WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
IP/C/W/560/Add.3 
10 October 2011 
 (11-4937) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English 
 
 
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES: 
INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS 
 
AUSTRALIA 
 
Addendum 
   The following communication, dated 30 September 2011, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of Australia. 
 
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1. Pursuant to Article 67 of the TRIPS Agreemen t, the Council for TRIPS has requested reports 
from developed country Members of their technical and financial cooperation programmes in the area 
of intellectual property rights (IPRs) relevant to the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement.  The 
following document updates Australia's report of 2010 on Australian technical cooperation activities, 
pursuant to the February 2003 decision of the Council for TRIPS. 
2. Australia fulfils its Article 67 technical coope ration commitments at bilateral, regional and 
multilateral levels.  Its cooperation activities are focu sed on developing countries, particularly in the 
Asia-Pacific region.  At the regional level, Aust ralia works closely with the Asia-Pacific Economic 
Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat and APEC's Inte llectual Property Rights Expert Group (APEC 
IPEG). 
3. The following report provides information about bilateral and regional/multilateral 
cooperation undertaken by the Australian Governme nt. Government agencies chiefly involved are IP 
Australia, the Australian Agency for Internationa l Development (AusAID), the Attorney-General's 
Department (AGD) and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 
4. Key websites which contain extensive informa tion on Australia's intellectual property (IP) 
regime and which may be considered a technical  cooperation resource include: APEC IPEG public 
education and awareness resource (http://www.apecipeg-pear.org ), the IP Australia website covering 
patents, designs, trade marks and plant breeders' rights ( http://www.ipaustralia.gov.au ), the 
Attorney-General's Department we bsite on copyright developments ( http://www.ag.gov.au/copyright ) 
and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade we bsite which covers intern ational IP developments 
(http://www.dfat.gov.au/ip ). IP/C/W/560/Add.3 
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  I. BILATERAL ACTIVITIES 
Engagement and information exchange with Chinese IP officials 
5. IP Australia has an established relationship with  China's IP agencies, in particular the State 
Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republ ic of China (SIPO).  In the 2010-2011 financial 
year, the key cooperation activity between SIPO and IP  Australia was a patent examiner exchange.  IP 
Australia sent two patent examiners to SIPO fo r a week in November, where examiners exchanged 
information and experience on searching and examin ation practices, policies and procedures.  This 
was a reciprocal visit to the hosting of tw o SIPO patent examiners earlier in 2010. 
6. IP Australia hosted six SIPO representativ es in November 2010 to enhance mutual 
understanding of each office's public education and awareness and commercialisation strategies. 
7. In addition, IP Australia hosted a vis it from the Shanghai Intellectual Property 
Administration.  The visit provided an opportuni ty to exchange information on our respective 
approaches to IPR protection, commercialisation and enforcement. 
One week training placement of Taiwan trade mark examiners 
8. IP Australia hosted two Taiwan Intellectual Pr operty Office (TIPO) trade mark examiners for 
a one-week training placement on examinati on and searching practices in March 2011. 
Problem-based trade and investment law programme 
9. This programme aims to help Philippines uni versities develop sustainable problem-based 
courses in trade and investment law to enable a steady stream of graduates to be available to government and industry in suppor t of economic development initiatives.  The objective is based on a 
development need for an increased pool of suitably trained law graduates with adequate international 
trade and investment law skills to enable the Ph ilippines government, industry and legal profession to 
optimise national welfare from in ternational economic engagement. 
Supporting the re-emergence of sustainable mining in the Philippines through building the capacity 
and expertise of university faculty 
10. This activity aims to assist universities in the Philippines produce high quality graduates 
skilled in the breadth and depth of disciplines require d by a re-emerging minerals industry.  While a 
number of strategies are being pursued to address these issues, the Asia Public Sector Linkages 
Programme proposal is designed to support the i mmediate need of developing current staff and 
teaching capacity and reviewing curriculum.  This will assist universities to meet critical short-term 
needs of the minerals industry and provide locally trained graduates that are competitive with those 
trained abroad. 
Restorative Ecological Knowledge: Integratin g Scientific and Local Traditional Ecological 
Knowledge to improve university training and to enhance community based restoration and 
reforestation projects for post-mining and degraded landscapes in the Philippines 
11. The main developmental goal of this project is  to reverse the degradation of landscapes by 
deforestation, mining and farming.  It will enhance community-based efforts to address this issue.  A 
key project has been to assist the Ateneo de Man ila University's Environmental Science Department 
to offer the first Bachelor of Environmental Scien ce degree in the Philippines to help build capacity to 
develop and deliver a new curriculum in environmen tal/biological sciences that incorporates local and 
traditional ecological knowledge.  IP/C/W/560/Add.3 
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  Modelling Policy Responses to Climate Change: Im plications for Sustainable Development and 
Growth in the Philippines (Curtin University) 
12. This activity will involve development of a dynamic CGE (computable general equilibrium) 
model of the Philippine economy that can be used  for assessing policy, particularly climate change 
and energy-related proposals.  The CGE model will al low policy makers to identify the most effective 
policy options to mitigate or adapt to climate change. Its particular strength is a uniform set of criteria 
for selecting optimal policy settings, analysed in a consistent and transparent manner readily open to 
external assessment.  Major components will cover all features of model design, training and policy 
use.  These include: model development, initial app lied research, training seminars in the use of the 
model, and ongoing research linkages with partner in stitutions.  Seminars will be organized as a way 
of disseminating results and stimulating discussion in this policy area. 
