WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/W/477 
29 September 2006 
 (06-4665) 
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/454, dated 5 October 2005.  It 
covers the period from 1 October 2005 to 30 Septem ber 2006.  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.  This activity 
includes helping Members to assess the amendments that  may be needed to their national legislation, 
the adaptations in institutions that may be calle d for and other requirements for which they would 
need to plan.  In particular, Members have re ceived assistance to use the mechanisms under the 
TRIPS Agreement, such as the "paragraph 6 mechanis m" on TRIPS and public hea lth and in regard to 
notifications and reviews of nationa l legislation.  The Secretariat's technical cooperation activities in 
the TRIPS area have also been aimed at assisting Memb ers to participate fully in the ongoing work in 
the WTO on TRIPS matters, in particular by assisti ng them to assess what is at stake for them in 
issues under negotiation, examination or review and thus to participate in this wo rk.  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 essentially driven 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 TRIPS for Least-Developed Country Members.1  Importance has been 
attached to ensuring complementarity and cooperatio n with other intergovernmental organizations, in 
                                                      
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 n ecessary 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/477 
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  particular WIPO and WHO.  The main modes of supply of technical cooperation specifically relating 
to the TRIPS Agreement have been information a nd advice given to Members in Geneva and study 
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  by telephone or in written form on issues such as 
domestic draft legislation or the ongoing work a nd negotiations in the TRIPS Council.  Advice and 
information have also been given to officials from acceding countries. 
Seminars, Workshops, Training Courses and Other Technical Cooperation Activities
   
 In Geneva 
5. TRIPS issues have continued to figure prominen tly in the context of broader training courses, 
seminars and workshops held in Geneva.  For example, the long 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 four long Trade Policy Courses held in Geneva during the reporting period (34th 
TPC for English-speaking countries from 19 September to 9 December 2005, 35th and 36th TPC for 
English-speaking countries from 16 January to 7 April 2006, 37th TPC for Spanish-speaking countries 
from 1 May to 21 July 2006) also included a day at  WIPO, learning about that Organization, its 
conventions and activities.  In addition, the S ecretariat organized a number of special study 
programmes for officials from individual countries or groups of countries in Geneva, and provided 
speakers or briefings for a number of seminars and training programmes organized in Geneva by other 
intergovernmental and non-government al organizations and associations. 
6. An important component of the activities carried  out in Geneva during the reporting period 
was the holding, from 26 June to 7 July 2006, of  a third joint WIPO-WTO Colloquium for Teachers 
of Intellectual Property from Developing Countries.  For the WTO, this formed part of the wider 
approach in the WTO Technical Assistance Plan 2006 towards cooperation with the academic 
community in developing countries aimed at local capacity building on WTO matters.  The main 
objectives of the Colloquium were to update university  teachers of intellectual property in developing 
countries on the activities and instruments of WI PO and the WTO, and to provide a forum for 
exchange of information and ideas among the particip ants and officials of the two Organizations.  The 
emphasis was put on recent developments and on polic y issues under debate in the two Organizations.  
The Colloquium also provided an opportunity fo r an exchange of views on teaching methodologies 
and on the outsourcing of technical cooperation.  The Colloquium took place at the WIPO Worldwide 
Academy and at the WTO.  University teachers from the following 18 developing countries and economies in transition participated in the event:  Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, 
Egypt, Eritrea, India, Jamaica, Korea, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Sudan, Thailand, Uganda, Venezuela and Viet Nam.  Three self-f unded participants came from developed countries 
(the Czech Republic and the United States).  In ad dition to speakers from the two Secretariats and 
from UPOV, several capital or Geneva-based delega tes shared views on certain topical issues under  IP/C/W/477 
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  discussion or negotiation.  Participating university teachers also made presentations on selected 
topics.2 
 Outside Geneva 
7. 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.  
8. The WTO Technical Assistance Plan 2006 foresees the holding in 2006 of four regional 
workshops with a focus on certain topical issu es under discussion, examination or negotiation in 
the TRIPS context, in particular TRIPS and public health, biotechnology/traditional 
knowledge/biodiversity, and geographical indications .  The aim of the workshops is to provide 
information and an opportunity for an exchange of views among countries of the region that will 
facilitate their effective participa tion in the ongoing negotiations or discussions.  With regard to the 
Decision on Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, as 
recently transposed into the Protocol Amendi ng the TRIPS Agreement submitted to WTO Members 
for acceptance, the workshops also have as their objec tive to provide information that will assist the 
countries of the region in implementing and making e ffective use of the mechan ism set out therein.  
The programmes for these workshops provide for presentations by WTO staff members and 
representatives of WIPO and WHO as well as by two external experts from Members that are participating or have participated in the discussions  or negotiations on the topical issues mentioned.  
In the period covered by this report, five regiona l workshops were organized , in cooperation with the 
host country, in Antigua and Barbuda on 11-13 October 2005, Macao, China on 28-30 March 2006, 
Turkey on 16-18 May 2006, Costa Rica on 18-20 September 2006 and Kuwait on 18-20 September 2006. 
9. Following up on the positive experience of the Workshop on the TRIPS Agreement and 
Public Health held in Geneva in September 2005, the Secretariat organized for the first time such a 
workshop on a regional basis for English- and French-speaking African countries in Mauritius 
from 31 May to 2 June 2006.  Discussions and prac tical exercises addressed, in particular, the 
August 2003 Decision on the Implementation of Pa ragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the 
TRIPS Agreement and Public Health and the December 2005 Decision on an Amendment of the 
TRIPS Agreement.  The main purpose of this activity  was to seek to give participants a "hands on" 
knowledge of the use of the "paragraph 6 mechanism", in particular through the provision of 
information and exercises pertaining to its implementation, and to provide a platform for the analysis 
of issues related to the legislative and institutiona l framework at the domestic level.  Ninety-seven 
capital-based government officials from intellectual pr operty, trade and public health departments in 
developing and least-developed African countries, ofte n with direct responsibility for matters relating 
to the interaction between the TRIPS Agreement and public health, participated in the activity.  In 
addition to speakers from the Secretariat, represen tatives from international organizations (WIPO, 
World Bank, UNDP/UNAIDS), the regional intellectua l property organizations (ARIPO, OAPI), the 
pharmaceutical industry, as well as delegates from de veloped and developing countries shared their 
experiences and views on the paragraph 6 system with participants. 
10. In addition, the WTO organized ten national se minars or workshops devoted to intellectual 
property matters, in cooperation with the host country (Egypt on 22-24 November 2005, Sudan 
on 7-8 February 2006, Belarus on 28 Marc h 2006, Niger on 10-11 May 2006, Mauritius 
on 5-6 June 2006, Ethiopia on 27-28 Ju ly 2006, Rwanda on 29-30 August 2006, 
Bangladesh on 30-31 August 2006, Costa Rica on 21-22 September 2006 and Botswana 
                                                     
