WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
IP/C/W/557 
4 October 2011 
 (11-4804) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights  
 
 
 
WTO SECRETARIAT TECHNICAL COOPERATION IN THE TRIPS AREA 
 
Note by the Secretariat 
 
 
    
 
This document reports on the WTO Secretaria t's technical cooperation activities concerning 
TRIPS undertaken between 1 October 2010 and 30 September 2011.  It covers activities that 
specifically relate to intellectual property (IP) and the TRIPS Agreement, as well as some activities of 
a broader character which have a significant IP com ponent.  It follows the previous report to the 
TRIPS Council contained in document IP/C/W/553, dated 25 October 2010.   
Main Orientations 
1. The Secretariat's technical cooperation activities in relation to TRIPS continue to focus on 
assisting Members to understand the rights and oblig ations, including the available options, which 
flow from the TRIPS Agreement and relevant deci sions of WTO bodies.  In particular, Members 
receive assistance regarding the flexibilities in th e TRIPS Agreement, including the Paragraph 6 
Mechanism on TRIPS and public health, and the interplay between TRIPS standards and policy 
choices, as well as notifications and reviews of nati onal legislation.  Technical cooperation activities 
also aim to support Members to participate fully and substantively in the WTO's ongoing work on 
TRIPS matters, in particular building their capacity to assess what is at stake for them in issues under 
negotiation, examination or review.  The Secretar iat has paid increasing attention to building self-
sustaining capacity in developing countries, including through the training of trainers and 
strengthening regionally-based expertise.  
2. Technical cooperation is driven essentially by demand from Members.  The diversity of needs 
and interests identified by Members has led to  increased tailoring and focussing of technical 
assistance activities on specific areas of interest  or sectoral policy themes, complementing the 
activities that provide general overviews of the TR IPS Agreement.  The Secretariat also assisted 
countries to prepare for accession to the WTO and trained officials of acceding countries.  The 
technical assistance programme further prioritized assi stance to least developed countries, in the light 
especially of the needs assessment and coordination of technical assistance foreseen in paragraph 2 of the Decision on the Extension of the Transiti on Period under Article 66.1 for Least Developed 
Country Members.
1  The emphasis on the individual priority needs of LDCs was carried through 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 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/557 
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  programme delivery and through closer interagency coordination.  The past focus on ensuring 
complementarity and cooperation with other inte rgovernmental organizations has been further 
enhanced, with a particular focus on coordinating on public health and IP technical assistance with WIPO and the WHO.  Technical cooperation on TR IPS has been delivered through information and 
advice given to Members in Gene va, and through study programmes, training courses, seminars and 
workshops for developing count ries in Geneva and elsewhere. 
Information and Advice to Members 
3. Secretariat officials have provided information in response to questions put to them by 
representatives of Member governments on a wide range  of IP matters, e.g. notification and review 
procedures, the meaning of particular provisions of  the TRIPS Agreement, the options available under 
these provisions and matters under discussion or nego tiation in the TRIPS Council.  Both Geneva 
delegations and visiting officials raise such matters , and similar requests result from direct contacts 
from officials in capitals on issues such as domestic draft legislation or the ongoing work and negotiations in the TRIPS Council.  Officials fr om acceding countries have also asked for and 
received advice and information on a host of IP issues. 
4. To facilitate the process of LDC needs assessmen t and coordination of technical co-operation 
established by the TRIPS Council in 2005, and at th e request made by Angola and Tanzania on behalf 
of the LDC Group at the Council's meeting on 8 June 2009, the Secretariat convened a regional 
workshop on needs assessment for French-speaking Africa (Dakar, Senegal, 9-11 November 2010), 
mirroring the two regional workshops previously he ld respectively for Eng lish-speaking Africa and 
for the Asia Pacific Region (see IP/C/W/553, para . 4).  October 2011 will see a culminating workshop 
in Geneva which will draw together the experi ence harvested from these regional workshops, and 
consider the way ahead. 
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 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 first Advanced Trade Policy Course , held in Geneva for English-speaking countries 
from 13 September to 2 December 2010, also incl uded 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. 
6. The Eighth joint WIPO-WTO Colloquium for Teachers of Intellectual Property from 
Developing Countries, convened from 20 June to 1 Ju ly 2011, was a major element of Geneva-based 
technical assistance in this period.  For the WTO, it formed part of the wider approach in the WTO 
Biennial Technical Assistance and Training Plan  2010-2011 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 univers ity teachers of IP in developing countries on the 
activities and instruments of WIPO and the WTO, to  strengthen the independent research and teaching 
capacity of developing countries on IP law and policy, and to provide a forum for exchange of information and ideas between the teachers and the two Secretariats on these matters.  The 
Colloquium programme emphasized recent developmen ts and policy issues under debate in the two 
Organizations.  In addition to speakers from the two Secretariats and from the WHO and the UPOV, 
several Geneva-based delegates as well as repre sentatives from industry and NGOs shared views on 
certain topical issues under discussion or negotiation.  Participating university teachers also made  IP/C/W/557 
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  presentations on selected topics.2  Papers presented at the Colloquium of 2010 have been compiled 
and published by WIPO and the WTO and are av ailable on line as an edited volume, intended to 
provide a resource for researchers and analysts c overing contemporary IP and TRIPS issues from the 
perspective of a wide range of developing countries.3 
7. The third joint WIPO-WTO Advanced Cour se on Intellectual Property was held on 
16-27 May 2011 as an important component of the Ge neva-based activities.  This initiative drew on 
the experience of earlier successful Colloquium for t eachers of IP, and applied a similar programme 
structure and pedagogic strategy, but was tailored a nd focussed on government officials and public 
sector policymakers instead of university teachers and researchers.  The course also built on the 
notion of gradual and progressive learning:  in or der to qualify for the course, the candidates had to 
complete the WTO eTraining TRIPS Course or possess commensurate knowledge or professional 
experience.  Most of the selected participants ha d completed either the WTO eTraining Course or the 
WIPO Distance Learning Course, and the course was ab le to work from a truly advanced baseline and 
thus explore cutting edge issues through interactive debate and practical case studies, so as to strengthen the capacity of government officials and policymakers to critically review policy options 
and their implications, and to learn from the wi de range of practical experiences covered in the 
programme.
 4 
 Outside Geneva 
8. An important part of WTO technical cooperation in the field of IP has been the organization 
of, or participation in, international, regional and national seminars, work shops and other events 
outside Geneva.  The Annex to this document lists the technical cooperation missions outside Geneva 
organized by, or involving, staff of the WTO Intellectual Property Division.  
9. In accordance with the above-mentioned WTO Bi ennial Technical Assistance and Training 
Plan 2010-2011, two regional workshops with a focus on certain topical issues under discussion, examination or negotiation in the TRIPS contex t, in particular TRIPS and public health, 
biotechnology/traditional knowledge/biodiversity, and geographical indications were held during the 
reporting period:  in Vienna, Austria, from 26 to 28 January 2011, for Central and Eastern Europe, 
Central Asia and Caucasus, and San José, Costa Ri ca, from 8 to 11 March 2011.  The aim of the 
workshops was to provide information and an oppor tunity for an exchange of views among countries 
of the region that would facilitate their effectiv e participation in the ongoing negotiations or 
discussions.  Another objective was to provide an improved understanding of the WTO and the 
TRIPS Agreement, including the health-related flexib ilities in that Agreement and the operation of the 
Paragraph 6 System.  The programmes for these wo rkshops provide for presentations by WTO staff 
members and representatives of WIPO and WHO. 
10. Other important elements of the Secretariat regional technical assistance activities included 
two workshops on IP held in Singa pore.  The first one was held fr om 1 to 4 November 2010 under the 
Singapore-WTO Third Country Training Programme .  This event followed a new and improved 
format designed to respond to demands from Memb ers and Observers to put WTO and TRIPS rules 
into the larger context of policy choices in the area of IP policy, with a particular focus on current 
developments and challenges.  Focussing on copyri ght and enforcement, this advanced workshop 
combined in-depth explanation of the international regime of  relevant IP rules in TRIPS and WIPO 
treaties with a comprehensive analysis by interna tional academics of IP policy options available under 
the international regime in these areas.  Anothe r workshop was convened from 9 to 11 February 2011 
                                                      
