WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/W/480/Add.7 
20 November 2006 
 
 (06-5581) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:  English 
 
 
 
IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT: 
INFORMATION FROM DEVELOPED COUNTRY MEMBERS 
 
CANADA 
 
Addendum  
   The following communication, dated 25 Octobe r 2006, from the Delegation of Canada is 
being circulated pursuant to paragraph 1 of the Decision on Implementation of Article 66.2 of the 
TRIPS Agreement.  It was circulated as an advance copy for the TRIPS Council Meeting in October 2006. 
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  I. INTRODUCTION 
1. Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement requir es "developed country Members to provide 
incentives to enterprises and ins titutions in their territories for the purpose of promoting and 
encouraging technology transfer to least-developed co untry Members in order to enable them to create 
a sound and viable technological base."  The presen t note provides information on Canada's activities 
concerning technology transfer to least developed countries (LDCs). 
2. In general, Canada provides domestic incentives for the transfer of technology in the form of 
(i) intellectual property embedded in transferred goods and services;  (ii) management and business 
know-how to support production a nd distribution of goods and services;  and (iii) human capacity 
building.  Several Canadian government departme nts, agencies and programmes are involved in 
providing incentives, either directly or indirectly, for Canadian enterprises and institutions to engage 
in activities involving technology transfer to developing country Members and LDCs. 
3. The Canadian agencies principally involved in technology transfer activities are the Canadian 
International Development Agency (CIDA) and the International Development Research Centre 
(IDRC).  A number of other government depart ments, agencies and programmes such as 
Industry Canada, Health Canada, the Nationa l Research Council (NRC), as well as volunteer 
programmes,  also contribute significantly to pr oviding incentives for t echnology transfer.  The 
present document describes ongoing activities. 
II. CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (CIDA) 
4. CIDA is the lead organization responsible for Canada's Official De velopment Assistance 
(ODA) Programme.  CIDA's work focuses on five key sectors:  good governance, health, basic 
education, private sector development, and envi ronmental sustainability (gender equity is a 
cross-cutting issue).  Technology transfer occurs  through several programmes, which are presented 
below. IP/C/W/480/Add.7 
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5. The Private Sector Directorat e (PSDi) in CIDA's Canadian Partnership Branch supports 
initiatives from both Canadian and overseas private sector  firms and organizations that help build the 
local private sector in developing and transition countries through investment, improving local infrastructure through professional services, acc ess to new markets and capacity building and 
institutional strengthening of local private sector or ganizations.  The investment mechanism of PSDi's 
Industrial Cooperation Program (CID A-INC) supports Canadian private sector firms that seek to 
invest in, and establish a long-term business relations hip with, a local partner to produce goods or 
services.  Its professional services mechanism supports  consulting firms seeking to participate in 
infrastructure projects to enhance positive developm ental impacts in the host country.  Eligible 
initiatives involve technology transfer and traini ng in order to strengthen skills, expertise and 
knowledge of local managers and employees in de veloping countries.  As this is a responsive 
mechanism, the benefiting countries depend largely on the demand of Canadian companies and local 
partners. 
6. By way of example, one of the projects supported by CIDA-INC assisted a Canadian 
company in implementing a joint venture operation in Afghanistan, involving technology transfer for 
the manufacture and marketing of biodegradable ha ir shampoos and liquid soaps.  Another project 
supported by CIDA-INC assisted a Canadian company in training Burkina Faso government personnel in the operation and maintenance of a syst em to issue and deliver national identity cards.  
PSDi also supports a number of Canadian private sector institutions that mobilize sector-specific 
expertise through knowledge and technology transfer activities to build the capacity of management in 
the private sector or private sector institutions in  developing and transition countries.  For example, 
the Telecommunications Executive Management Institu te of Canada (TEMIC) develops the capacity 
of senior and middle level executives of public and private corporations working in the telecommunications and the information and commun ication technology (ICT) sectors of developing 
and emerging economies. 
7. In addition to the above programming that is directly linked to the private sector of 
developing countries, CIDA's Canadian Partners hip Branch also supports programming involving 
education institutions and youth.  The University  Partnerships in Coope ration and Development 
Program and the Canadian College Partnership Progr am support partnerships involving, respectively, 
universities and colleges with their counterparts in  developing countries to facilitate human resource 
development.  These partnerships often involve t echnology transfer as part of a broader capacity 
development effort.  For example, Cégep de Limoil ou is working with the University of Dakar in 
Senegal to develop a professi onal licence in geomatics. 
