WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
IP/C/W/559/Add.2 
19 October 2011 
 (11-5171) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English 
 
 
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES:  INFORMATION FROM 
OTHER INTERGOVERNMEN TAL ORGANIZATIONS 
 
UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE  
AND DEVELOPMENT (UNCTAD) 
 
Addendum 
  
At its meeting of 7 June 2011, the Council for 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 
13 October 2011. 
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Responding to the mandate received from Member States at the Ministerial Conference in 
Accra, as well as to intergover nmental requests under the WIPO De velopment Agenda and the World 
Health Assembly's Resolution 61.21 on a Global Stra tegy and Plan of Action on Public Health, 
Innovation and Intellectual Property, the UNCTAD Secr etariat, through its Intellectual Property (IP) 
Unit, implements a work programme on the devel opment dimensions of IP rights. The IP Unit 
conducts research and analysis on trade and deve lopment aspects of intellectual property and 
facilitates consensus-building in internationa l discussions on issues at the interface between 
investment and intellectual property.  Located in the Division on Investment and Enterprise, 
Investment Capacity-Building Branch, the IP Un it undertakes research and analysis, responds to 
requests for technical assistance and advises on po licy options in these fields for successfully 
integrating developing countries into the world economy.   
I. RESEARCH AND POLICY ANALYSIS 
1. The UNCTAD-ICTSD (International Centre for Tr ade and Sustainable Development) Project 
on Intellectual Property Rights and Sustainable De velopment is intended to address the concerns 
voiced by developing countries with respect to the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement and new 
developments in the area of intellectual property 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 inform ed participation in ongoi ng multilateral, regional 
                                                      
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/559/Add.2 
Page 2  
 
  and bilateral negotiations, as well as assisting national authorities in the implementation of 
international IP commitments and adoption of fo rward-looking national IPRs policies.  Since 2007, 
the project has been aiming to assist developing c ountries in integrating intellectual property issues 
into their overall development objectives.  Speci fically, UNCTAD provides technical assistance to 
interested governments in the form of Developm ent Dimension of Intellectual Property (DDIP) 
Reports (see below, Section 2 for details).  
2. In the area of research and policy analysis, UNCTAD and ICTSD continue the publication of 
a series of Policy Briefs  on issues related to the implementati on of the 45 WIPO Development Agenda 
recommendations.  The Policy Briefs aim to examine the issues in a creative manner with a view to 
identifying concrete recommendations and specifi c activities to foster implementation of the 
recommendations. Briefs published jointly by UNCTAD and ICTSD include, so far: 
(i) A2K and the WIPO Development Agenda: Time to List the Public Domain , by Uma 
Suthersanen, Reader in IP Law and Policy, School of Law, Queen Mary University of London, December 2008 (Policy Brief No.1); 
(ii) Does TRIPS Art. 66.2 Encourage Technology  Transfer to LDCs? An Analysis of 
Country Submissions to the TRIPS Council (1999-2007) , by Suerie Moon, Giorgio 
Ruffolo Doctoral Research Fellow and Doctoral Candidate, Center for International Development, Kennedy School of Governme nt, Harvard University, December 2008 
(Policy Brief No.2); 
(iii) Addressing the Interface between Patents and  Technical Standards in International 
Trade Discussions , by David Vivas-Eugui, then Deputy Programmes Director, 
ICTSD and Pedro Roffe, Senior  Research Fellow, ICTSD, February 2009 
(Policy Brief No.3); 
(iv) Negotiating Trade, Innovation and Intellectual Property: Lessons from the 
CARIFORUM EPA Experience from  a Negotiator's Perspective , by Malcolm Spence, 
Senior Coordinator, Intellectual Property Science and Technology Issues, Caribbean 
Regional Negotiating Machinery, Sept ember 2009 (Policy Brief No. 4); 
(v) The Bayh-Dole Model in Developing Countries: Reflections on the Indian Bill on 
Publicly Funded Intellectual Property , by Bhaven N. Sampat , Assistant Professor, 
Department of Health Policy and Manage ment, Columbia University, October 2009 
(Policy Brief No. 5); 
(vi) The Research and Experimentation Exceptions in Patent Law: Jurisdictional 
Variations and the WIPO Development Agenda , by Evans Misati, Kenya Industrial 
Property Office and Kiyoshi Adachi, Chief, IP Unit, UNCTAD, March 2010 (Policy Brief No. 7).  
(vii) The Structural Changes in the Glob al Pharmaceutical Marketplace and Their 
Possible Implications for Intellectual Property , by Brian Tempest, Partner, Hale & 
Tempest and former CEO, Ranbaxy, July 2011 (Policy Brief No. 10).  
3. Furthermore, the research and policy analysis conducted under this part nership to date has 
resulted in numerous other publications, including, inter alia : 
 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  IP/C/W/559/Add.2 
 Page 3 
 
