WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
IP/C/W/560/Add.4 
14 October 2011  
 
(11-5073) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English 
 
 
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES: 
INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS 
 
CANADA 
 
Addendum 
   The following communication, dated 6 October 2011, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Canada. 
 
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 1. Pursuant to Article 67 of the Agreement on Tr ade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property 
Rights (TRIPS), the Council for TRIPS requests th at developed country Members report on their 
technical and financial cooperation programmes in fa vour of developing and least developed country 
Members.  The present document provides an update  on Canada's activities concerning technical and 
financial cooperation in the area of  intellectual property in favour of  developing and least developed 
country Members.  
2. Canada has undertaken a number of technical cooperation activities at the bilateral, regional 
and multilateral levels.  Canada's  bilateral efforts are mainly focused on the Latin American, 
Caribbean and Asia-Pacific regions.  Canada's regi onal activities are mainly undertaken in the context 
of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Intellect ual Property Rights Expert's Group (APEC-IPEG), 
where Canada participates in the organization's bi annual deliberations aimed at sharing information 
and best practices on intellectual property rights.  At the multilateral level, Canada works in close 
collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). 
3. The following summary provides an update of these activities, wh ich are mainly administered 
by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (C IPO), the Canadian International Development 
Agency (CIDA), International Development Research  Centre (IDRC), Health Canada (HC) and the 
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).  Other Cana dian institutions, such as the Centre for Trade 
Policy and Law (CTPL) and Department of Foreign A ffairs and International Trade (DFAIT), are also 
involved in international tec hnical cooperation efforts.   
I. CANADIAN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE (CIPO) 
4. CIPO hosted its annual CIPO/WIPO Executive Workshop  on the " Application of 
Management Techniques in the Delivery of Intellectual Property Services ".  The training course is 
open to nationals from the following Regions: Latin America; Caribbean Region; Asia-Pacific; the 
Middle East; Africa; and Eastern Europe.   
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  5. In May 2011, the Canadian Intellectua l Property Office (CIPO) hosted its 14
th annual CIPO-
WIPO Executive Workshops in Otta wa.  Eleven Senior Officials from Bangladesh, Brazil, Croatia, 
Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, the Phili ppines, Serbia, South Africa, Tajik istan, and Thailand participated 
in the 5-day workshop. Delegates discussed the "Application of Management Techniques in the 
delivery of Intellectual Property Services".  The Workshop included presentations on topics such as 
quality, leveraging international re lationships, understanding client need s, the challenges of designing 
a proper national intellectual property policy and the role of WIPO in the promotion of intellectual 
property. It also provided participants with insigh t into the Canadian Intellectual Property system and 
the management techniques used at CIPO, with a vi ew to improve the capacity  of intellectual property 
officials in developing countries. Both CIPO and WIPO bear all costs associated with this workshop. 
6. In July 2011, four officials from Barbados, Belize, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines 
received training from CIPO and WIPO officials on the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) system.  The two day session was held at CIPO and covered all aspects of the PCT process.  All costs were covered by WIPO and CIPO.  
7. CIPO provides other activities in favour of deve loping and least developed country Members, 
including the following: 
 performing state-of-the-art searches under the WIPO Patent Information Searches for 
developing countries (14 requests in 2010/11); 
 
 providing search and examination reports of  patent applications under the WIPO 
Programme of International Cooperation in th e Search and Examination of Inventions 
(ICSEI);  and 
 
 supplying free copies of Canadian patent documents for developing countries, upon 
request from WIPO.  
 
II. CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (CIDA) 
8. The APEC-WTO Capacity Building Initiative Ec onomic Integration Programme (APEC-EIP) 
is a Canadian International Development Agency  (CIDA) CAN$9.95 million initiative, implemented 
with the Conference Board of Canada and the Este y Centre for Law and Economics in International 
Trade, aiming to build the capacity of government  agencies and departments in four APEC economies 
in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesi a and the Philippines) as well as Cambodia and Lao 
PDR.  In Cambodia, APEC-EIP has developed an intellectual property component to enforce 
intellectual property rights and train personnel in the country.  In 2007-2008, with the expert advice of 
APEC-EIP, the Ministry of Commerce drafted the legislation on "Trade Secrets and Undisclosed 
Information" and related sub-decrees and, at th e request of the Secretary of State, APEC-EIP 
developed a training curriculum on the new legislation for members of the Cambodian judiciary.  In addition, APEC-EIP has developed - and delivered - a broader training curriculum on trade policy and 
the WTO, in which the course entitled "Introduction  to Trade Policy and the WTO", makes reference 
to the TRIPS Agreement, as part of its review of the scope of WTO sectoral coverage.  The 
responsibility for the training curriculum is now bei ng transferred to the newly created South East 
Asia Trade Policy Training Network (SEATRANET) , which is receiving institutional support by 
APEC-EIP. 
III. INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH CENTRE (IDRC) 
9. For technical cooperation with developing coun tries, Canada's International Development 
Research Centre (IDRC) supports research in developing countries to promote growth and 
development.  It does so using a "grants-plus" a pproach that combines financial support to create new  IP/C/W/560/Add.4 
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  opportunities for research, engagement with recipients  in the research process, and brokering that 
helps strengthen research-to-policy linkages.  IDRC  works with researchers and innovators in the 
developing world, to develop their own ideas, comm unicate their results, and contribute to the larger 
efforts to reduce poverty.  IDRC provides techni cal assistance related to research design and 
methodology, communication and evaluation.  The work  of IDRC is part of Canada's international 
assistance and is guided by the International Development Research Centre Act .   
10. Under the Strategic Framework 2010-2015, IDRC focuses on agriculture and the 
environment, science and innovation; social and ec onomic policy; and global health policy.  Within 
each focus, programmes define the specific devel opment problem and identify the most promising 
approaches to address them.  
11. Recent outcomes of IDRC programmes include:  
 Research showing that African countries have not  taken advantage of the provisions available 
in the TRIPS agreement such as patent pooling, and the research exemption, to access patented knowledge for innovation.  Such finding s help developing countries strike a balance 
between patent protection and en couraging innovation in areas critical to social development. 
 
