IP/C/W/647/Add.2  
 
18 October  2018 
(18-6494) Page: 1/6 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property  Rights  Original: English  
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATIO N ACTIVITIES:  
INFORMATION FROM MEM BERS  
AUSTRALIA  
Addendum   
The following communication, dated 12 October 2018 , is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of Australia.  
 
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1.  Australia is committed to sharing information with other WTO M embers on its technical and 
financial cooperation activities in the area of intellectual property rights in fulfilment of Art icle 67 of 
the TRIPS Agreement.  This is a full report on Australia 's intellectual property -related tech nical 
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) , 2016 (IP/C/W/617/Add.1)  and 2017 ( IP/C/W/632/Add.1).  
2.  Australia fulfils its Article 67 technical cooperation commitment through multilateral, regional and 
bilateral programme s and activities. Many activities are focused on developing and least developed 
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 o f the technical co operation activities implemented under Article 67 of the TRIPS 
Agreement  align with Australia 's strategic focus on using aid as a c atalyst to promote economic 
growth and poverty reduction, including through a strong emphasis on aid for trade. This is 
embedded in the UN Sustainable Development Goals and our future investments, including 
activities under the WIPO -Australia Funds in Trust programme  will in turn be influenced by 
these  goals.  
4.  Websites containing inform ation on Australia 's intellectual property regime, which may be 
considered a technical cooperation resource, include the IP Australia website covering patents, 
designs, trademarks  and plant breeders ' rights ( www.ipaustralia.gov.au ); the Department of 
Communications and the Arts website on copyright developments 
(www.communications.gov.au/what -we-do/copyright ); and the Department of Foreign Aff airs and 
Trade website on international IP developments ( www.dfat.gov.au/ip ). 
  IP/C/W/647/Add.2  
 
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  1  AUSTRALIAN ACTIVITIE S WITH THE WORLD INT ELLECTUAL PROPERTY 
ORGANIZATION (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 (FiT2) with the commitment of an additional AUD 3 million of aid 
for trade funding. The Australian -funded FiT2 programme  runs until June 2019. The Australian 
Government has previously provided AUD 2 million to WIPO from 2012 to 30  June 2016. This funding 
promotes economic growth in developing and least developed countries by helping these countries 
build their intellectual property regimes and capabilities in fa cilitating innovation, creativity, 
investment and technology transfer. There are four themes under Australia 's FiT2 programme: 
development of the intellectual property system; technology transfer (knowledge transfer and 
commercialisation); addressing negle cted tropical diseases; and copyright and related rights to 
assist the blind, visually impaired and other persons with print disabilities. Programme s implemented 
under this funding arrangement are developed in consultation with WIP O and the recipient count ries. 
Beneficiaries are involved in project planning to ensure the  programme s are well suited to their 
needs.  
6.  The review period of this report (October 201 7 – September 201 8) has been dedicated to 
implementing a workplan of activities under the second iter ation of funding. National IP strategies 
have been completed or are progressing, and capacity building activities have been undertaken for 
trademarks , copyrights and patents. An IP toolbox has been created and is being translated into 
Indonesian and Vietna mese. Workshops on IP marketing, commercialisation, women and IP and 
patent law drafting, have been held in Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and South Africa. Nine 
researchers have successfully been matched to undertake sabbaticals in Australian research 
institutions. More than 600 books have been translated to android devices to assist visually impaired 
students with their studies. WIPO showcased the FiT2 programme  at the WIPO General Assembly in 
October 2017 . 
2  OTHER MULTILATERAL A ND REGIONAL ACTIVITI ES 
2.1  Econom ic Cooperation Support Programme  under the ASEAN -Australia -New Zealand 
Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA)  
7.  The AANZFTA 's Economic Cooperation Support Programme  (AECSP) consists of the Economic 
Cooperation Work Program me and the AANZFTA Support Unit located in the ASEAN Secretariat. 
The AECSP was established in 2010 as a five -year programme  with funding of AUD 20 -25 million. 
The Programme , which was subsequently extended further , 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 th e annex to this report.  
8.  IP Australia 's Regional Patent Examination Training (RPET) Programme  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 programme  has trained number of patent examiners that can 
assist with improving patent examination outcomes within the region. A case study conducted in 
one intellectual property office in the Indo -Pacific region demonstrated that the RPET Programme  
helped to improve the  quality of patent examination reports produced by graduates and RPET 
graduates expressed greater confidence in conducting patent examinations consistent with 
international best practices and standards.  
9.  To date, the 18 participants from the ASEAN region ha ve graduated from the two -year 
programme  from the first (2013), second (2014) and third (2015) intakes. There are currently an 
additional 12  participants progressing through the fourth (2016) intake from Indonesia, Malaysia, 
Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.  IP/C/W/647/Add.2  
 
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  10.  In 2017, IP Australia designed a second phase of RPET to deliver sustainable results in 
embedding the RPET learnings and best practice into internal patent examination training. 
Experienced IP Australia Mentors have been assigned to each participating  office, with the support 
of the AECSP, to provide tailored guidance to RPET graduates and local supervisors to deliver training 
to new examiners within their offices.   
  IP/C/W/647/Add.2  
 
