WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/W/535 
29 September 2009 
 (09-4553) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights  
 
 
 
WTO SECRETARIAT TECHNICAL COOPERATION IN THE TRIPS AREA  
 
Note by the Secretariat  
 
 
    
 
1. This document updates the information on the WTO Secretariat's technical cooperation 
activities in regard to TRIPS matters contained in  document IP/C/W/515, dated 26 September 2008.  
It covers the period from 1 October 2008 to 30 Sept ember 2009.  It deals both with the Secretariat's 
technical activities that specifically relate to intellectual property and with those of a broader character which have a significant intellectual property component. 
Main Orientations
 
2. The Secretariat's technical cooperation activities in relation to TRIPS ha ve continued to be 
directed towards assisting Members to understand th e rights and obligations, including the available 
options, which flow from the TRIPS Agreement and re levant decisions of WTO bodies.  In particular, 
Members have received assistance regarding the flexibilities in the TRIPS Agreement, including the 
Paragraph 6 Mechanism on TRIPS and public health, as  well as notifications and reviews of national 
legislation.  The Secretariat's technical cooperation activities in the TRIPS area  have also been aimed 
at assisting Members to participate fully in th e ongoing work in the WTO on TRIPS matters, in 
particular by assisting them to assess what is at stake for them in issues under negotiation, 
examination or review.  In the last years, the Secretariat has sought to pay increasing attention to capacity building, the training of trainers, etc. in developing countries. 
3. The technical cooperation made available has been driven essentially by demand from 
Members.  The Secretariat has also provided assi stance to countries seeking to join the WTO by 
helping them to prepare for the accession process and by training officials.  Priority continues to be 
attached to assistance to least-developed countri es, which includes components geared towards the 
type of needs assessment foreseen in paragraph 2 of the Decision on the Extension of the Transition 
Period under Article 66.1 for Least-Developed Country Members.
1  Importance has been attached to 
ensuring complementarity and cooperation with other intergovernmental organizations, in particular 
WIPO and the WHO.  The main modes of supply of  technical cooperation specifically relating to the 
TRIPS Agreement have been information and ad vice given to Members in Geneva and study 
                                                      
1 The Decision of the Council for TRIPS of 29 November 2005 (IP/C/40) extends the transition period 
for least-developed country Members until 1 July 2013 and calls for them to provide information to the Council for TRIPS, preferably by January 2008, on their individual priority needs for technical and financial cooperation 
in order to assist them taking steps nece ssary to implement the TRIPS Agreement. This document has been prepa red under the Secretariat's own 
responsibility and without prejudice to the positions of Members 
and to their rights and obligations under the WTO.IP/C/W/535 
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  programmes, training courses, seminars and work shops for developing coun tries in Geneva and 
elsewhere. 
Information and Advice to Members in Geneva
 