 
2 For the programme, see http://w ww.wipo.int/academy/en/forms/w ipo_wto_colloquium/index.html. IP/C/W/477 
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  on 28-29 September 2006), and participated in three regional events on intellectual property organized 
by WIPO and other intergovernmen tal or regional organizations.   
11. One of the features of activities during the repor ting period has been the increasing number of 
broader WTO events outside Geneva which have  included a significant TRIPS component.  The 
intellectual property staff contributed to five WTO regional Trade Policy Courses (Latin America, the 
Caribbean, Asia-Pacific, French-speaking Africa and English-speaking Africa), co-organized by the 
WTO Secretariat in partnership with universities,  and four WTO shorter Trade Policy Courses, co-
organized with other intergove rnmental organizations.   
Cooperation with WIPO and other Intergovernmental Organizations
 
12. 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 Cooperation Agreement betw een the two Organizations, Article 4 of which 
deals with legal-technical assistance and technical cooperation3, and the WIPO-WTO Joint Initiative 
on Technical Cooperation for Leas t-Developed Countries, launche d in June 2001.  Since the 
Agreement was concluded, there has been intens ive cooperation between the two Organizations on 
technical cooperation matters, which has been regularly reported to the Council.4  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 
Initiative, the two Organizations have agreed to inte nsify their cooperation, including through the joint 
organization of national workshops for least-dev eloped country Members in 2006 and the WIPO 
providing resource persons for such events organized by the WTO. 
13. The WTO Secretariat has also sought to cooperate  in the provision of technical cooperation in 
the area of TRIPS with other intergovernmental or ganizations, in particular the WHO, on matters 
relating to TRIPS and public health (see Annex). 
_______________ 
 
                                                      
3 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. 
4 See documents IP/C/W/454, 428, 406, 375, 304, 201, 156, 110, 79 and 36. 
5 See above fn.1.  Paragraph 4 of the Decision states  that "in order to assist least-developed country 
Members to draw up the information 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 to 
enhance its cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organization and with other relevant international 
organizations."  IP/C/W/477 
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ANNEX 
 