Australia-China Joint Coordination Group on Clean Coal Technology 
13. The Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (RET) works with the National Energy 
Administration of China through the Australia-C hina Joint Coordination Group on Clean Coal 
Technology (JCG).  The JCG was established on 15 January 2007 to facilitate and enhance the 
mutually beneficial development, application and transfer of low emissions coal technology between 
Australia and China.  The Australian Govern ment has committed up to $A20 million to support 
agreed activities, which include regular research a nd development seminars; collaboration on research 
projects; and the development of a feasibility st udy for a commercial scale post combustion capture 
project. 
II. REGIONAL/MULTILATERAL ACTIVITIES 
14. In addition to activities under the World Trade Organization, the World Intellectual Property 
Organization (WIPO), the World Customs Organizati on (WCO) and other multilateral fora, Australia 
has a strong focus on Asia-Pacific technical and fi nancial cooperation in the field of intellectual 
property rights (IPR). 
WTO Doha Development Agenda (DDA) Global Trust Fund 
15. Since 2002, Australia has contributed over $A 8 million to the WTO's DDA Global Trust 
Fund to provide technical assistance to developing country members to participate in the Doha Round 
of trade negotiations. Australia's contributi on to the Fund for 2011 will be $A2 million.  
 
Enhanced Integrated Framework  
16. Australia has contributed $A2 million in 2011 to the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF), a 
multilateral programme to assist least developed countries (LDCs) to build trade capacity and 
integrate into the global trading system. Addressing IP issues is an important element of technical assistance provided under the EIF. The EIF currently  benefits 47 least-developed nations, including 
important regional partners for Australia such as Ca mbodia, East Timor, Lao PDR, Kiribati, Samoa, 
Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. 
WIPO Voluntary Fund for Accredited Indigenous and Local Communities 
17. In 2011 Australia will be making a financial c ontribution to the WIPO Voluntary Fund for 
Accredited Indigenous and Local Communities which will support effective i ndigenous participation 
in negotiations towards an international instrument  in the area of IP.  The contribution of $A100,000 
will allow Overseas Development Assistance (ODA )-eligible countries to send their Indigenous 
people to participate in IP negotiations.  Austra lia is committed to working within WIPO towards IP/C/W/560/Add.3 
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  development of an intellectual le gal instrument on IP to ensure protection of genetic resources, 
traditional knowledge and traditional cultural protection.  IP Australia will administer the funding to 
WIPO on behalf of Australia.  
WIPO-IP Australia Joint Working Group on In tellectual Property Technical Assistance 
18. In 2000, WIPO and the Australian Government agreed to a Joint St atement on Cooperation 
for IP Technical Assistance in the Asia and Pacific Region.  Within this statement it was agreed that 
WIPO and Australia would work together to '…develop and implement joint projects in cases where Australia's and WIPO's expertise and resources would combine effectively to meet identified needs for training and assistance'. 
19. In recent years, WIPO and IP Australia have agreed an annual Work Programme of technical 
assistance activities.  The key activities in 2010-2 011 were two advanced training workshops to 
prepare countries for accession to the Madrid Prot ocol, an international IP treaty that provides 
applicants with a single application process when a pplying for a trade mark in multiple jurisdictions.  
Held in Canberra from 21-25 February 2011, the work shops attracted participants from the IP Offices 
of 18 countries in the Asia Pacific region – Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, 
Japan, Republic of Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New 
Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tha iland and Viet Nam – along with representatives 
from WIPO. 
20. The aim of the workshops was to enhance unders tanding of the Madrid Protocol and provide 
the opportunity to learn about the practical implem entation of this treaty.  The workshops included 
presentations on the operation of the Madrid Protocol from experts from IP offices and private sector 
users of the Madrid system and dialogue on national experiences in implementing the Madrid 
Protocol.  A key outcome was a report developed by  a professional facilitator that proposed next steps 
to enable countries in the region to successfully accede to the Madrid Protocol.  This report was 
presented at the ASEAN Australia New Zeala nd FTA (AANZFTA) IP Committee meeting Bali, 
Indonesia in July 2011 and further projects are pla nned to assist countries in the region to make the 
most of this important treaty. 
