WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/W/517/Add.1 
7 October 2008 
 
 (08-4753) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English 
 
 
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES: 
INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS 
 
JAPAN 
 
Addendum  
  
 The following communication, dated 2 October 2008, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Japan.  
  
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 I. TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL 
PROPERTY RIGHTS 
A. V
OLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS FOR WIPO  FUNDS -IN-TRUST /JAPAN  
1. Since 1987, the Government of Japan has been providing voluntary contributions in the field 
of industrial property to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).  The "WIPO Funds-in-
Trust/Japan" (FIT/JP) in the field of industrial property was established with these voluntary funds.  
The FIT/JP is used annually to finance various proj ects for WIPO member States in the Economic and 
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP),  such as the holding of IP office conferences or 
symposia, acceptance of trainees and IPR research st udents, dispatch of Japan Patent Office (JPO) 
officials and support for the automation and moderniza tion of IP offices.  The voluntary fund for the 
Japanese fiscal year (FY) 2008 amounts to Sw F 1.83 million. 
2. In addition to the above, the Government of Japan announced the setting up of a new Japan 
Funds-in-Trust programme for Africa in the amount  of Sw F 1.1 million.  This fund will support 
activities aimed inter alia  at strengthening the legal and admi nistrative framework s for Intellectual 
Property (IP) protection, modernize IP infrastructure to ensure high quality ser vice to users, share the 
experience of Japanese SMEs and experts in busin ess oriented IP management and human resource 
development in Africa. 
B. HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT  
1. Training Programme 
3. In order to support developing countries obligated  to implement the TRIPS Agreement, Japan 
has been receiving trainees from these countries.   Between April 1996 and March 2008, Japan 
received 2,830 trainees in both the public and private sector from 52 countries and one economy 
primarily in the Asia-Pacific region.  In the futu re, with the goal of the efficient implementation of IP/C/W/517/Add.1 
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  laws in mind, Japan is scheduled to proceed w ith human resource development activities emphasizing 
the area of enforcement of intellectual property rights. 
(a) Training programmes for government officials 
4. The JPO has been holding group training courses about industrial property rights for 
government officials.  In FY 2007, the following 12 group training courses were held and 168 
participants in total received training: 
 For APEC member economies 
 
 - The Group Training Course in Intellectual Property for APEC Economies is a three-
week course for officials in charge of pr eventive activities of counterfeits goods as 
well as dissemination and education of  the intellectual property system. 
  - The Country Focused Training Course in Capacity Building for Intellectual Property 
Administration and Enforcement Staff is a two-week course for staff of enforcement agencies, judicial bodies and admini stration agencies in Viet Nam. 
 
 - The Group Training Course on Intellectual Property Protection for Chinese 
Government Officials is a five-day co urse for patent examiners and judges. 
 5. These training courses are implemented by the JPO and the Japan International Cooperation 
Agency (JICA) in cooperation with and the Asia-P acific Industrial Property Center (APIC) of the 
Japan Institute of Inve ntion and Innovation (JIII). 
 For the ESCAP region 
 
 - The "Training Course on the Enforcement of IPR under WIPO Funds-in-Trust/Japan" 
is a two-week course for senior officials engaged in the enforcement of IPR in 
enforcement-related government agencies. 
  - The "Training Course on the Use of Information Technology in IP Administration 
under WIPO Funds-in-Trust/Japan" is a two-week course for senior officials of IP offices responsible for information technology matters. 
 
 - The "Training Course on the Examination Practices of Industrial Property 
(Intermediate/Advanced Programme) under WIPO Funds-in-Trust/Japan" is a two-
week course for examiners in the field of IP R.  Trainees are divided into three groups 
according to their specialities:  patents, industrial designs, and trademarks. 
 
 - The "Training Course on the Examinati on Practices of Industrial Property (Basic 
Programme) under WIPO Funds-in-Trust/Japan " is a two-week course for examiners 
in the field of IPR.  Trainees are divided into two groups according to their specialities:  patents and trademarks. 
  - The "Training Course on Industria l Property Administration under WIPO 
Funds-in-Trust/Japan" is a two-week course for officials in charge of general 
administration and policy planning. 
  IP/C/W/517/Add.1 
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   - The "Training Courses for patent exam iners on specified technologies under WIPO 
Funds-in-Trust/Japan" are five-day courses for patent examiners.  Three kinds of courses were held in FY 2007;  pharm aceutical, technology, and computer 
programming. 
 