8. CIDA's International Youth Internship Program  (IYIP), gives young Canadian graduates an 
opportunity to contribute to grass roots coopera tion in LDCs.  Sectors that benefit include 
communications, environment, health, industry, na tural resources and wate r/sanitation.  Among the 
projects where IYIP interns have participated are: (a) a gravity flow water supply project in Bugamba 
(Uganda);  and (b) the implementation of a water f ilter technology, including training of local staff 
and installation of filters, in Lilongwe, Malawi. 
9. CIDA supports research and technology transfer in some of its projects in LDCs through its 
bilateral programming. 
10. For example,  CIDA is supporting the developmen t of Biosciences in East and Central Africa 
through the Canada Fund for Africa.  The goal is to support eastern and central African countries in 
developing and applying bioscience research expert ise to produce technologies that help poor farmers 
to secure their assets, improve their productivity a nd income, and increase their market opportunities.  
The project includes a capacity building component, with a focus on women and youth scientists, and a competitive grants process aimed at improving th e quality and leadership of African research.  IP/C/W/480/Add.7 
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  11. CIDA is also funding a project in Northern Ethiopia to increase water harvesting and the use 
of water for food production through strengthening th e technical and management expertise of the 
Tigray Water Resources Development Bureau and Ethiopian Bureau of Agriculture.  A mentoring 
programme has been designed to use Canadian e ngineering and agronomy experts to build the 
capacity of TWRDB and BOA staff so that these tw o government agencies will be capable of moving 
the region towards food self-sufficiency through ne w irrigation infrastructure development, improved 
irrigated agricultural practices and better soil a nd water management.  This  project is managed by 
Canada's Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration, which has experience in water scarcity issues in 
Western Canada. 
12. Finally, CIDA supports multilateral programmi ng involving technology transfer.  One 
example is the Global Gas Flaring Reduction partners hip, a public-private partnership housed at the 
World Bank, which assists governments and compani es in their efforts to reduce the amount of gas 
flared or vented around the world.  CIDA particip ation in the partnership involved collaboration with 
the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board.  CIDA h as provided CDN$1 million to the initiative since 
joining in 2004. 
III. INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH CENTRE (IDRC) 
13. IDRC is a Canadian public corporation mandate d to initiate, encourage, support and conduct 
research into the problems of deve loping regions of the world and th e means of applying and adapting 
scientific, technical and other knowledge to the econom ic and social advancem ent of those regions.  
IDRC has been promoting technologies for managing and sharing technology for the past 35 years 
through funding partnerships with other donors, including those from the private sector.   
14. IDRC's policy is to promote the creation and retention of knowledge and technology in the 
developing countries in which it works.  The vast majo rity of IDRC's recipients of research funding 
are in the developing world;  the funding recipients retain copyright to the product of their work funded by IDRC.  IDRC also promotes the dissemina tion of research results to other communities in 
the developing world by retaining some dissemina tion rights and by encouraging wide dissemination 
by the recipients.  IDRC enters into numerous ag reements for the development of software in the 
developing world on an open source basis.   
15. IDRC has a long-standing commitment to advanc ing the role of information transfer in 
development.  A tradition of innovation that be gan with an emphasis on building databases and 
information systems has evolved into a focus on  the transformative nature of information and 
communication technologies (ICTs).  IDRC was one of the first development agencies to embrace 
ICTs as a key means fostering development an d alleviating poverty, and its Information and 
Communication Technologies for Development Progr am Area supports a number of complementary 
initiatives.  First, there is Bellanet, an intern ational initiative designed to  facilitate inter-agency 
collaboration by using ICTs more effectively;  th is includes the African Networking Initiative and the 
African Information Society Initiative.  Second, th e IDRC continues to sponsor the major undertaking 
of the Communities and ICTs for Africa (Acacia) programme with a view to empowering African 
communities with an ability to apply ICTs to th eir own social and economic development.  The 
IDRC's Pan Americas Networking initiative has also  helped LDCs such as Haiti in developing 
capacity for Internet use.  IDRC 's Pan Asia Networking initiative has focussed on LDCs such as 
Viet Nam, Lao PDR, Sri Lanka and Nepal.  In th ese countries, IDRC assisted in the elaboration of a 
participatory process for formulating the country 's information technologies policy.  IDRC also 
assisted in the implementation of the participator y process and the country's information technologies 
policy. 
 IP/C/W/480/Add.7 
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16. Building on this wide range of experience, IDRC has established two major Canadian-led 
initiatives to bridge the digital divide:  (a) the In stitute for Connectivity in  the Americas, emerging 
from the Summit of the Americas in 2001;  (b) and Connectivity Africa, resulting from the 2002 G8 Annual Summit.  In June 2004, the IDRC Board of Governors approved a Letter of Intent with the 
Microsoft Corporation, Community Affairs Division,  to develop a Telecent re Support Network that 
will assist telecentre activists and practitioners.  
