The Starter Kit was finalised in December  2015. 
National Stakeho lders' 
consultations Meetings to 
Finalise the IP Strategy for 
Kiribati  First meeting  
20-26 October  2015 
 
Final meeting  
20-23 June 2016 Kiribati  Two consultation periods were held to discuss an IP strategy for 
Kiribati . They included, the First National Con sultations for a Needs 
Assessment, with a view to drafting the IP Policy for Kiribati, and then 
the Final National Stakeholders ' Consultations to finalise the IP 
Strategy.  
Development of online 
training program me on the 
Madrid system accession and 
impleme ntation  Scoping work 
commenced 
June 2016. Scheduled 
to be completed late 
2017.  All WIPO member states  The training program me is being developed for the WIPO Academy . 
The training program me will include different modules mostly 
intended for managers in IP offices that are considering joining the 
Madrid System and examiners and administration staff in newly 
joined IP Offices.  
 
                                                
1 In English  only.   
  IP/C/W/617/Add.1  
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Activities undertaken on behalf of or in consultat ion with WIPO outside the Funds -in-Trust Arrangement  
Activity  Date  Beneficiary or  beneficiaries  Brief Description  
National workshop on 
Patent Law: the multilateral 
Legal Framework and 
Patent Grant Procedures in 
Port Vila, Vanuatu  17-18 November  2015 Vanuatu  This Patent training activity was organised by WIPO in cooperation 
with the Va nuatu Intellectual Property Office. The major objective 
of the workshop was around providing some basic knowledge on 
patents and in particular patent grant procedures, to the staff of 
the IP Office of Vanuatu. IP Australia sent a patent expert to speak 
at the workshop.  
Regional Patent 
Examination Training 
(RPET) Program  Ongoing  Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, 
Indonesia,  Viet Nam,  Kenya and 
the African  Regional Intellectual  
Property Organization (Zimbabwe)  During the period, trainees from the 2nd intake of RPET graduated 
from the 2 year program and the 3rd and 4th intakes continued and 
commenced respectively . RPET is intensive distance learning 
patent examination training program.  A total of 13 trainees from 
ASEAN offices participate in each intake of t he program.  
Regional Patent 
Examination  Training 
(RPET) Trainee  Workshop 
(3rd intake)  
 
Local Supervisor Workshop 
(4th intake ) 2-13 November  2015 
 
 
31 May–3 June 2016 Australia hosts and  manages the 
RPET Programme.  
 
Kenya and the African  Regional 
Intellec tual Property Organization 
(Zimbabwe)  participation funded by  
WIPO.  The RPET program aims to enhance patent examination standards 
in participating offices . WIPO financially supports participation of 
the African  Regional Intellectual Property Organization a nd the 
Kenyan Industrial  Property Institute in the RPET program . These 
workshops were also attended by  ASEAN participants funded under 
the ASEAN Economic Support Cooperation  Programme.    
  IP/C/W/617/Add.1  
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Activities undertaken under the ASEAN Australia New Zealand Free Trade  Agreement Economic Cooperation Support Program (AECSP)  
Activity  Date  Beneficiary or beneficiaries  Brief Description  
Madrid Pro tocol Phase III 
Workshop – Bangkok, 
Thailand  26-27 September  2016 ASEAN Member States  The objectives of the meeting are to discu ss the recommendations 
made in the earlier Madrid Projects of ASEAN, the operational issues 
faced by the ASEAN IP Offices in their implementation of Madrid 
Protocol, consider the possibility of having common or similar 
workflows in the processing of intern ational applications and 
registrations, and the latest developments in the Madrid system.  
Regional Patent 
Examination Training 
(RPET) Program  Ongoing  Malaysia, Thailand, the 
Philippines, Indonesia,  Viet Nam  During the period, trainees from the second inta ke of RPET graduated 
from t he 2 year program and the third and fourth intakes continued 
and commenced respectively . RPET is intensive distance learning 
patent examination training program.  A total of 13 trainees from 
ASEAN offices participate in each intak e of the program.  Recently, the 
RPET program won two  Brandon Hall Group Excellence Awards 
(http://www.brandonhall.com/excellenceawards ); gold for "best 
advance in custom content ", and silver for  "best use of blended 
learning ". 
Regional Patent 
Examination  
Training (RPET) Trainee  
Workshop (third intake)  
 
Local Supervisor Workshop 
(fourth intake ) 2-13 November  2015 
 
 
 
 
31 May–3 June 2016 Funding from the AECSP 
supported  participation of 
trainees fr om Indonesia, 
Malaysia, the  Philippines, 
Thailand and  Viet Nam  The RPET program aims to enhance patent examination standards in 
participating offices . The workshops are hosted in Australia and are 
designed to reinforce the online learning process and conso lidate 
online  community building.  
Bilateral engagement and activities  
Activity  Date  Location  Brief Description  
1st Workshop on the 
Creation of a Network of 
ASEAN Trainers for Patent 
Examination  22-24 February  2016 Hanoi, Viet N am The workshop was develop ed to increase the efficiency of patent examination in 
the ASEAN Region.  The objective is to ensure that each participating office has 
training capabilities in place in the area of patents . 
2nd Workshop on the 
Creation of a Network of 
ASEAN Trainers for P atent 
Examination  26-28 September  2016 Jakarta, Indonesia  The workshop builds on the outcomes of the previous workshop, focusing on 
developing a training network within ASEAN offices and also promoting 
South -South cooperation between ASEAN Member States.  
 
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