 In Asia, IDRC-funded research in several deve loping countries pioneered the use of a dozen 
languages into Internet compatible fonts –i ncluding Urdu spoken in Pakistan, Afghanistan 
and India– rendering the Internet accessible  to tens of millions of people.   
 
 African researchers are developing interoperabl e eHealth solutions, utilizing open standards 
and architectures to help countries implement national health information systems.  This work 
was selected as a vehicle to test the World Health Organization Health Metrics Network 
Framework in pilot countries.  
The following recent IDRC publications also help  describe IDRC's support to research on technology 
use in developing countries:   
 
 Strengthening Rural Livelihoods: The Imp act of Information and Communication 
Technologies in Asia 
("http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Resources/Publications /Pages/IDRCBookDetails.aspx?PublicationI
D=830 ") 
 Local Governance and ICTs in Africa: Case Studies and Guidelines for Implementation and 
Evaluation    
 (" http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Resources/Publications /Pages/IDRCBookDetails.aspx?PublicationI
D=829 ") 
 Global Innovation in Emerging Economies  
("http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Resources/Publications /Pages/IDRCBookDetails.aspx?PublicationI
D=796 ") 
 
IV. HEALTH CANADA (HC) 
12. Health Canada (HC) continues to take opportunities at international venues to inform drug 
regulatory authorities from developing and least developed countries about Canada's Access to 
Medicines Regime (CAMR), which came into effect  in May 2005.  CAMR was established to enable 
Canada to respond to the 30 A ugust 2003 Decision of the WTO on th e Implementation of Paragraph 6 
of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreemen t and Public Health and permit the export of 
lower-cost versions of patented therapeutic produc ts from Canada to developing and least developed 
countries with inadequate or no manufacturing capac ity.  As an example, Health Canada provided IP/C/W/560/Add.4 
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  information to drug regulatory authorities from African nations during World Health Organization 
consultations that took place in December 2006 and June 2007.  In June 2009, Canada's formal 
acceptance of the Amendment to the TRIPS Agre ement was communicated to the WTO showing 
Canada's commitment to the Regime and the issue of access to essential medicines.  In October 2010, 
Health Canada participated at the WTO TRIPS Council Meeting and provided details to member 
countries on the CAMR framework.  Health Canada  also outlined its experience with the Apotex-
Rwanda export and respon ded to their questions. 
13. In addition, Health Canada contributed to de veloping OECD Guidelines for the Licensing of 
Genetic Inventions, which include guidance on best  practices for governing licensing in genetics to 
address urgent and unmet health needs in developed and developing countries.  More generally, these 
guidelines, which focus on access for public health systems and health researchers, provide a model 
governance mechanism for progressive licensing in hea lth sciences that would benefit health systems 
in developing countries as well as developed countr ies with public health care systems.  Health 
Canada is working to develop approaches to optim ally disseminate, publicize, promote and facilitate 
the uptake of the OECD Guidelines through a ra nge of appropriate ch annels in Canada. 
V. ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE (RCMP) 
14. Since 2007, the RCMP contributes to International Intellectual Property Crime Training 
Seminars hosted by Interpol each year.  The seminars  have been given to participants from developed 
and least developed countries, facilitating the ex change of best practices and techniques, and 
networking. 
15. The RCMP and Health Canada are also ac tive members of the Permanent Forum on 
International Pharmaceutical Crime (PFIPC).  The forum re-groups 15 developed countries and 
members from the private sector, allowing for the exch ange of best practices, information on trends 
and enforcement initiatives and networking.  In Se ptember 2011, and for the fourth consecutive year, 
the PFIPC and Interpol organized "Operation Pangea"  (an International Week of Action) to raise 
public awareness of the risks of buying medicines on the internet.   81 developed and least developed 
countries participated in Operation Pangea IV.  
VI. OTHER CANADIAN INSTITUTIONS AND RESOURCES 
16. Other Canadian institutions have also been involved in providing technical assistance to 
developing and least deve loped country Members. 
17. For example, the Canada-based Centre for Trade Policy and Law (CTPL) is a Canadian 
institution that provides developing and transition economies with guidance and support to sustain 
them in the short-term and with  the knowledge and tools to ensu re their full participation in 
international trade agreements, including specific training on intellectual property law and policy 
issues.  CTPL offers a Certificate Programme  in Trade Policy and Commercial Diplomacy each 
summer in Ottawa, Canada, that teaches the fundame ntals of international trade agreements, trade 
policy formulation, and trade negotiation skills.  The course includes a two-day module on TRIPS and 
related issues.  The course is attended primarily  by government officials from developing countries 
and countries in transition whose attendance is sponsored by CIDA. 
18. Lastly, officials from the Department of Forei gn Affairs and International Trade participated 
as speakers in the "WTO regional workshop for cen tral and eastern European and central Asian 
countries", held in Vienna from January 26 to Ja nuary 28, 2011.  The workshop addressed a number 
of important policy issues under negotiation or consider ation in the field of intellectual property in the 
WTO, including climate change, Public Health and the protection of geographical indications. Canada 
offered its perspective on biotechnology, traditiona l knowledge and biodiversity , paragraph 6 of the  IP/C/W/560/Add.4 
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  Doha declaration on the TRIPS agreement and Public  Health (Canada's Access to Medicines Regime), 
and the protection of geographic indications. 
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