6. These seven training courses are organized by the WIPO and managed by the JPO in 
cooperation with the APIC of JIII. 
 - The JPO/IPR Training Course on Well-Known Trademarks for ASEAN member 
countries is five-day course for officials in IP offices of ASEAN member countries. 
 
 - The JPO/IPR Training Course on Well-Known Trademarks for India is four-day 
course for officials in IP offices of India. 
 7. These two training courses are implemented by the JPO, in cooperation with the APIC of JIII 
and the Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship (AOTS). 
8. Three-week training Course on the legal system of IPR and the Enforcement of IPR was 
implemented by the JICA in cooperation with th e WIPO and Kyoto Comparative Law Center (Non-
Profit Research Organization) for officials engaged in  the enforcement of IPR in enforcement-related 
government agencies of South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia in FY 2007. 
(b) Training programmes for the private sector 
9. The JPO has also been holding the following group training courses on industrial property 
rights for trainees from the private sector: 
 - "JPO/IPR Training Course for Lawyers" 
 
 Trainees of this three-week course include patent attorneys and/or IP lawyers, 
corporate employees engaged as liaisons for legal affairs dealing with licence 
agreements and infringement of rights , among other things, and judges and/or 
prosecutors. 
  - "JPO/IPR Training Course for IP Trainers"  
 Trainees of this three-week course are  employees at universities or research 
institutions involved in education on the intellectual property system and those 
engaged in the dissemination of the IP R in IP promotional organizations. 
  - "JPO/IPR Training Course for Advanced IP Practitioners"  
 Trainees of this three-week course incl ude IP practitioners in private businesses, 
patent attorneys, IP lawyers, and employees at patent/law offices, and persons undertaking business guidance at IP promotional organizations. 
  - "JPO/IPR Training Course for Chinese IP Practitioners"  
 Trainees of this three-week course incl ude IP practitioners in private businesses, 
patent attorneys, IP lawyers, and employees at patent/law offices, and persons undertaking business guidance at IP promotional organizations in China. 
 IP/C/W/517/Add.1 
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   - "JPO/IPR Training Course for Patent Experts" 
 
 Trainees of this three-week course include patent practitioners in private businesses, 
patent attorneys and IP lawyers, and pe rsons engaged in patent work within 
organizations such as those disseminating and encouraging patent use and knowledge. 
 
10. These training courses are managed by the JPO in cooperation with the APIC of JIII and the 
AOTS. 
2. Long-term Fellowship 
11. Under the long-term fellowship project funded by WIPO FIT/JP, four trainees, one from 
China, India, Lao PDR and Mongolia respectivel y, were invited to Japan in FY 2007 to study 
intellectual property issues for a period of six mont hs.  In FY 2007, the JPO accepted two trainees on 
the long-term fellowship, one from the Philippines and one from Viet Nam, for about six months 
under an independent project. 
3. Seminar on Intellectual Property Rights for Alumni Association Members 
12. The JPO have suggested to the trainees that an alumni association be established to help 
disseminate information on IP systems in thei r home countries and to keep the members of the 
association informed of current IP developments .  The JPO have conducted a follow-up seminar in 
various Asian countries for those who have complete d a training programme in order to sustain the 
fruits of the training programmes and contri bute to human resources development.  
13. When the JPO receives a request from an alumni  association to assist them in conducting an 
IP seminar, we provide them with the following t ypes of assistance:  financial assistance to meet the 
cost of holding the seminar, and the disp atching of Japanese speak ers to the event.  
14. In FY 2007, Alumni Association Seminars were held in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, 
the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. 
4. Expert missions 
15. Experts and seminar speakers specializing in various areas of IPRs are dispatched by the JPO 
through WIPO FIT/JP and the JICA mainly for peri ods of about two weeks.  The dispatched experts 
mainly provide on-site in struction regarding examination practices, computerization and so forth. 
16. The JPO has dispatched long-term experts under th e JICA scheme in order to engage in JICA 
technical cooperation projects being implemented in the IP office of the respective recipient countries. 
17. In FY 2007, one expert was dispatched under the WIPO scheme and 21 experts were 
dispatched under the JICA scheme (long-term :  seven persons /shor t-term: 14 persons). 
5. Symposia 
18. Major symposia, etc., in FY 2007 funded by the WIPO FIT/JP are shown below: 
Title Venue/Date Theme Participants 
WIPO-UNU 
Symposium Tokyo, Japan 
May 2007 The Economic Impact of 
Intellectual Property Systems  80 local participants   IP/C/W/517/Add.1 
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  Title Venue/Date Theme Participants 
WIPO National 
Workshop Malaysia  
June 2007 Training Program on PCT for 
patent officers of Intellectual Property Cooperation of Malaysia 70 local participants 
WIPO Asia Sub-
regional Workshop Pakistan 
June 2007 The use of Intellectual Property 
by SME Support Institutions for the promotion of competitiveness of SMEs in the 
food processing sector 30 participants from 18 
Asia and the Pacific Countries and local participants 
WIPO Asia and the Pacific Sub-
regional Workshop China 
December 
2007 Effective Enforcement of 
Intellectual Property Rights  60 participants from 13 
Asia and the Pacific 
Countries and local 
participants 
WIPO Asia and the 
Pacific Regional 
Training Workshop Lao PDR 
January 2008 International Classifications and 
Search tools 20 participants from 12 
Asia and the Pacific 
Countries and local participants 
WIPO Sub-regional Colloquium Viet Nam 
January 2008 Intellectual Property Education, 
Training and Research 60 participants from 10 
Asia and the Pacific Countries and local participants 
 
