WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/W/495 
27 September 2007 
 (07-4083) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Original:   English 
 
 
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES:  INFORMATION FROM 
OTHER INTERGOVERNMEN TAL ORGANIZATIONS 
 
UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE  
AND DEVELOPMENT (UNCTAD) 
   At its meeting of 5 June 2007, the Council fo r TRIPS agreed to invite intergovernmental 
organization observers to the Council to update th e information on their technical and financial 
cooperation programmes relating to the impl ementation of the TRIPS Agreement.   
  The present document reproduces the informati on which has been received from the United 
Nations Conference on Trade and Development ( UNCTAD) by means of a communication dated 
12 September 2007.    
 Communications from other intergovernmental or ganizations will be circulated as addenda to 
this document.  
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UNCTAD's Work in the Area of Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Rights 
 
 
 Responding to the mandate provided in the São Paolo Consensus  and the Bangkok Plan of 
Action , UNCTAD’s work programme on Transfer of Technology and Intellectual Property Rights 
(TOT-IP) conducts research and policy analysis , technical assistance, as well as facilitates 
international consensus-building on issues of invest ment, technology transfer and intellectual property 
in international discussions.  Located in the Di vision on Investment, Technology and Enterprise 
Development, the TOT-IP programme seeks to identi fy policy options in these fields for successfully 
integrating developing countries into the world economy.  
 
1. Research and policy analysis 
 
 UNCTAD’s research and policy analysis on issues related to technology transfer  draws 
lessons from experiences with technology transf er and diffusion in developing countries and the 
effectiveness of the different modes of technology transfer and examines how technology transfer is 
treated in international agreements.  The studi es address government officials, international 
organizations and agencies, and researchers.  The following are some of UNCTAD’s representative publications on technology transfer.  
• UNCTAD has compiled a Compendium of International Arrangements on Transfer of 
Technology: Selected Instruments .  This compendium contains  TOT-related provisions drawn IP/C/W/495 
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  from international agreements/instruments. It includes relevant excerpts of international 
instruments at the multilateral, regional,  inter-regional and bilateral levels.  
 
• UNCTAD’s series Transfer of Technology for the Successful Integration in the Global 
Economy consists of  a number of case studies on TOT issues in individual industries in 
selected developing countries.  These studies draw lessons from successful experiences with 
the transfer and diffusion of technology through various channels.  
  
• Home-country measures in promoting TOT.  This study presents an overview of initiatives 
and measures as well as incentives provided to indu stry and public institutions in developed 
countries to facilitate the transfer of technology  to developing countries.  It covers measures 
that promote technology transfer through investment, training, matchmaking services, 
financing and development of the technological absorptive capacity of developing countries.  
 
• Taxation and Technology Transfer: Key Issues.  This study assesses the impact of taxation in 
developed and developing  counties on the transfer of technology, and seeks to shed light on 
the formulation of tax policies and could fac ilitate technology transfer.  The study presents 
extensive national tax policy op tions designed to facilitate te chnology transfer, along with 
several government initiatives, measures and in stitutions, as well as incentives provided to 
industry aimed at facilitating the transfer of technology.  
 
 The UNCTAD-ICTSD (International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development) 
Project on Intellectual Property Rights and Sustainable Development  is intended to address the 
concerns voiced by developing countries with resp ect to implementation of the TRIPS Agreement and 
new developments in the area of intellectual prope rty rights (IPRs) contained in multilateral treaties 
and regional and bilateral free trade agreements.
1  The project aims at improving the understanding of 
the development implications of IPRs; facilitating informed participation in ongoing multilateral, 
regional and bilateral negotiations, as well as assistin g national authorities in the implementation of 
international IP commitments and adoption of forw ard-looking national IPRs policies.  The research 
and policy analysis conducted under this partnershi p to date has resulted in numerous publications, 
including:  
• A Resource Book on TRIPS and Development  providing a development-oriented analysis of 
each provision of the TRIPS Agreement, taking into account economic and social 
implications and IPR trends in non-WTO foru ms.  The book is available on the project 
website ( www.iprsonline.org
) and was published by Cambridge University Press in 
February of 2005. 
 
• A Study Series  on various topical IPR issues including transfer of technology, public health, 
geographical indications, nutrition, traditiona l knowledge, TRIPS-plus  in bilateral and 
regional agreements, innovation, comp etition, and computer software.  
 
• Regional Research Agenda made up of a series of policy-oriented research papers on specific 
IP issues, written by field-based experts re presenting each region.  The studies focus on 
specific IP issues that have been identified as research gaps by participants in UNCTAD-
ICTSD Regional Dialogues (see below).  They analyze development concerns in IP debates, with a view to contributing directly to national and regional policy-making.  The studies involve collaboration between regional resear ch institutions in developing countries. 
                                                     
 
1 Since 2001, the project has benefited from the financial support of the UK Department for 
International Development (DFID), the Swedish Intern ational Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and 
the Rockefeller Foundation.  IP/C/W/495 
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• At the regional and national level,  the project works closely with selected centres of 
excellence based in established universities and research institutions in developing countries, 
as well as with NGOs, media and parliamentarians. The main means of collaboration are joint research and regional dialogues, which draw on the existing and ongoing research described 
above. 
 
