IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.1  
 
10 October 201 8 
(18-6261) Page: 1/6 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights  Original: English  
 
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATIO N ACTIVITIES: INFORM ATION FROM  
OTHER INTERGOVERNMEN TAL ORGANIZATIONS  
UNITED NATIONS CONFE RENCE ON  TRADE AND DEVELOPME NT (UNCTAD)  
Addendum  
At its meeting of 4-5 June 201 8, 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 5 October 
2018. 
 
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1.  The UNCTAD Secretariat, through its Intellectual Property (IP) Unit, located within the Division 
on Investment and Enterprise, implements a work programme on the development dimensions of 
IP rights. The work programme is designed to respond to the mandate received from Member States 
at the Ministerial Conference in Nairobi (July 2016), 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. It is partially 
funded by donor governments and institutions. Currently, the work programme targets:  
• IP rights and local pharmaceutical production and supply capacity for essential 
medicines.  UNCTAD was request ed by its Commission on Investment, Technology and 
Related Financial Issues (2005) to assess ways in which developing countries can develop 
their domestic productive capability in the supply of essential drugs in cooperation with 
pharmaceutical companies.1 In the pursuit of this mandate, UNCTAD implements a work 
programme on local pharmaceutical production, with a view to assisting developing 
countries and least  developed countries (LDCs) in particular, to utilise IP rights as tools 
that facilitate increase d access to affordable medicines, and, where feasible, to promote 
domestic and foreign investment to create local or regional pharmaceutical production and 
supply capacities. The programme is supported by the German Federal Ministry for 
Economic Cooperatio n and Development (BMZ).  
• IP rights, technology transfer and trade facilitation. From 2016 -2018, UNCTAD 
implemented a programme on IP, transfer of technology and trade facilitation, with the 
financial support from BMZ. The programme focused on the use of IP  regimes for the 
promotion of technological absorption capacities and the use of IP rights such as 
trademarks for trade facilitation.  
• Policy coherence for local pharmaceutical production. From  2015-2018, UNCTAD in 
collaboration with Gesellschaft für Inter nationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) implemented a 
work programme to assist developing countries' efforts to promote coherence of policies 
                                                
1 See at http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/c2l22_en.pdf  (paragraph 9 (c) of the Agreed  
Recommendations).  IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.1  
 
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  in respect of health, trade and industrial development and ensure that local pharmaceutical 
production improves access to m edicines. UNCTAD and GIZ pursued this activity on a 
regional basis in South -East Asia and the East African Community (EAC).    
2.  Currently, UNCTAD is undertaking consultation with donor governments, developing countries 
and other partners with a view to compl ementing its current work programme with additional work 
programmes on the use of:  
• IP rights for regional economic integration;  
• Technology transactions, including IP licensing for industrial capacity building; and  
• IP rights for participation in the digital  economy and e -commerce.  
3.  In implementing its work programme, the IP Unit conducts research and policy analysis, 
facilitates consensus -building and responds to requests for technical assistance for successfully 
integrating developing countries into the wor ld economy. This document provides an overview of 
UNCTAD’s IP and development -related activities from 1 November 2017 to 31 October 2018.    
1 RESEARCH AND POLICY ANALYSIS  
4.  UNCTAD undertakes research and analysis and provides advisory services for developing  
countries on trade and development aspects of IP rights. In 2018 UNCTAD prepared a “Tool Box for 
Policy Coherence in Access to Medicines and Local Pharmaceutical Production” in collaboration with 
GIZ.  The Tool Box seeks to provide interested governments with an overview of policy tools that 
may be considered to create a framework conducive for promoting local pharmaceutical production 
and access to medicines. As the promotion of local pharmaceutical production depends on the 
coordination of various areas of policy, such as drug regulation, research and development, 
investment, trade and IP rights, the Tool Box emphasizes the importance of ensuring coherence 
among policies that at first sight appear unrelated to each other.  
CONSENSUS -BUILDING  
5.  Consensus -building among stakeholders on IP, trade and development is an important element 
of the programme’s work. UNCTAD’s substantive contributions on the analysis of issues related to 
development and IP have enabled it to become an important forum, thr ough its intergovernmental 
machinery, where governments, academia, civil society and the private sector can meet to exchange 
ideas. During the World Investment Forum 2018, UNCTAD, in partnership with the World Health 
Organization (WHO) organised an event o n Fostering investment in the development of new 
antibacterial treatments, held on 23 October 2018, in Geneva. The event focused on an exchange 
among key stakeholders regarding investments to fight antimicrobial resistance (AMR), such as 
existing funding m echanisms, investors, governments, civil society and biotechnology companies 
engaged in AMR -related research and development. This event followed up on an ad hoc  expert 
group meeting that UNCTAD had organized on investment and AMR in October 2017, as reported to 
the TRIPS Council in October 2017.  
TECHNICAL COOPERATIO N 
6.  On a request basis, UNCTAD's IP Unit conducts technical cooperation activities with developing 
countries in the integrated areas of investment, trade and IP rights.  UNCTAD delivers its technical 
cooperation through:  
• Capacity building programmes for beneficiary countries and regions under donor funded 
projects on IP rights and policy coherence for loc al pharmaceutical production and access 
to medicines, and technology transfer and trade facilitation;  
• Advisory reports on the development dimensions of intellectual property (DDIP). The 
objective of a published DDIP report is to provide advice on developin g countries' and 
LDCs' policy, legal and institutional framework for IP rights, particularly as it relates to 
important development objectives such as innovation, technology, investment, 
competition, education and health. Developing countries specify the k ey development IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.1  
 