4. A significant part of the work of Secretariat o fficials dealing with intellectual property matters 
has been concerned with providing information in response to questions put to them by 
representatives of Member governments, e.g. notifi cation and review procedures, the meaning of 
particular provisions of the TRIPS Agreement,  the options available under these provisions and 
matters under discussion or negotiation in the TRIPS Council.  Matters have been raised with the 
Secretariat not only by local delegations but also by visiting intellectual property officials and as a 
result of direct contacts from officials in capitals on issues such as domestic draft legislation or the 
ongoing work and negotiations in the TRIPS Council.  Advice and information have also been given 
to officials from acceding countries.   
5. As regards more specifically the LDC needs assessments foreseen in the aforementioned 
TRIPS Council Decision of 29 November 2005, the WT O Secretariat, at the request made by Angola 
and Tanzania, on behalf of the LDC group, at the Council's meeting on 8 June 2009, has proposed to 
insert three regional workshops (respectively for Fr ench speaking Africa, English speaking Africa and 
Asia, Central Asia Pacific and the Caribbean) in  2010 and a Geneva symposium in 2011 on needs 
assessment in the WTO Biennial T echnical Assistance and Training Plan 2010-2011.  The Secretariat 
is following up on the request made by Switzerla nd regarding information to be provided to the 
Council's Members on needs assessment. For this purpo se, the Secretariat has contacted the Enhanced 
Integrated Framework secretariat and the WTO Secr etariat coordinator of Aid for Trade to inform 
Council Members of the opportunities under these pr ogrammes and advise LDCs on the steps they 
would need to take to benefit from these opportu nities.  Finally, at an LDC Group meeting on 
22 July 2009, the Secretariat debriefed the LDC Group on the process. 
Seminars, Workshops, Training Courses and other Technical Cooperation Activities  
 In Geneva 
6. TRIPS issues have continued to figure prominen tly in the context of broader training courses, 
seminars and workshops held in Geneva.  For ex ample, the regular WTO Trade Policy Courses, the 
Introduction Courses for LDCs, the "Geneva Weeks" fo r Non-Residents, and other events held in 
Geneva included presentations on the TRIPS Agreem ent and the ongoing work and negotiations in the 
TRIPS area.  The three regular Trade Policy Cour ses held in Geneva during the reporting period 
(46th TPC for French-speaking countries from 15 September to 5 December 2008, 47th TPC for 
English-speaking countries from 12 January to 3 April 2009, 48th TPC for French-speaking countries 
from 20 April to 10 July 2009) also included a visit to WIPO, learning about that Organization, its 
conventions and activities.  In addition, the S ecretariat organized a number of special study 
programmes for government officials. 
7. An important component of the activities carried  out in Geneva during the reporting period 
was the holding of the sixth joint WIPO-WTO Coll oquium for Teachers of Intellectual Property from 
Developing Countries from 22 June to 3 July 2009.  For the WTO, this formed part of the wider approach in the WTO Biennial Technical Assistance and Training Plan 2008-2009 towards cooperation with the academic community in develo ping countries aimed at local capacity building on 
WTO matters.  The main objectives of the Colloqui um were to update university teachers of 
intellectual property in developing countries on the activities and instruments of WIPO and the WTO, 
and to provide a forum for exchange of inform ation and ideas between the teachers and the two 
Secretariats on these matters.  Emphasis was put on recent developments and on policy issues under debate in the two Organizations.  The Colloquium also provided an opportunity for an exchange of  IP/C/W/535 
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  views on teaching methodologies and on the outsourcing of technical cooperation.  One week of the 
Colloquium took place at the WIPO Worldwide Academy and the other at the WTO.  University teachers from the following 20 developing countries and economies in transition participated in the 
event:  Algeria, Argentina, Belarus, Botswana, Br azil, Cameroon, China, Chile, Guatemala, India, 
Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Nigeri a, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, and 
Ukraine.  One self-funded participant from Australia al so participated in the Colloquium.  In addition 
to speakers from the two Secretariats and from the WHO and the UPOV, several Geneva-based delegates as well as representatives from industry a nd NGOs shared views on certain topical issues 
under discussion or negotiation.  Participating unive rsity teachers also made presentations on selected 
topics.
2 
8. Another important element of the activities carried  out in Geneva was the holding, of a fourth 
Workshop on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Hea lth from 2 to 4 December 2008.  It focused, in 
particular, on the use of the flexibilities in th e TRIPS Agreement and on the implementation and 
application of the system established under para graph 6 of the Doha D eclaration on the TRIPS 
Agreement and Public Health.3  This was a renewed effort to give capital-based practitioners from 
trade, IP and public health authorities a hands-on knowledge of TRIPS flexibilities.  Representatives 
from the WHO, WIPO, UNDP and OAPI, the Geneva-based mission of India and a Canadian representative from Ottawa, as well as NGOs reported on their activities, experiences and views in 
relation to the implementation of TRIPS flexib ilities, including the Paragraph 6 System.   
 Outside Geneva 
9. An important part of WTO technical cooperation in the field of intellectual property has been 
the organization of, or participation in, internati onal, regional and national seminars, workshops and 
other events outside Geneva.  The Annex to this  document lists the technical cooperation missions 
outside Geneva organized by, or involving, intellectual property staff.  
10. In accordance with the WTO Biennial Techni cal Assistance and Training Plan 2008-2009, 
three regional workshops with a focus on certain topical issues under discussion, examination or 
negotiation in the TRIPS context, in particular  TRIPS and public health, biotechnology/traditional 
knowledge/biodiversity, and geographical indicati ons were held during the reporting period, in 
cooperation with the host country:  in Panama, fro m 18 to 20 October 2008 for Latin America; Oman, 
from 2 to 4 February 2009 for Arab and Middle East countries;  and Bridgetown, Barbados, from 
15 to 17 September for the Caribbean.  The aim of the workshops was to provide information and an 
opportunity for an exchange of views among count ries of the region that would facilitate their 
effective participation in the ongoing negotiations or discussions.  Another objective was to provide 
an improved understanding of the WTO and the TRI PS Agreement, including the flexibilities in that 
Agreement and the Paragraph 6 System.  Th e programmes for these workshops provide for 
presentations by WTO staff members and representatives of WIPO and WHO as well as by two invited experts from Members that were participa ting or had participated in the discussions or 
negotiations on the topical issues mentioned. 
11. Other important elements of the Secretariat regional technical assistance activities included a 
Workshop on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health for WTO Members and Observers in 
Southeast Asia and the Pacific, organized jointly with the Government of Singapore held in Singapore 
on 2 - 6 February 2009.  Speakers from WIPO, WHO, NGOs and academia provided Government 
officials from trade, IP and health departme nts with hands-on knowledge  of TRIPS flexibilities 
                                                     