Technical Cooperation Missions in the TRIPS Area from 1 October 2005 to 30 September 2006  
(Activities outside Geneva.  For Geneva-b ased events, see paragraphs 5 to 6 above) 
 
 
Date Place Mission 
11-13 October 2005 Antigua and Barbuda WTO Regional Workshop on Certain Topical 
Issues in Regard to the TRIPS Agreement for 
Caribbean Countries 
24 October 2005 Cape Town, 
South Africa 4th WTO Trade Policy Course for African 
countries 
7-9 November 2005 Santiago de Chile, 
Chile WTO Regional Trade Policy Course for Latin 
American countries, organized in partnership with 
the Institute for International Studies, University of 
Chile 
22-24 November 2005 Cairo, Egypt WTO National Seminar on the TRIPS Agreement 28 November to            
2 December 2005 Tunis, Tunisia Seminar on Improving Africa's Position in the 
International Trading System, organized by the Joint Africa Institute 
6 February 2006 Dakar, Senegal IsDB /WTO Regional Trade Policy Course for 
French-speaking African countries 
7-8 February 2006 Khartoum, Sudan WTO Na tional Seminar on the TRIPS Agreement 
14-16 February 2006 Havana, Cuba WIPO Sub-Regional Fo rum on Industrial Property 
and Access to Pharmaceutical Products 
14-16 March 2006 Amman, Jordan WIPO S ub-Regional Forum on Industrial Property 
and Access to Pharmaceutical Products – Addressing the Concerns of Developing Countries 
20-22 March 2006 Kingston, Jamaica WTO Regi onal Trade Policy Course for Caribbean 
Countries, organized in cooperation with the University of the West Indies 
28 March 2006 Minsk, Belarus National Workshop on Certain Topical Issues 
Concerning Intellectual Property and the TRIPS Agreement, organized by WIPO  
28-30 March 2006 Macao, China WTO Regional Workshop on Certain Topical 
Issues in Regard to the TRIPS Agreement for 
Asian Economies IP/C/W/477 
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  Date Place Mission 
8 May 2006 Johannesburg, 
South Africa DDA Agenda – Post-Hong Kong: Advanced 
Training Course for Senior Government Officials from English-speaking African Countries, organized in cooperation with the University of 
Western Cape and the University of Pretoria 
10-11 May 2006 Niamey, Niger WTO National Seminar on the TRIPS Agreement 16-18 May 2006 Ankara, Turkey WTO Regional Workshop on Certain Topical 
Issues in Regard to the TRIPS Agreement for Central Eastern European and Central Asian 
Countries 
31 May to 2 June 2006 Port Louis, Mauritius WTO Regional Workshop on the 
TRIPS Agreement and Public Health for African Countries 
5-6 June 2006 Mauritius WTO National Seminar on the TRIPS Agreement 
26-27 June 2006 Istanbul, Turkey IsDB/W TO Trade Policy Course for Member 
Countries of the Organization of Islamic Conference 
29-30 June 2006 Hong Kong, China 3
rd Asia-Pacific WTO Regional Trade Policy 
Course, organized in partnership with the University of Hong Kong, China 
10-12 July 2006 Rabat, Morocco WTO Regional Trade Policy Course for French-
speaking African Countries, organized in partnership with the University "Mohammed V – Soussi" 
27-28 July 2006 Addis Ababa, 
Ethiopia WTO National Seminar on the TRIPS Agreement 
7-9 August 2006 Windhoek, Namibia WTO Regional Trade Policy Course for English-
speaking African Countries 
29-30 August 2006 Rwanda WIPO/W TO National Seminar on the 
TRIPS Agreement 
30-31 August 2006 Bangladesh WTO National Seminar on the TRIPS Agreement 
18-20 September 2006 Kuwait IsDB/W TO Regional Workshop on the 
TRIPS Agreement and Certain Topical Issues in Regard to Intellectual Property for Arab and Middle East Countries, organized in cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank   IP/C/W/477 
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  Date Place Mission 
18-20 September 2006 San José, Costa Rica WTO Regional Workshop on the 
TRIPS Agreement and Certain Topical Issues in Regard to Intellectual Property for Latin American countries 
21-22 September 2006 San José, Costa Rica WTO National Seminar on the TRIPS Agreement 
28-29 September 2006 Gaborone, Bo tswana WTO National Seminar on the TRIPS Agreement 
and Public Health 
 
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