- 4 - ANNEX1 
TECHNICAL COOPERATIO N ACTIVITIES IN CONN ECTION WITH TRIPS IM PLEMENTATION  
FROM OCTOBER 201 7 TO SEPTEMBER 201 8  
Activities undertaken under the Australia -World Intellectual Property Organization Funds in  Trust Arrangement  
Activity  Date Beneficiary or beneficiaries  Brief Description  
Arrangement of placements of 
scientists from developing 
countries through WIPO 
Research  Throughout 2017  Papua New Guinea, Bangladesh, 
Tanzania, Indonesia and Kenya.  Place eight scientists from developing and least developed countries with 
public and private sector institutions/companies with a view to ensuring 
the technical cooperation in the area of research into neglected tropical 
diseases.  
Translation of a technology 
transfer tool box into 
Vietnamese and Indonesian  Throughout 2017  Vietnam, Indonesia  The technology transfer toolbox that has been developed under the 
WIPO -Australia Funds -in-Trust has been translated into Vietnamese and 
Indonesian to enhance diffusion of k nowledge nationwide.  
Developing IP Systems  October 2017  Indonesia,  
Papua New Guinea  Supporting National Workshop on Patent Examination practices  
Elaboration of an exercise book 
-Patent Law Division  Ongoing   Elaboration of an exercise book on patent drafting, which includes 
theoretical and real examples of claims and exercises on claim 
construction techniques, in different fields of the technology.  
 
This exercise book will complement the WIPO manual on patent drafting 
as the material to be used in reg ional and national training courses.  
Translation to other languages is not foreseen during the first two -years 
of its use, while further improvements are made.  
National seminar on substantive 
patent law issues  13 to 17 November 
2017  South Africa  Our training target is "technology intermediaries " who assist inventors 
(scientists and researchers) to protect their inventions. They may 
include staff  of technology management offices in universities and public 
research institutions, public innovation su pport bodies, TISCs and patent 
agents. Such a systematic approach would contribute to efficient training 
of IP professionals whose task would be to transform inventions to 
patents.  
                                                
1 In English only.   
  IP/C/W/647/Add.2  
 
- 5 - Activities undertaken on behalf of or in consultation with WIPO outside th e Funds in Trust Arrangement  
Activity  Date Beneficiary or beneficiaries  Brief Description  
Regional Patent 
Examination Training 
(RPET) Programme  Completed May 
2018  Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, 
Viet Nam, Kenya and the African  Regional 
Intellectual  Property Organization (Zimbabwe)  During the period, trainees from the third intake of RPET graduated 
from the two -year programme  while the fourth intake continued in the 
programme . RPET is an intensive distance learning patent 
examination trai ning programme .  Fifteen trainees participate in each 
intake of the programme . 
 
In May 2018 the Regional Patent Examination Training programme  
was completed.  45 ASEAN trainees will have been trained to PCT 
standards and the majority of these people have moved into training 
roles within their respective offices.  
Regional Patent 
Examination  
Training (RPET) Trainee  
Workshop (4th intake)  
 
  
Completed May 
2018 
 
 
 Australia hosts and  manages the RPET  
Programme.  Kenya and the African  Regional 
Intellectual  Property Organization (Zimbabwe)  
participation funded by  WIPO.  The RPET programme  aims to enhance patent examination standards 
in participatin g offices. WIPO financially supports participation of the 
African Regional Intellectual Property Organization and the Kenyan 
Industrial Property Institute in the RPET programme . These 
workshops were also attended by ASEAN participants funded under 
the ASEA N Economic Support Cooperation  
Programme.  
Activities undertaken under the ASEAN -Australia -New Zealand Free Trade Agreement Economic Cooperation Support Programme  
(AECSP)  
Activity  Date  Beneficiary or beneficiaries  Brief Description  
Regional Patent Examination 
Training (RPET) Programme   
Completed May 
2018 Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, 
Indonesia, Viet Nam,  During the period, trainees from the third intake of RPET graduated 
from the two-year programme  while the fourth intake continued 
through the programme . RPET is an intensive distance learning patent 
examination training programme .  A total of 13 trainees from ASEAN 
offices usually participate in each intake of the programme .     
Regional Patent Exa mination  
Training (RPET) Trainee  
Workshop (fourth intake)  
 
  
Completed May 
2018 Funding from the AECSP supported  
participation of trainees from  
Indonesia, Malaysia, the  Philippines, 
Thailand and  Viet Nam  The RPET programme  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 consolidate 
online community building.  
Regional Patent Examination 
Training Mentor ing (RPET 
Mentoring)  June 2017 - 
December 2019  Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines , Viet 
Nam and Thailand  The main aim of the programme  is to assist with internal capacity 
development so offices are able to train their own patent examination 
cohort.   
  IP/C/W/647/Add.2  
 
- 6 - Activity  Date  Beneficiary or beneficiaries  Brief Description  
An experienced IP Australia Mentor/ RPET trainer has been assigned 
to each of the 5 ASEAN RPET offices and will mentor a training team 
to develop and implement a sustainable training programme  within 
each office  
 
 
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