17. Through its Innovation Policy and Science (IPS) programme area, IDRC has supported 
research as a means of establishing legislative,  policy or regulatory frameworks to promote and 
encourage transfer of technology to LDSs.  Th is is an ongoing theme under IDRC's new Innovation, 
Technology & Society program within IPS.  For example, in 2005-06 IDRC provided support to the 
following projects which touch on this theme: 
(a) Comparative Study on the Biopharmaceutical Innovation Systems :  This project 
is comparing the organizational structures, policies and institutional practices necessary to support dynamic, sectoral -level systems of innovation (health 
biotechnology) in Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya, Malaysia, Viet Nam and Bangladesh.  
The analysis is focused on:  (i) a cross-c ountry comparative empirical analysis of the 
biopharma innovation system actors in these countries;  and (ii) a systemic examination of the differential impact of in stitutional factors such as social, cultural, 
legal forms of behavi our and practice on firms and othe r key organizations implicated 
in the biopharmaceutical sector in the countri es.  The final report will take the form of 
a published book by the Institute for New Technologies of the United Nations 
University, the lead institution and coor dinating institution amongst researchers from 
each of the six countries. 
(b) Mozambique Science and Technology Strategy :  This project is jointly funded by 
IDRC and the department for Research Co-ope ration within the Swedish International 
Development Agency.  The new Ministry of Science and Technology in Mozambique 
is undertaking a comprehensive "innovatio n-systems" oriented Science and 
Technology (S&T) planning and review exerci se in partnership with a number of 
other national government ministries that also have S&T-related functions.  IDRC 
funding has been used to bring experti se from Brazil and South Africa into the S&T 
policy and planning process and strengthen local capacities to undertake analysis of sectoral S&T capabilities and gaps in prio rity areas such as h ealth, agriculture, 
energy, and construction.  IDRC has al so funded an S&T capacity benchmarking 
study as part of the S&T strategy develo pment process.  The new Mozambique S&T 
action plan is being coordinated with development of a second phase national PRSP, 
and will be presented to the government fo r approval in the fall of 2006.  The S&T 
action plan will create a road map to guide strategic national S&T investments by the 
government as well as international donor organizations. 
(c) Facilitating Development-Focused Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) 
International Negotiations :  It has become evident that there is a strong need for 
enhanced links, exchanges and understanding between trade and IPR negotiators and 
those engaged in negotiations involving areas of food security, access and benefit 
sharing and traditional knowledge affected  by IPR regimes.  This project was 
undertaken in a two-step process.  The firs t step was to hold a large multi-stakeholder 
dialogue consisting of developing countr y negotiators, trade experts, government 
officials, and other multilateral agency secre tariat staff to help build better mutual 
understanding between IPR and trade negotia tors and those similarly engaged in 
international negotiations on genetic resources, access and benefit sharing, disclosure 
of origin, food security and traditional knowledge that are affected by the IPR 
regimes.  The second step involved developing a resource manual or guide for developing country negotiators.  IP/C/W/480/Add.7 
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  (d) Strengthening Capacity for S&T Journalism :  The media and, in particular, 
science journalists play a major role in creating a space for dialogue and discussion  on the needs of communities and what S&T can offer.  Science journalists translate the work of local scientists and experts into  information that people can use to reach 
better-informed decisions.  By accurately communicating the status of scientific 
research in a country, science journalists can give more recognition to the work done 
by scientists.  The goal of this project is  to better understand limitations of science 
journalism in developing count ry contexts, as well as stre ngthen the quality of science 
journalism in the South through the creation of a worldwide peer-based network of science journalists.  This network will build  on contributions of experienced science 
journalists and association members of the World Federation of Sc ience Journalists.  
Through association-to-association and jour nalist-to-journalist training activities and 
mentoring, the network will strengthen sci ence journalism in developing countries 
and help ensure that S&T contribut es to the well-being of societies. 
IV. INDUSTRY CANADA 
18. Industry Canada sponsors several programmes for the transfer of technology by Canadian 
institutions and enterprises to LDCs.  In the field of telecommunications, Indu stry Canada promotes 
global interconnectivity and inter- operability of broadband networks, applications and services (e.g. 
telehealth and telelearning).  This work aims to  improve the domestic and international investment 
climate in order to create incentives to global markets, including developing country Members and LDCs, by spurring companies to make their produc ts and services export-ready.  It also supports 
international collaboration for Canadian research institutions in emerging areas such as electronic 
commerce, genomics, environmental technologies and advanced engineering. 
19. In addition, Industry Canada plays a leading role in the advancement of the Connectivity 
Agenda for the Americas through the Summit of  the Americas process and the Inter-American 
Telecommunications Commission (CITEL) work pr ogramme and continues to promote global 
connectivity through its work at the Inte rnational Telecommunication Union (ITU).  