 2 For the programme, go to: 
 http://www.wto .org/english/tratop_e/tr ips_e/wipo_wto_collo quium_program11_e.pdf . 
3 http://www.wto.org/english /tratop_e/trips_e/wipo_wto_colloquium_aug11_e.pdf  
 4 For the programme, go to: http://wto.org/english/tratop_e/dev el_e/train_e/course_details_e.htm  IP/C/W/557 
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  by the Singapore Government through the initiative of the Temasek Foundation.  This was a pilot-
level project to combine expertise in the WTO in th e areas of IP and trade economics, with a view to 
developing capacity on the specific role of IP rights in relation to technology transfer in certain technological sectors, with a particular focus on  climate change and environmentally friendly 
technology.   
11. In addition, the WTO organized five  national seminars or workshops devoted to IP matters, in 
cooperation with the host country (Samoa, from 13 to 14 October 2010, Trinidad and Tobago, from 27 to 28 January 2011, Bahamas, from 1 to 2 February 2011, Israel, from 21 to 22 February 2011 and Ecuador, from 11 to 13 May 2011).  WIPO sent a sp eaker to the national workshops in Samoa and 
Ecuador. 
12. One of the features of activities during the r ecent years has been the broader WTO events 
outside Geneva which have included a significant TR IPS component.  The Secretariat contributed, in 
partnership with universities, to six WTO regional Trade Policy Courses with an important IPR component.  In the context of co-operation with universities, the staff of the Intellectual Property 
Division has also participated in the 1th Su mmer Programme on WTO organized by the Shanghai 
Institute of Foreign Trade which took place in Shanghai from 6-12 July 2011. 
 eTraining  
13. A TRIPS module in the WTO eTraining Courses is an important component of WTO 
technical cooperation in the field of IP.  These are web-based courses for developing countries and economies in transition, which are either WTO Me mbers or observers.  Participants have online 
access to course material, background documents, in teractive sessions (chat, discussion forum and 
enquiry board).  They are assisted throughout th e course by a tutor, a course administrator and a 
helpdesk.  The course took place from 18 October to  10 December 2010, in Spanish.  An important 
new feature is that since January 2011 eTraining is available in English, Fren ch and Spanish all-year-
round.  In the invitations to workshops and ot her training activites on the TRIPS Agreement, the 
Secretariat recommended giving priority to officials having successfully completed the WTO TRIPS 
eTraining course.  
Cooperation with WIPO and other Intergovernmental Organizations 
14. 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 cooperation5, 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 
Members6, and based on the 1995 Cooperation Agre ement as well as the 2001 WIPO-WTO Joint 
Initiative, the two Organizations have further intensified their cooperation. 
                                                      