21. Another project under the WIPO-IP Australia wo rk plan is development of a national IP 
strategy for Samoa.  The three phase project cons ists of (a) a needs assessment, (b) drafting the 
strategy document and (c) finalisation of the docum ent.  Phases (a) and (b) were completed in 2011; 
phase (c) is ongoing and is expected to be completed in early 2012. 
22. IP Australia is also supporting the Queensl and University of Technology (QUT)/WIPO 
Master of Intellectual Property Law course by funding lecturers.  The course, developed in 
collaboration with the WIPO World Wide Academy,  is the first WIPO-endorsed postgraduate course 
to be offered in the Asia-Pacific region.  The first course commenced in February 2010 and the 
second in February 2011. 
Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP) 
23. The Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (RET) and the Department of Climate 
Change and Energy Efficiency jointly manage d Australia's engagement in the Asia-Pacific 
Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP).  The APP was an important public-private 
partnership initiative that engaged key greenhouse gas emitting countries in the Asia-Pacific region. 
The APP brought together Australia, Canada, China,  India, Japan, Republic of Korea and the United 
States of America to find practical ways of ac celerating the developmen t, demonstration and 
deployment of key technologies while allowing for continued economic development of both 
developed and developing  economies.  This country grouping  represents around half the world's  IP/C/W/560/Add.3 
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  emissions, energy use, gross domestic product (GDP ) and population.  The APP was launched in 
January 2006 and was formally concluded in April 2011.  The Australian Government announced 
$A100 million over five years for the initiative at th e January 2006 Ministerial meeting.  Australian 
funding was fully committed to over 54 APP projects across all eight Task Forces and included both clean technology projects and capacity building activities. 
Australian Leadership Awards Fello wship Programme (ALA Programme) 
24. The ALA Fellowship Programme is an AusAID -funded initiative that aims to develop 
leadership, address priority development issues,  and build partnerships and linkages between 
Australian organisations and part ner organisations in developing countries through short-term in-
Australia study, research and professional deve lopment activities. In 2010-2011, the Queensland 
University of Technology (QUT) hosted ALA Fellowship programmes for Indonesia and Nigeria on 
'enhancing trade competitiveness of small to me dium enterprises (SMEs) through technology 
commercialisation and innovation promotion'.  Te n officials ('Fellows') from Indonesia's State 
Ministry of Research and Technology participated  in the 1 March – 9 April 2010 programme, and ten 
officials ('Fellows') from Nigeria's Copyright Commission participated in the 9 May – 17 June 2011 
programme. 
25. These programmes aimed to enable participating of ficials to effectively assist their clients, 
particularly SMEs, to improve trade competitiveness  by addressing trade-rela ted intellectual property 
rights issues on technology commercialisation in indust ry and its implications for cross-country trade. 
The programmes consisted of six-week training cour ses comprising workshops, site visits and work 
placements at universities, organi sations and technology-based firm s.  The course facilitated the 
design of intellectual property rights information dissemination and advocacy materials and training 
modules, and the development of a strategic framework for promoting innovations among SMEs. 
26.  Feedback was highly positive. The director for international research, science and technology 
programme for Indonesia's Ministry of Research and Technology reported that the program has 
facilitated the development of a strategic framework  for innovation promotion and will provide useful 
guidelines for Indonesia's action plan and priorities.  Indonesia is keen to maintain the networks 
established with QUT and other organisations the Ind onesia Fellows visited, and to use the materials 
produced in benchmarking activities to build the capacity of Indonesian SMEs and universities. 
27. Participation in the ALA Fellowshop Program is expected to lead to new roles and 
responsibilities for the Fellows on return to their local  office.  The ALA Fellows have gained valuable 
skills that are transferable across the IP and public sector roles in which they  may find themselves in 
future. 
APEC – Intellectual Property Experts Group (IPEG)  
28. Australia continues to play an active role in  the APEC IPEG and considers it an important 
forum to foster cooperation, share information a nd experiences and advance consideration of issues 
such as enforcement and cooperation.  Officers from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and 
IP Australia attended the September 2010 and Marc h 2011 meetings of the APEC IPEG. Australia 
tabled the information paper 'Recent developments  in copyright in Australia' at the September 
meeting.  
APEC Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Pub lic Education and Awareness Programme and 
Intellectual Property Explorer 
29. The APEC IPR Public Education and Awaren ess Programme (2006-2010) is a multi-phase 
APEC-funded capacity building project, which conclude d in July 2010.  Conducted collaboratively by IP/C/W/560/Add.3 
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  the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS),  the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department 
(HKIPD) and IP Australia, the programme aimed to  enhance skills and provide resources to APEC 
economies to develop and implement public educa tion and awareness strategies that promote the 
effective use of IPR in the region.  