 UNCTAD and ICTSD are currently exploring with donors on the possibility of a follow-up 
project, with a view to assisting developing countr ies in integrating intellectual property issues into 
their overall development objectives.  
 Finally, UNCTAD has also recently commenced research on intellectual property 
provisions in bilateral a nd regional economic agreements .  First results of this research are 
available in UNCTAD's International I nvestment Arrangements Monitor No. 1 
(at www.unctad.org/tot-ip
).  
 2. Technical assistance  
 
 UNCTAD’s TOT-IP programme conducts tec hnical assistance activities with developing 
countries in the integrated areas of investment, inte llectual property and transfer of technology.  These 
projects are on a request basis and funded by donor governments and institutions.  
  IPRs and local pharmaceutical production and supply capacity of essential medicines.  
In 2005, UNCTAD was mandated by its Commission on Investment, Technology and Related 
Financial Issues to engage on work  related to the local manufacturing and supply of pharmaceutical 
products, in the context of MDG 8, Target 17.
2  The Commission recommended that: 
 
"UNCTAD should, within its work programme  on investment, technology transfer and 
intellectual property, assess ways in which developing countries can develop their 
domestic productive capability in the supply of essential drugs in cooperation with pharmaceutical companies."
3 
 
 In the pursuit of this mandate, UNCTAD established in 2006 a pilot programme on local 
pharmaceutical production with the financial s upport of Germany and the United Kingdom.  The 
overall objective of the programme, implemented by the TOT-IP team, is to assist developing countries, and least-developed countries (LDCs) in  particular, to establish domestic intellectual 
property regimes that facilitate increased access to affordable medicines; and, where feasible, create 
local or regional pharmaceutical production and supply capacities, including in cooperation with 
investors.  The main activities of this programme are: 
 
• The preparation of a Stakeholders' Reference Guide to IP and Related Policies .  The objective 
is to provide concise and practical informa tion on ways to promote local pharmaceutical 
production and improve access to medicines through  a variety of policy tools, focusing on the 
flexibilities provided under TRIPS, and the interf aces between IP, trade and investment, drugs 
regulation and procurement strategies.  The Gu ide will be the basis for training courses for 
stakeholders from selected developing countries.   The Guide is currently being finalized.  
 
                                                     
 
2 "In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in 
developing countries".  
3 See at http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/c2l22_en.pdf  (paragraph 9 (c) of the Agreed 
Recommendations). IP/C/W/495 
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  • The organization of training courses for stake holders from developing countries, using the 
above guide and accompanying training materials.   The beneficiary countries identified to 
date, based on requests for technical assistance,  are Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, and the 
United Republic of Tanzania.  The target audien ce consists of government officials and policy 
makers; local pharmaceutical companies and their legal counsels; as well as civil society.  The 
objective is to familiarize course participan ts with the tools available under the TRIPS 
Agreement to better align their intellectual prope rty regime with national health objectives.  
The first regional training course took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in March 2007 
(see http://www.unctad.org/sections/dite_t otip/docs/dite_pcbb_ias0049_en.pdf).  
 
• The preparation of country reports on the national intellectual property and investment 
regimes of selected developing countries.  Thes e reports, which for the time being have been 
prepared for Ethiopia and Tanzania, contain some detailed policy recommendations aimed at 
facilitating the establishment of local pharm aceutical production and supply capacity.  
 
3. Consensus-building  
  Consensus-building among stakeholders on issues of TOT-IP is an important element of the 
programme’s work. UNCTAD’s 
substantive contributions  on analysis of issues  related to 
development and TOT-IP have enabled it to  become an important forum, through its 
intergovernmental machinery, where governments, academia, civil society and the private sector can 
meet to exchange ideas.  Examples of the TOT-IP  programme’s consensus-building activities include 
the following:  
• UNCTAD has been requested by WTO  to provide substantive inputs to the deliberations at its 
Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology .  UNCTAD studies on TOT have 
been presented to the WTO Working Group for its consideration and the comments of the 
Working Group have been taken into account in the finalization of the studies. 
 
• The TOT-IP programme has also been providing substantive servicing of the UNCTAD 
Commission on Investment, Technology and Related Financial Issues deliberations on 
technology-related issues. 
 
• In October 2006, UNCTAD convened an ad hoc expert seminar on intellectual property 
arrangements and its implications for develo ping country productive capabilities in the 
supply of essential medicines .  An intergovernmental expert  group meeting on this topic is 
planned for 2007.  
 
• In February 2007, UNCTAD and the Stockholm Network convened a debate on 
pharmaceutical IPRs , featuring distinguished panelists from academia, civil society and the 
private sector. 
 
• In June 2007, UNCTAD organized jointly with  the Public Interest Intellectual Property 
Advisers (PIIPA) and the Stockholm Network a  debate on "Defining the Public Interest in 
Intellectual Property" .  Panelists included renowned IP experts from academia, civil society 
and the private sector. 
 
• The joint UNCTAD-ICTSD Project  on Intellectual Property Rights and Sustainable 
Development  has convened a series of dialogues involving key policy makers and 
stakeholders at the Rockefeller Foundation faciliti es in Bellagio, Italy, in order to build and 
promote a development-oriented agenda on IPRs.  In Geneva , regular informal encounters  IP/C/W/495 
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  with stakeholders are organized to raise awaren ess of emerging and technical issues related to 
IP and to discuss development implications.  
For more information, please visit:  www.unctad.org/tot-ip ; and  www.unctad.org/iia 
 
 
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