 
2 For the programme, go to http://www.wto.org/e nglish/tratop_e/trips_e/wipo_wto_colloquium 
_program09_e.pdf. 
3 General Council decisions of 30 August 2003  (WT/L/540) and 6 Decem ber 2005 (WT/L/641). IP/C/W/535 
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  pertinent to public health.  In addition, the SIECA and the WTO jointly organized a Workshop on 
Intellectual Property for Central America Countri es in Guatemala on 31 March – 2 April 2009. 
12. In addition, the WTO organized seven  national seminars or workshops devoted to intellectual 
property matters, in cooperation with the host c ountry (Bangladesh on 11-13 November 2008, Tunisia 
on 27-28 November 2008, Zambia  on 27-28 November 2008, Mozambique on 2-3 December 2008, 
Kenya on 17-18 February 2009, Mali on 27-28 Ma y 2009 and Madagascar on 24-25 September 
2009).  The workshop in Mali was followed by a meeting aimed specifically at assisting local authorities in the assessment of prio rity needs for technical and financial cooperation foreseen in the 
Decision of the Council for TRIPS of 29 November 2005.  WIPO sent a speaker to the workshops in 
Bangladesh and Zambia. The WHO sent a sp eaker to the workshop in Tunisia. 
13. One of the features of activities during the re cent years has been the increasing number of 
broader WTO events outside Geneva which have  included a significant TRIPS component.  The 
intellectual property staff contributed, in partnershi p with universities, to five WTO regional Trade 
Policy Courses (French speaking Africa, Latin Amer ica, Caribbean, Asia-Pacific, English speaking 
Africa) and co-organized, with other intergovern mental organizations, three WTO shorter Trade 
Policy Courses.  
 E-Training  
14. An important development of WTO technical c ooperation in the field of intellectual property 
has been the inclusion of a TRIPS module in the WTO e-Training courses. These are web-based 
courses for developing countries and economies in transition, which are either WTO Members or observers.  Participants have online access to cour se material, background documents, interactive 
sessions (chat, discussion forum and enquiry board).  They are assisted throughout the course by a 
tutor, a course administrator and a helpdesk.  The TRIPS module was implemented for the first time at 
the Autumn 2007 session.  The course took place from 23 February to 5 April 2009, in French, and from 30 March to 22 May 2009, in English.  In the invitations to events on the TRIPS Agreement, the 
Secretariat has recommended giving priority to  officials having successfully completed the WTO 
TRIPS eTraining course.  
Cooperation with WIPO and other Intergovernmental Organizations
 
15. As indicated in this note and earlier reports s ubmitted to the Council for TRIPS, cooperation 
with WIPO has been a key feature of WTO Secretar iat technical cooperation in the TRIPS area.  This 
has been based on the 1995 coopera tion agreement between the two Or ganizations, Article 4 of which 
deals with legal-technical assistance and technical cooperation4, and the WIPO-WTO Joint Initiative 
on Technical Cooperation for Least-Developed Countri es, launched in June 2001.  In response to 
paragraph 4 of the Decision on the Extension of the Transition Period for Least-Developed Country 
Members5, and based on the 1995 Cooperation Agre ement as well as the 2001 WIPO-WTO Joint 
                                                      