 
  website ( http://www.iprsonline.org/ ) and was published by Cambridge University Press in 
February of 2005. 
 
 An Issue Paper Series  on various topical IPR issues including transfer of technology, public 
health, geographical indications, nutrition, trad itional knowledge, TRIPS-pl us in bilateral and 
regional agreements, innovation, competiti on, and computer software (see at 
http://www.iprsonline.org/ ).  
 
II. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE  
4. UNCTAD's IP Unit conducts technical assistance activities with developing countries in the 
integrated areas of investment, trade and intellect ual property.  These projects are on a request basis 
and funded by donor govern ments and institutions.  
A. IPR S AND LOCAL PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTION AND SUPPLY CAPACITY OF ESSENTIAL 
MEDICINES  
5. In 2005, UNCTAD was mandated by its Commi ssion 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 
 
6. In the pursuit of this mandate, UNCTAD est ablished 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 IP  Unit, is to assist developing countries, and 
least-developed countries (LDCs) in particular, to establish domestic intellectual property regimes that 
facilitate increased access to afford able medicines; and, where feasible, create local or regional 
pharmaceutical production and supply capacities, including in cooperation with investors.  The main 
outputs and activities of this programme are: 
 A Reference  Guide to Using IP Rights to Stimulat e Pharmaceutical Production in Developing 
Countries  (United Nations, New York and Geneva, 2 011).  This publication provides concise 
and practical information on ways to prom ote local pharmaceutical production and improve 
access to medicines through a variety of polic y tools, focusing on the flexibilities provided 
under TRIPS, and the interfaces between IP, trade and investment, drugs regulation and 
procurement strategies.  The Guide is used as the basis for training courses for stakeholders 
from selected developing countries.  It is available from http://www.unctad.org/ddip .  
 
 Investment in Pharmaceutical Production in th e Least Developed Countries. A Guide for 
Policy Makers and Investment Promotion Agencies (United Nations, New York and 
Geneva, 2011).  The objective is to provide c oncise policy recommendations on how to attract 
foreign direct investment in the pharmaceuti cal sector in LDCs.  This publication also 
explains the present reality of pharmaceutical  production in developing countries and the 
                                                      
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/559/Add.2 
Page 4  
 
  dynamics of investment in the pharmaceutical sector.  It is available from 
http://www.unctad.org/ddip . 
 
 The organization of training courses  for stakeholders from developing countries, using the 
above guide and accompanying training materials.   The beneficiaries identified to date are 
Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, 
Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, the United 
Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, the African Regional Intellectual Property 
Organization (ARIPO), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the East African Community (EAC), and the United Na tions Economic and Social Commission for 
Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).  The target audience consists of government officials and 
policy makers; local pharmaceutical companies and their legal counsels; as well as civil 
society, and academia.  The objective is to fa miliarize course participants with the tools 
available under the TRIPS Agreement to better a lign their intellectual property regimes with 
national health objectives.  
 
 The preparation of country advisory reports  on the national intellectual property and 
investment regimes of selected developing count ries.  These reports, which for the time being 
have been prepared for Ethiopia, Tanzania, a nd the EAC Secretariat, contain some detailed 
policy recommendations aimed at facilitating the establishment of local pharmaceutical 
production and supply capacity.  
 