C. COOPERATION IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY  
1. Modernization of Industrial Property Administration Project in the Philippines 
19. From May 1999 to May 2003, the "Moderniza tion of Industrial Property Administration 
Project" at the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Phil) to establish patent administration systems was carried out by the JICA.  The JPO dispatched long-term experts for 
technology transfer and human resource developmen t.  The follow-up cooperation for the project was 
carried out from November 2004 to March 2007. 
2. Project for Utilization of Intellectual Property Information in Viet Nam 
20. From April 2000 to June 2004, the "Moderniza tion of Industrial Property Administration 
Project in Viet Nam", at the National Office of Intellectual Property of Viet Nam (NOIP) was carried out by the JICA.  This project was aimed at de veloping human resources through the automation of 
administrative work in NOIP.  Since January 2005,  the JICA has also been carrying out the second 
phase of the project.  As a result, the IPDL system  was launched in February and the e-filing system 
was started in June 2007.  This pr oject is scheduled to be comple ted in March 2009, and the JPO has 
dispatched long-term experts in order to support this project. 
3. Support for Utilization of Information Technology in Malaysia 
21. In Malaysia, under a JICA development stud y scheme, the JPO supported the establishment 
of an industrial design administration system of the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia 
(MyIPO) from July 2002 to February 2005. IP/C/W/517/Add.1 
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  4. Project for Human Resource Development in the Intellectual Property Rights 
Administration of MyIPO in Malaysia 
22. Since June 2007, this project has been carried out by the JICA.  The overall goal of this 
project is to establish and maintain a sustainable administration system to make Mid-term Programmes classified by occupation. 
5. Intellectual Property Rights Administrati on through Utilization and Communication 
Technology in Indonesia 
23. In Indonesia, under a JICA development study scheme, the JPO supported the establishment 
of an Intellectual Property Digital Library (IPDL ) system carried out from June 2005 to March 2007 
at the Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights (DGIPR).  After that, the second phase of 
the project was conducted just after the previous study was completed, and will continue until June 
2009. 
6. Project for Intellectual Property Administration in Indonesia 
24. Since February 2005, the JICA has been offering instruction and advice to the DGIPR in 
terms of the "Project for Intellectual Property Admi nistration", for the purpose of modernizing its IP 
administration, improving its legislation and enfo rcement, and expanding th e cooperative network in 
South-East Asia.  Phase 1 of the project has been finished (June 2007), and phase 2 of the project is 
ongoing. 
7. Provision of the "Patent Abstracts of Japan (PAJ)" on CD-ROM 
25. There has been a problem of third parties obtaining patents in other countries for the 
inventions for which applications have already been filed in Japan.  To help prevent this problem and 
improve the quality of examinations in developi ng countries, the JPO has been publishing the CD-
ROM version Patent Abstracts of Japan (PAJ).  PA J contains English translations of bibliographic 
data and patent abstracts as well as representativ e drawings published in the Kokai Tokkyo Koho, 
which contains information about unexamined patent applications.  Since April 1995, the JPO has 
provided a CD-ROM PAJ free of charge to about 92 foreign organizations including major IP Offices 
and international organizations. 
8. Project to Publish (in English and Japanese) the Industrial Property Laws and 
Regulations in Effect in Various Countries 
26. The JPO translated laws and regulations, which were related to the i ndustrial property rights 
of major developed and developing countries, into E nglish.  From 1997 to 2003, the translations were 
published as CD-ROMs equipped with searchable indexes. 
27. Since 2004, the JPO has provided the laws and re gulations of various countries and regions 
through its website.  At present, translations of the laws and re gulations of about 60 countries and 
organizations can be browsed on the JPO website. 
D. A
SSISTANCE IN SEARCH AND EXAMINATION - WIPO/S TATE -OF-THE-ART SEARCHES FOR 
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES  
28. Since 1975, the WIPO has been conducting a "Sta te-of-the-Art Searches Program" by which 
IP offices of advanced countries has been making sea rch reports for developing countries in order to 
provide the latter with such information at no ch arge within the framework of the WIPO Patent 
Information Services.  The JPO reached an agreem ent with the WIPO on 23 September, 1984 in terms  IP/C/W/517/Add.1 
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  of cooperating with it, and has been carrying out searches concerned from the standpoint of 
international contributions since then. 
II. TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF COPYRIGHT 
29. The Japan Copyright Office (JCO) has been  planning and carrying out the following 
programmes with a view to contributing to the de velopment of copyright systems in developing 
countries as well as to strengthening regional cooperation among Asia-Pacific countries. 
A. APACE  PROGRAMME (SINCE 1993) 
30. This programme, which is called "APACE (Asi a-Pacific Copyright Systems Enhancement) 
Programme", was started in 1993 in  cooperation with the WIPO, targ eting Asia-Pacific countries.  
The APACE Programme consists of the following six activities: 
1. Annual Regional Symposium (since 1993) 
Year Venue Participants 
2004 Hangzhou, China 70 participants from 15 countries 
2005 Yogyakarta, Indonesia 70 participants from 16 countries  
2006 Vientiane, Lao PDR 60 participants from 19 countries 
2007 Kathmandu, Nepal 50 participants from 16 countries 
 