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  objectives they wish to examine. A DDIP report will take into consideration the 
socio-economic situation of the requesting country, the bilateral, regional and international 
commitments the target countries have entered into and the flexibil ities available to them. 
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 IP rights contribute to a country's sustainable 
economic and human development goals and respond to emerging global opportunities.  
• Ad hoc  studies on IP and development issues as requested by developing country 
governments.  
Cooperation with other providers of IP -related technical assistance.  
7.  UNCTAD partners with major technical assistance providers on IP rights and development.  
During the reporting period, UNCTAD partnered with the United Nations Development Programme 
(UNDP), the World Trade Organization (WTO), WHO, the World Int ellectual Property Organization 
(WIPO) and GIZ.  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 was invited by WIPO and WTO to contribute to the 2018 WIPO -WTO Advanced 
Course on IP for Government Officials.  
8.  The list of activities for the period between 1 November 2017 and 31 October 2018 is attached 
as an annex to this report. For more information on UNCTAD's a ctivities related to IP, please v isit:   
https://unctad.org/ddip .  
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  IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.1  
 
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UNCTAD 'S TECHNICAL COOPERAT ION ACTIVITIES IN TH E TRIPS AREA FROM 1 NOVEMBER 2016 TO 15 OCTOBER 2017  
Beneficiary 
country(ies)  Title and date of the event/activity  Partner agency  Description  
Ethiopia  Capacity building for publicly funded agricultural research 
centres on IP and technology transfer, 7 -9 November 2017, 
Bishoftu, Ethiopia.  Ethiopian Institute of 
Agricultural Research (EIAR)  UNCTAD provided training to research directors on IP rights and 
negotiation of agreements for the transfer of technology, 
transfer of biological material and for setting up research and 
development collaboration.  
Latin American 
countries  WTO Trade and Health workshop for countries from the 
Latin American region, 21 to  23 November 2017, Brazil.  
 WTO UNCTAD contributed to the discussion on the interface between 
health, trade and IP rights and presented a case study on 
pharmaceutical industry policy and strategies for technology 
transfer and access to medicines.  
All countries  Ist World Conference on Access to Medical Products and 
International Laws for Trade and Health, in the Context of 
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, New Delhi, 
India, 21 -23 November 2017.  
 WHO country office for India; 
Government of In dia  UNCTAD participated in the discussion of the recommendations 
of the UN Secretary General’s High -Level Panel on Access to 
Medicines and presented its work on investment and 
antimicrobial resistance (AMR).  
Thailand  International Trade and Health Confe rence, 
28-29 November 2017, Bangkok, Thailand.  International Health Policy 
Programme (IHPP), Ministry 
of Public Health, Thailand  UNCTAD provided substantive inputs on the session concerning 
international trade agreements and their impacts on 
health/health systems in Thailand  
Cuba Judges training on IP and public health, 
4-6 December  2017, La Havana, Cuba.  Cuban Office of Industrial 
Property  The training was organized in Havana, Cuba, in cooperation 
with the Cuban Office of Industrial Property and the Supre me 
Court of Justice of Cuba. The training covered the assessment 
of patentability criteria, scope of research exemptions, and 
enforcement procedures as applied to medicines. The training 
was based on relevant and recent jurisprudence from across 
the world.     
                                                