 In April 2011, UNCTAD, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), 
and the German Federal Ministry for Econom ic Cooperation and Deve lopment (BMZ) hosted 
a conference on local pharmaceutical production in Africa in Cape Town, South Africa.  The conference reviewed the achievements of a numbe r of projects implemented to foster local 
pharmaceutical industries in Africa since 2006 and provided a platform for an in depth exchange among African countries and beyond on the key issues surrounding local pharmaceutical production at enterprise level, embedded in a national, regional and global 
context.  It included topics such as production, financing, quality, technology transfer as well 
as the use of TRIPS flexibilities and the harmonization of drug regulation.  
 B. UNCTAD
 COUNTRY CASE STUDIES ON TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY FOR LOCAL 
PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES   
7. In response to the request under the World Hea lth Assembly's Resolution 61.21 on a Global 
Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health , Innovation and Intellectual Property, UNCTAD has 
been asked to analyze cases of transfers of technol ogies to developing countries regarding the local 
production of pharmaceutical products.  This activity is carried out under the umbrella of a broader 
project implemented by the World Health Organizat ion (WHO) and funded by the European Union.  
The objective of the UNCTAD case studies is to identif y factors that are key to successful transfers of 
pharmaceutical technology to enable viable produ ction of and access to medicines in developing 
countries.  UNCTAD is currently publishing the studies in a series that comprises examples of 
technology transfers to local producers in the follo wing countries:  Argentina, Bangladesh, Colombia, 
Ethiopia, Indonesia, Jordan, Thailand and Uganda.  The case studies were presented at three regional 
dialogues organized by ICTSD under the same project in late 2009 and early 201 0 and will feed into a 
framework by WHO for assessing countries' capacities to improve access to medicines through local 
production, as well as their prospects for im proving health-related technology transfer.   IP/C/W/559/Add.2 
 Page 5 
 
 
  C. IPR S AND BIODIVERSITY  
8. In 2011, UNCTAD launched its new technical assistance progra mme on IP and biodiversity, 
with financial support from the Government of Ge rmany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperaton 
and Development and in cooperati on with German International C ooperation (GIZ).  The programme 
focuses on the building of local capacities, in develo ping countries, to design and enforce domestic 
trade, customs and IP laws in line with national socio-cultural and socio-economic interest as well as 
with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), its Nagoya Protocol and the UN Declaration of 
the Rights of the Indigenous Peoples. UNCTAD is  currently developing a manual on particular 
aspects of the interface between IPRs and biodi versity, with particular emphasis on the Nagoya 
Protocol.  The manual will be the basis for various UNCTAD and GIZ workshops planned in 
developing countries for 2012.  
D. DEVELOPMENT DIMENSION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (DDIP)  REPORTS  
9. Under the most recent phase of the joint UNCTAD-ICTSD Project on IPRs and Sustainable 
Development, UNCTAD is producin g, upon request by a developi ng country or least-developed 
country, advisory reports on the development dime nsions of intellectual property (DDIP).  The 
objective of a DDIP report is to examine devel oping countries' and LDCs' policy, legal and 
institutional framework for IPRs, particularly as it re lates to important development objectives such as 
innovation, technology, investment, competition, e ducation and health.  Developing countries specify 
the key development objectives they wish to examin e.  In addition, a DDIP report will take into 
consideration the bilateral, regi onal and international commitments the target countries have entered 
into and the flexibilities available to them.   
10. Based on this analysis, the reports will incor porate medium to long-term recommendations on 
how governments and other stakeholders coul d make these frameworks more coherent and 
transparent, with a view to making IPRs contri bute to a country's sustainable economic and human 
development goals, and respond to emerging global opportunities.  The aim is to present an analysis 
and recommendations designed to promote innovation and technology transfer from abroad, as well as 
a pro-competitive and transparent domestic IP sy stem. The DDIP reports take due account of the 
importance of maintaining an appropriate public dom ain and the means to pursue important public 
interest objectives.  
11. UNCTAD in June 2010 presented the first DDIP re port on Uganda to the country's Minister 
of State for Trade and other Ugandan stakeholde rs.  The policy recommendations contained in the 
DDIP report are based on stakeholder interviews and peer reviews undertaken throughout 2008 and 
2009.  The DDIP report Uganda is available at http://www.unctad.org/ddip .  
12. DDIP reports for Cambodia and Indonesia are currently underway.  
13. UNCTAD's fourth DDIP report will be initiated for the Government of Nepal in early 2012.  
E. RWANDA :  IP NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND IP POLICY /STRATEGY FOR IMPLEMENTATION   
14. Based on the 2009 "Draft Rwanda Intellectual Property Policy and Implementation Strategy", 
which UNCTAD helped Rwanda elaborate, Rw anda's Cabinet in March 2010 adopted the Rwanda 
Intellectual Property Policy , which provides for guidance and a road map on how to align the 
country's IP framework with Rwanda's national de velopment policy, Vision 2020.  Based on a parallel 
exercise by ICTSD in 2009, Rwanda in June 2010 communicated to the Council for TRIPS the country's priority needs for technical and fi nancial cooperation (see document IP/C/W/548 of 
7 June 2010).  IP/C/W/559/Add.2 
Page 6  
 