30. The Programme comprised several  earlier workshops that focu sed on the key elements of 
developing and implementing IPR awareness and education strategies. IPOS, HKIPD and IP Australia 
also developed a simple and useful Market Re search Guide to assist APEC economies to conduct 
IPR-related qualitative and quantita tive research.  The presenta tions from these workshops and 
Market Research Guide are available from the website http://www.apecipeg-pear.org . 
31. The final stage of the project was the delivery of Intellectual Property Explorer , a simple, free 
online business tool to help small and medium enterp rises (SMEs) identify and protect their IP assets.  
It contains a series of interactive diagnostic questions  designed to review each piece of IP in an SME's 
business and provide users with information on what they should consider as part of their IP business 
strategy.  The Intellectual Property Explorer was launched in July 2010 and is available from the 
website http://www.intellectua lpropertyexplorer.com . 
AANZFTA Economic Cooperation Support Programme  
32. The ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) Agreement entered into 
force on 1 January 2010. The Agreement includes a chapter on economic cooperation - the first time 
Australia has included such a provision in a free trade agreement.  The AANZFTA Economic 
Cooperation Support Programme (AEC SP) consists of a Support Unit within the ASEAN Secretariat 
and Work Programme activities worth up to $A20 million over five years.  The Programme is 
designed to provide technical assistance and capacity building for ASEAN Member States, 
particularly LDCs, to implement the free trade agreement. 
33. Intellectual property is a component of the AECSP, the objective of which is to provide 
comprehensive support for the development of soun d and balanced intellectual property systems in 
the AANZFTA region.  Activities are focussing on raising awareness on contemporary IP crime 
enforcement issues and building capacity to wards accession to the Madrid Protocol. 
III. SEMINARS 
34. Australian officials presented at the following re gional and international fora in the period 
July 2010 to June 2011: 
 WIPO-IPOS Policy Dialogue on 'Emerging Issues in the Field of Trade Marks' in Singapore 
in July 2010. Australia presen ted on its experiences in acceding to the Singapore Treaty on 
the Law of Trademarks and the Madrid Protocol. 
 'East Asia Plant Protection Forum' in Kuala Lu mpur, Malaysia in August 2010. IP Australia 
presented at the 3rd Workshop for Cooperation in the Harmonisation of Test Guidelines (TGs) 
and distinctness, uniformity and stability (DUS) testing.  The four-day programme 
summarised the implementation of plant breeders rights (PBR) in the region and strategies to reduce the DUS testing period. Hands-on techni cal tutorial sessions were also conducted. 
 APEC Seminar on 'Innovating IP Exploitation'  in Sendai, Japan in September 2010.  
IP Australia was a panellist and moderator during the seminar.  
 WIPO-ASEAN Sub-Regional Forum of 'Innovation through Effective Cooperation on Patent 
Examination' in Bangkok, Thailand in Oct ober 2010.  IP Australia presented on 'the  IP/C/W/560/Add.3 
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  Vancouver Group' for 'Leveraging Existing IT Infrastructure' and 'Our Approach to Work 
Sharing'. 
 International Copyright Forum on 18-19 November 2010 in China.  The forum's theme was 
'Music: Sounding Out the Future' and was orga nised jointly by the National Copyright 
Administration of China (NCAC) and the Worl d Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). 
AGD presented on 'Building the Music Future: Opportunities and Challenges for Developing 
Countries'. 
 WIPO 'IP Admin Seminar' in Tokyo, Japan in  January 2011.  IP Australia presented on 
'Development of Human Resources Related to IP', 'Forecasting and Planning Exercises' and 'Outreach Functions and Measures to Enhance Applications and Use of the IP Systems'. 
 ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement Intellectual Property Crime 
Conference in Sydney from 17-18 February 2011.   The conference aimed to facilitate the 
sharing of knowledge and best practices in identifying and investigating IP crime.  
Participants included representatives from customs and law enforcement and the judiciary, IP 
practitioners and members of AANZFTA Intell ectual Property Committee. AGD presented a 
paper on 'Combating Piracy Legislative Requirements'. 
 32
nd APEC IPEG Meeting in Washington DC, United States of America, in March 2011. 
Australia presented an informati on paper on 'Dream Shield', an IP Australia initiative to raise 
awareness of intellectual property rights to Indigenous Australians. 
 'WIPO/Indonesia International Forum on the Protection of Geographical Indications (GIs)' in 
Jakarta, Indonesia in April 2011.  IP Austra lia shared Australia's GIs experience.  
 'China Intellectual Property Symposium (F ICPI) on Comparison of Patent Prosecution 
Practice in Different Jurisdiction' in Shanghai, China in June 2011.  IP Australia presented on 
the 'IP System in Australia' and 'An Ex aminer's Perspective on Amendments'. 
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