1 In English only.   
  IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.1  
 
- 5 - Beneficiary 
country(ies)  Title and date of the event/activity  Partner agency  Description  
All countries  Tool Box for Policy Coherence in Access to Medicines and Local 
Pharmaceutical Production, January 2018.   GIZ The Tool Box seeks to provide interested governments with an 
overview of policy tools to create a framework conducive for 
promoting local pharmaceutical production and access to 
medicines. It is available at 
http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/diaepcb2017d2_en.p
df  
Several African 
countries  Meeting of the Tripartite Committee of Senior Officials Addis 
Ababa, Ethiopia, 3 February 2018.  EAC Secretariat  UNCTAD provided input to assist the TFTA negotiators in their 
efforts to develop an IP rights regime under the negotiations 
for tripartite free trade area.  
All countries  Journée de droit de la propriété intellectuelle, University of 
Geneva, Switzerland , 8 February 2018  University of Geneva Law 
Faculty  UNCTAD contributed a lecture on “International Technology 
Transactions: A Development Perspective” and followed up with 
stakeholders on international best practices for IP licensing.   
All countries  11th Berlin  Conference on Life Sciences on Novel 
Antimicrobials &  AMR Diagnostics  2 March 2018.   UNCTAD’s expert contributed to the discussion on the design of 
appropriate investment incentives to promote R&D in new 
antimicrobial treatments.  
Thailand  National consultations on policy coherence in the pricing 
and procurement of essential medicines, Thailand, 
8-9 March 2018.  
 GIZ; 
 
United Nations Development 
Programme (UNDP)  The workshop brought together forty international and national 
experts related to pricing and procurement of medicines. The 
workshop evaluated coherence in national laws, implications of 
international norms, current system of medicine pricing and 
procurement system in Thailand and other coun tries and 
identified a way forward, including the implementation of 
existing laws and capacity building.  
 
Selected beneficiary 
countries  2018 WIPO -WTO Advanced Course on IP for Government 
Officials, 13 March 2018, Geneva, Switzerland  WIPO  
WTO UNCTAD provided a lecture on its technical cooperation 
activities in IP and development, 13 March 2018.  
East African 
Community  East African Vaccine Symposium: “Vaccine Production in 
Africa for Africa”, Arusha, Tanzania, 18 April 2018.  EAC Secretariat  UNCTAD’s expert provided input on international cooperation, 
policy coherence and technology transfer for sustainable 
vaccines production.  
Paraguay  Judges training on IP and public health, Asunción, 
Paraguay, 7 -9 May 2018.  
 Supreme Court of Justice of 
Paraguay  Upon the request of the Supreme Court of Justice of Paraguay, 
UNCTAD organized a training workshop for 51 judges. The 
training covered the assessment of patentability criteria, scope 
of research exemptions, and enforcement procedures as 
applied to  medicines. The training was based on relevant and 
recent jurisprudence from across the world.     
  IP/C/W/644/Rev.1/Add.1  
 
- 6 - Beneficiary 
country(ies)  Title and date of the event/activity  Partner agency  Description  
Philippines  National Stakeholders’ Workshop on International and 
National Policies on Technology Transfer and Licensing, 
Manila, the Philippines, 21 -22 May 2 018. Intellectual Property Office of 
the Philippines (IPOPHL)  This activity was carried out pursuant to UNCTAD’s 2015 
Memorandum of Understanding with IPOPHL, and provided 
capacity building to 59 national stakeholders on issues related 
to technology transfer and licensing agreements.  
 
 
Indonesia  Discussion between Indonesian international trade 
negotiators and experts from the international 
organizations, Bandung and Jakarta  
16-17 July 2018.  WTO and Ministry of Trade of 
Indonesia  UNCTAD supported the organization of the first day of the 
workshop and facilitated discussion on IP rights under free 
trade agreements, the protection of traditional knowledge and 
genetic resources.  
South East Asian 
region  WHO Working Group on Influenza  Vaccine Supply Hubs, 
Manila, The Philippines, 13 -16 August 2018  WHO UNCTAD chaired a working group on medicines procurement 
models and provided comments on two background papers.  
Selected beneficiary 
countries  14th Annual WTO Workshop on Trade and Publ ic Health, 
Geneva, 8 -12 October 2018  WTO UNCTAD contributed by discussing with participants a case 
study on pharmaceutical industry policy, local production of 
medicines, access strategies and technology transfer, 
9 October 2018.  
All countries  UNCTAD/WHO event on Fostering investment in the 
development of new antibacterial treatments, 23 October 
2018, Palais des Nations, Geneva (UNCTAD World 
Investment Forum).  WHO UNCTAD, in partnership with WHO, organized the event during 
the World Investment F orum 2018 with a view to facilitate 
discussion on  how to increase investment in the development 
of innovative products to address antimicrobial resistance 
(AMR). The event was structured under three panels 
addressing: funding  mechanisms; research and indus try 
activities and reconciling innovation, access and stewardship.  
 
 
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