20. Industry Canada is also particularly active in the technology transfer area.  It has organized 
seminars and workshops on ICT policy and regula tory issues for LDCs, hosted incoming study 
missions, and fostered discussion on viable pro-comp etitive regulatory options through its work in the 
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Telecommunica tions and Information Working Group.   
21. Another example of Industry Canada's involvement  in technology transfer is in the technical 
integrity and quality of the engineering planning, which is the basis for the orderly regulation, 
management and exploitation of th e radio frequency spectrum.  Thus, Industry Canada is responsible 
for the technical and strategic planning which un derpins Canadian telecommunication regulations, 
testing, certification and accreditation procedures.  It  is also responsible for international negotiations, 
treaties, agreements and arrangements associated w ith its spectrum management obligations.  Industry 
Canada is specifically involved in technology tran sfer activities through providing training to foreign 
governments of developing and least-developed countr ies (LDC).  Its goal is to promote Canadian 
spectrum management technologies and know-how through technology transfer activities through 
Canadian private-sector partners.  In addition, In dustry Canada is leading negotiations of Mutual 
Recognition Agreements (MRAs) on telecommunication equipment. 
V. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (NRC) 
22. 
The National Research Council's Industrial Res earch Assistance Program  (IRAP) encourages 
and supports Canadian small and medium-sized entities to develop international technology-based 
partnerships with both developed and less developed economies.  IRAP , in partnership with Canada's IP/C/W/480/Add.7 
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Department of Foreign Affairs and Internati onal Trade, supports group missions to explore 
opportunities for partnerships.  IRAP also carries out activities independently and with other partners.  
In addition to group missions, IRAP  is involved with individual companies, sectors and competitive 
technical intelligence.  IRAP and NRC as a whole have been active in developing technology-based 
partnerships in the Asian-Pacific region, in part  through the Industrial S& T Working Group of APEC,  
which was chaired by Canada in 2005. 
VI. VOLUNTEER PROGRAMMES 
23. Canada funds a number of volunteer programm es which send skilled Canadians to developing 
country Members and LDCs to help support the de velopment of a viable technology base in those 
countries.  Canada's NetCorps program focuses on showcasing the information technology expertise 
of young Canadians abroad and establishing partnershi ps with local private, public or non profit 
entities in locally tailored human capacity building a nd infrastructure building projects in fields such 
as health, education, community development, huma n rights, governance, and agriculture.  NetCorps 
is funded through the Human Resources and Ski lls Development Canada's Youth Employment 
Strategy.  It is overseen by Industry Canada's  Information Highway Applications Branch in 
coordination with NetCorps' Coalition of the fo llowing nine Canadian volunteer organizations:  
Canada World Youth (lead), Alternatives, CUSO, Oxfam Québec, Volunteer Services Overseas Canada, Human Rights Internet, International Ins titute for Sustainable Development, Canadian 
Crossroads International, and the Canadian Societ y for International Health.  The NetCorps initiative 
benefits host organizations in de veloping country Members and LDCs in the Americas, Africa, Asia 
and eastern Europe (e.g.  Bolivia, Peru, Burkina Faso , Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Niger, Senegal, the 
Philippines, Viet Nam, the Ukraine).  Canada's NetCorps programme provides internships for young 
Canadians to work abroad in the area of ICT, which was part of the Industry Canada's "Connecting 
Canadians to the World" Strategy.   
VII. INTERDEPARTMENTAL ACTIVITIES 
24. In 2005, Canada enacted changes to its patent regime to allow developing and least-developed 
countries to access affordable life-saving medicines.   Canada enacted these changes in response to 
the 30 August 2003 decision of the WTO on th e Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the 
Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Pub lic Health.  Canada is examining how best to 
facilitate the implementation of measures related to the Act to ensure that developing countries make 
the most of this legislation. 
VIII.  MULTILATERAL ACTIVITIES 
25. At the multilateral level, Canada continues to  actively contribute to many international 
institutions which, in turn, provide incentives for technology transfer to developing country Members 
and LDCs.  In this respect, Canada's continuing contribution to the WTO's technical assistance fund, 
the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Ba nk, the African Development Bank and the Asia 
Development Bank all help to encourage the transf er of technology.  Canada also supports sector-
specific programming notably through the Consultati ve Group on International Agricultural Research 
(CGIAR), the Information for Development Program (Infodev), and the World Bank's Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP). 
26. Canada participates in the WTO Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology 
(WGTTT), established in 2002 as part of the Doha Development Round.  Cana da supports the efforts 
of the Working Group to help WTO Members identify ways to increase the transfer and absorption of 
technology through trade, investment and th e provision of technical assistance.   
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