5 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. 
6 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  IP/C/W/557 
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  15. The WTO Secretariat has also cooperated in the provision of technical cooperation in the area 
of TRIPS with other intergovernmental organizations .  In particular, this period saw an increased 
focus on activities on public health and IP in di alogue with the WHO and WIPO, including the 
strengthening of coordination on relevant tec hnical cooperation and th e provision of factual 
background information.  Among others, the thre e organizations jointly organized a technical 
symposium on "Access to Medicines, Patent Inform ation and Freedom to Operate" in Geneva on 
18 February 2011.7  The symposium's objective was to addr ess the growing importance of the patent 
information for public health, and more specifica lly to highlight the importance of easy access to 
patent information for providing access to medicines.  It provided an opportunity for participants with 
different backgrounds, coming from Governments, civ il society organizations and industry, to share 
experiences, take stock and look at future needs.  
                                                                                                                                                                     
making technical assistance and capacity  building as effective and operational as possible, the WTO shall seek 
to enhance its cooperation with the World Intellect ual Property Organization and with other relevant 
international organizations." 
7 For more information see http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news11_e/trip_21jan11_e.htm IP/C/W/557 
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  ANNEX 
 
 
Technical Cooperation Missions in the TRIPS Area from 1 October 2010 to 30 September 2011 
(Activities outside Geneva.  For Geneva-b ased events, see paragraphs 5 to 7 above) 
 
Date Place Mission 
13-14 October 2010 Apia, Samoa WTO Nati onal Seminar on the TRIPS Agreement 
13-14 October 2010 Istanbul, Turkey TRIPS Sessions in WTO Short Trade Policy 
Course for CEECA 
19-21 October 2010 Ho Chi Minh City, 
Viet Nam Conference on Sustainable Technology Transfer 
1-4 November 2010 Singapore  WTO Advanced Regional Workshop on 
Challenges for a Modern Copyright System for WTO Members and Observers in Asia and the 
Pacific 
9-10 November 2010 Dakar, Senegal WTO Workshop for LDC Members and  
Observers from French-speaking Africa on the "Assessment of Priority Needs to Implement the TRIPS Agreement"  
15-16 November 2010  Manzini, Swaziland TRI PS Sessions in WTO Regional Trade Policy 
Course for English-Speaking African Countries 
15-17 November 2010 Cotonou, Benin TRIPS Sessions in WTO Regional Trade Policy 
Course for French-Speaking African Countries 
26 November 2010 Montevideo, 
Uruguay TRIPS Sessions in WTO Short Trade Policy 
Course for ALADI Members 
26-28 January 2011 Vienna, Austria WTO Regional Workshop on Intellectual Property 
and Public Policy for CEECA 
27-28 January 2011 Port of Spain, 
Trinidad and Tobago WTO National Seminar on TRIPS and Public 
Health 
1-2 February 2011 Nassau, Bahamas WTO National Seminar on TRIPS for Customs 
Officials 
9-11 February 2011 Singapore WTO Th ird Country Training Programme on 
"Promoting Green Innovation" 
21-22 February 2011 Israel WTO National Seminar on TRIPS 
8-11 March 2011 San José, Costa Rica WTO and IICA Regional Workshop on Intellectual 
Property and Public Policy  IP/C/W/557 
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  Date Place Mission 
22-24 March 2011 Bogota, Colombia TRIPS Sessions in WTO Regional Trade Policy 
Course for Latin America 
11-12 May 2011 Abu Dhabi, United 
Arab Emirates TRIPS Sessions in WTO Short Trade Policy 
Course for Arab and Middle East Countries 
6-10 July 2011 Shanghai, China TRIPS Sessions in WTO 4th Summer Programme 
11-13 May 2011 Quito, Ecuador WTO Nati onal Workshop on TRIPS, Intellectual 
Property and Public Policy 
20-21 September 2011 Istanbul, Turkey TRI PS Sessions in WTO Short Trade Policy 
Course for CEECA 
 
 
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