2. Training Programme in Tokyo, Japan (since 1994) 
Year Participants 
2004 9 trainees from Bhutan, Indonesia, Islami c Republic of Iran, Mongolia, Nepal, 
Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Viet Nam 
2005 9 trainees from Bhutan, Cambodia, Chin a, Malaysia, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and  
Viet Nam  
2006 9 trainees from India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam 
2007  6 trainees from Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam 
 
3. Experts Missions (since 1999) 
31. This programme was started in 1999, in order to assist the countries in developing and 
strengthening infrastructure for the protection and management of copyright and neighbouring rights. 
Year Venue 
2004 Sri Lanka 
2005 Sri Lanka 
2007 Pakistan 
 
4. Training on Collective Management (since 2000) 
32. This programme was started in 2000.  It is an on-the-job training for staff of collective 
management organizations or governme nt officials in developing countries. IP/C/W/517/Add.1 
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  Year Country 
2004 Fiji, India, Islamic Republic of Iran,  Mongolia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and 
Sri Lanka 
2005 India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand 
2006 Indonesia and Mongolia 
2007 China and the Philippines 
 5. National Seminar on Copyright and Neighbouring Rights (since 2000) 
33. This programme was started in 2000, in order to promote awareness of the protection of 
copyright and neighbouring rights, and the role it can play in cultural and economic development of 
developing countries. 
Year Venue 
2004 Sri Lanka and Viet Nam  
2005 Mongolia and Myanmar  
2006 Myanmar 
2007 Cambodia and Pakistan 
2008 Samoa, Tonga and Papua New Guinea 
 
6. Sub-Regional Roundtable (since 2003) 
34. This programme was started in 2003, in order to promote awareness of the importance of 
protection of copyright and rela ted rights, and to discuss available opportunities for the use and 
management of copyright to support business activiti es for the use and management of copyright to 
support business activities in copyright-based industries. 
Year Venue Participants 
2004 Viet Nam 5 participants from Bangladesh, China, India, Malaysia and the 
Philippines 
2005 Sri Lanka 6 participants from B hutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan 
2006 Bhutan 8 participants from Afghanis tan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao 
PDR, Myanmar, Pakistan, Samoa and Sri Lanka 
2008 Malaysia 15 participants from Bangladesh , China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the 
Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam 
 B. A
SIAN COPYRIGHT SEMINAR (SINCE 1997) 
35. This programme was started in 1997, to pr ovide participating copyright experts of 
Asia-Pacific countries with opportunities to ex change information and viewpoints as well as to 
discuss possible regional common positions and/or actions in the future. 
Year Venue Participants 
2004 Tokyo, Japan 90 participants from 12 countries (ASEAN + 3 members) 
2005 Tokyo, Japan 100 participants from 10 countries (ASEAN + 3 members) 
2006 Tokyo, Japan 100 participants from 9 countries (ASEAN + 3 members) 
2007 Tokyo, Japan 80 participants from 11 countries (ASEAN + 3 members)+Mongolia 
2008 Tokyo, Japan 90 participants from 13 countries 
  IP/C/W/517/Add.1 
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  C. JICA  GROUP TRAINING COURSE (SINCE 1998) 
36. This JICA training course started in 1998 in c ooperation with the JCO, to contribute to the 
copyright systems development. 
Year Participants 
2004 7 trainees from China, Fiji, Ghana, Malaysia, Panama, Thailand and Zambia 
2005 7 trainees from China, Colombia, Indonesi a, Malawi, Panama, Peru and Thailand 
2006 6 trainees from Bangladesh, China, Ind onesia, Mexico, Myanmar and Panama  
2007 6 trainees from Chile, Indonesia, Myanmar,  the Philippines, St. Vincent and the 
Grenadines and Thailand 
2008  8 trainees from China, Indonesia, Kazakhs tan, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam 
 
III. TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF PLANT 
VARIETY PROTECTION 
37. Through the UPOV Trust Fund of Japan, the Government of Japan has supported a 
programme which provides Asian countries with semi nars and workshops on plant variety protection 
systems. 
38. National Seminars have been held since FY  1991 for the purpose of contributing to the 
promotion and establishment of the plant variety pr otection systems.  The Asian Regional Technical 
Meeting scheme has been held sin ce Japanese FY 2000, in order to provide some practical knowledge 
and technique relating to the plant variety protec tion, as well as to promote regional cooperation in 
variety testing. 
39. Details of the National Seminars and the Asia n Regional Technical Meetings and the Western 
and Central Asian Regional Workshops wh ich have been held are as follows: 
National Seminars  
 
Year Venue 
2004 China, Malaysia 
2005 Viet Nam, Thailand, Indonesia 
2006 Kyrgyz Republic 
2007 Indonesia 
 
Asian Regional Technical Meeting  
 
Year Venue Participants 
2004 Viet Nam 22 participants from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao 
PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, 
Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand 
2005 Singapore 20 participants from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao 
PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, 
Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand 
2006 Malaysia 37 participants from Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, 
Nepal, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam 
2007 Thailand 35 participants from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, 
Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, 
Sri Lanka and Viet Nam  IP/C/W/517/Add.1 
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  Western and Central Asian Regional Workshop
 
 
Year Venue Participants 
2005 Iran 40 participants form Afghanist an, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, 
Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan 
2006 Tajikistan 16 participants from Iran, Jord an, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, 
Turkey and Uzbekistan  
2007 Kyrgyz 
Republic 16 participants from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, 
Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan 
 
A. JICA  GROUP TRAINING COURSE  
40. This JICA training course was started in 2000 in  cooperation with NCSS (National Center for 
Seed and Seedling) to contribute to the establis hment of breeder's rights protection systems. 
Year Participants 
2004 11 trainees from Argentine, Bangladesh, Bolivia, China, Kenya, Malaysia, 
the Philippines, Mauritius, Thailand and Viet Nam 
2005 7 trainees from Argentine, China, Kenya,  the Philippines, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe 
2006 8 trainees from Brazil, China, Malaysia , Mexico, Nepal, Senegal and Thailand 
2007 11 trainees from Cambodia, China, Ind onesia, Kenya, Lao PDR, Malaysia and 
Sri Lanka 
 
IV. TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF BORDER 
MEASURES 
41. The Ministry of Finance of the Government of Japan has provided a training course, expert 
mission and APEC workshops on the TRIPS Agreem ent in the field of border measures for the 
enforcement of intellectual property rights.  The ma in purpose of these programmes is to assist in the 
smooth implementation of the TRIPS Agreement by cu stoms officials in developing countries in the 
Asia-Pacific region.  Details of these programmes since FY 2003 are as follows: 
Training Course  
 
Year Venue Participants 
2004 Japan 18 participants from Cambodia, Ch ina, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, 
Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam 
2005 Japan 16 participants from Cambodia, Ch ina, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, 
Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam  
2006 Japan 16 participants from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the 
Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam 
 
Expert Mission  
 
Year Venue 
2004 China and Indonesia 
2005 Malaysia and the Philippines 
2006 China 
  IP/C/W/517/Add.1 
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  APEC Workshops on the TRIPS Agreement  
 
Year Venue 
2005 Thailand 
2006 Malaysia 
 
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