4 The Agreement between the World Intellectua l Property Organization and the World Trade 
Organization came into effect on 1 January 1996.  Article 4 of the Agreement provides for the International 
Bureau of WIPO to make available to developing country WTO Members which are not members of WIPO the same legal-technical assistance relating to the TRIPS Ag reement as it makes available to member states of 
WIPO which are developing countries.  The WTO Secretariat is required to  reciprocate.  The Agreement also 
provides for the International Bureau  and the WTO Secretariat to enhance cooperation in their legal-technical 
assistance and technical cooperation activities relating to the TRIPS Agreement for developing countries, so as 
to maximize the usefulness of those activities and ensure their mutually supportive nature. 
5 See above footnote 1.  Paragraph 4 of the Decision states that "in order to assist least-developed 
country Members to draw up the inform ation to be presented in accordance with paragraph 2 and with a view to 
making technical assistance and capacity  building as effective and operational as possible, the WTO shall seek  IP/C/W/535 
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  Initiative, the two Organizations have further intens ified their cooperation.  The WTO Secretariat has 
also cooperated in the provision of technical cooperation in the area of TRIPS with other 
intergovernmental organizations, in particular the WHO.  Among others, an intellectual property staff 
member participated in an executive course on an IP  regime that protects public health, organized by 
the WHO in Bangalore, India, from 6 to 10 July 2010. 
_______________ 
                                                                                                                                                                     
to enhance its cooperation with the World Intellect ual Property Organization and with other relevant 
international organizations." IP/C/W/535 
Page 6  
 
  ANNEX 
 
 
Technical Cooperation Missions in the TRIPS Area from 1 October 2008 to 30 September 20098
 
(Activities outside Geneva.  For Geneva-b ased events, see paragraphs 6 to 8 above) 
 
 
Date Place Mission 
6-8 October 2008 Kampala, Uganda AITI C National Workshop. TRIPS Agreement: 
Implications to Uganda 
18-20 October 2008 Panama WTO Regional Workshop on Certain Topical 
Issues in regard to Intellectual Property for Latin America 
4-6 November 2008 Dakar, Senegal OAPI In ternational Conference on Intellectual 
Property and Economic and Social Development 
11-13 November 2008 Dhaka, Bangladesh WTO National Workshop on the TRIPS 
Agreement and Certain Topical Issues in regard to Intellectual Property 
27-28 November 2008 Tunis, Tunisia WTO National Workshop on the TRIPS 
Agreement and Public Health 
27-28 November 2008 Lusaka, Zambia WTO National Workshop on Certain Topical 
Aspects of the TRIPS Agreement 
2-3 December 2008 Maputo, 
Mozambique WTO National Workshop on TRIPS and Public 
Health 
2-4 February 2009 Muscat, Oman WTO Regional Workshop on Certain Topical 
Issues in regard to Intellectual Property for Arab 
and Middle East countries 
2-6 February 2009 Singapore WTO Workshop on the TRIPS Agreement and 
Public Health for WTO Members and Observers in Southeast Asia and the Pacific 
17-18 February 2009 Nairobi, Kenya WTO Na tional Workshop on TRIPS and Public 
Health 
31 March-2 April 2009 Guatemala SIECA- WTO Workshop on Intellectual Property 
for Central America Countries 
5-7 May 2009 Rabat, Morocco WTO National Seminar on intellectual property 27-28 May 2009 Bamako, Mali WTO Nationa l Seminar on Intellectual Property 
2-3 July 2009 Paris, France Interna tional Seminar on "La signalisation des 
terroirs"  IP/C/W/535 
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  Date Place Mission 
6-10 July 2009 Bangalore, India WHO Executive Course "Towards an IP Regime 
that Protects Public Health" 
27-31 July 2009 Singapore National Un iversity of Singapore Regional 
Capacity Building Programme: Enforcement 
15-17 September 2009  Bridgetown, 
Barbados WTO Regional Workshop on Certain Topical 
Issues in regard to Intellectual Property for the Caribbean 
24-25 September 2009 Antananarivo, 
Madagascar WTO National Workshop on Intellectual property 
 
 
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