  F. E
GYPT : INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY POLICY AND RELATED POLICY ANALYSIS AND 
RECOMMENDATIONS  
15. Responding to a request from the National Intellectual Property Committee of Egypt in 
early 2011, UNCTAD is currently elaborating an Intellectual Property Policy, based on interviews 
with domestic stakeholders in May 2011.  
G. ETHIOPIA :  IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF TRIPS  IN ETHIOPIA  
16. In the context of Ethiopia's negotiations on WTO accession, the United Nations Development 
Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the Mini stry of Trade of Ethiopia in March 2011 invited 
UNCTAD to undertake a study on the potential impact of TRIPS implementation on Ethiopia's IP system. The European Commission provided the fi nancial support. UNCTAD is currently finalizing 
the study, based on field interviews conducted in Ethiopia in June 2011. 
H. C
OOPERATION WITH OTHER PROVIDERS OF IP-RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE  
17. Staff of UNCTAD's IP Unit frequently participate in capacity-building workshops on IP and 
development issues organized by ot her providers of IP-related tec hnical assistance.  For instance, 
UNCTAD's IP Unit in October 2011 made contributions to the WTO Workshop on Intellectual 
Property and Public Health , as well as the WTO Symposium on LDC priority needs .  The IP Unit also 
provided inputs to a draft trilateral (WTO/WHO/WIPO ) study on IP and public health.  IP Unit staff 
in February/March 2011 participated in the Second  and Third Intersessional Working Groups of the 
WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on IP and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and 
Folklore  (IGC).  
18. In September 2011, UNCTAD IP Unit staff pa rticipated in an Expert Meeting on Access and 
Benefit Sharing and Intellectual Property Rights , organized by GIZ in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia.  In 
August 2011, UNCTAD staff participated at the Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the 
Public Interest , organized by American University's Washington College of Law and ICTSD, in 
Washington, D.C.  In November 2010, the IP Unit ga ve inputs on the issue of IP and biodiversity at 
the International Seminar on the 15th Anniversary of TRIPS , organized by the Chinese Ministry of 
Commerce and the Shanghai WTO Consultation Center in Shanghai, People's Republic of China.  
III. CONSENSUS-BUILDING  
19. Consensus-building among stakeholders on issues of IP is an important element of the 
programme's work. UNCTAD's substantive contributions  on analysis of issues related to development 
and 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.  An 
example of the IP programme's consensus-bu ilding activities includes the UNCTAD-ICTSD side 
event to the WIPO IGC Third Intersessional Work ing Group on Genetic Resources on the issue of 
What Comes After Nagoya?  Addressing Developing Country Needs in Intellectual Property Rights 
and Biodiversity  on 3 March 2011.  
20. UNCTAD will be hosting an ad hoc expert grou p meeting focusing on the experience of the 
DDIP reports to date at the end of November 2011.  
For more information on UNCTAD's activities related to IP, please visit:  
http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Startpage.asp?intItemID=3423 ;  and  http://www.iprsonline.org/  
 
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