WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/W/480/Add.1 
12 October 2006 
 (06-4931) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English 
 
 
REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 
OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT 
 
NEW ZEALAND 
 
Addendum  
 
 The following communication, dated 29 September 2006, from the Delegation of 
New Zealand is being circulated pursuant to pa ragraph 1 of the Decision on Implementation of 
Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement. 
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This submission provides an update report on New Zealand's activities in pursuit of 
commitments under Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Ag reement concerning technology transfer to 
least-developed countries (LDCs) for the period July 2005 - June 2006. 
Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement provides that "developed country Members shall 
provide incentives to enterprises and institutions in their territories for the purpose of promoting and 
encouraging technology transfer to least-developed co untry Members in order to enable them to create 
a sound and viable technological base." 
Technology transfer is interpreted in this re port broadly to include training, education and 
"know-how", along with any capital component.  Us ing the United Nations definition, New Zealand 
sees four key modes of technology transfer:  (i) phy sical objects or equipment;  (ii) skills and human 
aspects of technology management and learning; (iii)  designs and blueprints which constitute the 
document-embodied knowledge on in formation and technology;  a nd (iv) production arrangement 
linkages within which technology is operated. 
I. OVERVIEW OF INCENTIVES, TYPES OF TECHNOLOGY AND THE MODES OF 
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER 
1. New Zealand's efforts to encourage technology tr ansfer to LDCs occur through a variety of 
channels or modes:  through b ilateral and regional de velopment assistance programmes, through 
encouraging trade in goods and services, and th rough facilitating a strong intellectual property 
environment. 
2. The main vehicle for the channelling of New Zealand's technology transfer to LDCs is 
through the New Zealand Agency for Interna tional Development (NZAID).  NZAID views 
technology transfer as an implicit element in achie ving its overall objective of reducing poverty.  Due 
to New Zealand's history, culture and geographi cal location, most of the relevant programmes 
implementing Article 66.2 focus upon LDCs in New Zealand's neighbouring Asia-Pacific region.  
While New Zealand operates an open and compe titive tendering process a larger proportion of New 
Zealand's development assistance activities are implemented by New Zealand organisations.  This 
report identifies relevant regional and bilateral act ivities.  Any relevant activities of multilateral 
agencies that New Zealand provides core funding to are not reflected in this report. IP/C/W/480/Add.1 
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  II. ODA ACTIVITIES PROVIDING TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER TO LDCS  
3. NZAID does not provide any direct incentives to New Zealand organisations to promote 
technology transfer to LDCs.  In the coming year the New Zealand Ministry of Research, Science and 
Technology (MoRST) will be carrying out a scoping  study on the input New Zealand science can 
have towards Pacific development objectives.  Th e project will analyse current New Zealand science 
input towards the development objectives of Pacific Countries and Territories, and scope the potential 
for further contributions, including how MoRST can best support New Zealand science to contribute towards development outcomes in the region.  The study is supported through NZAID’s ODA 
contestable fund for government agencies. 
4. NZAID’s bilateral and regional programmes do,  however, provide technology transfer 
through training, skill development, and technolog y infrastructure.  This section provides further 
background on a selected number of the bilateral and regional programmes as examples of technology 
transfer to least-developed countries.  The figur es quoted are for the year to June 2006.  The 
information provided is based on the reporti ng criteria agreed by the TRIPS Council in 
February 2003. 
A. NZAID:
 REGIONAL APPROACHES  
5. New Zealand provides LDCs with transfers of technology and assistance to encourage 
investment through various regional assistance progra mmes.  In some cases it is difficult to separate 
expenditure specifically provided to LDCs, although it is clear that LDCs within these regions benefit 
from these programmes. 
1. Pacific Economic and Trade-related Activities 
6. Sound economic management and appropriate policies (e.g. ICT regulation) are critical to 
encourage technology transfer, trade and investment.  NZAID provides funding to various regional organisations that provide economic advice, capacity building, or support the development of trade or 
investment: 
• the Private Enterprise Partnership helps design and deliver business support to and 
promote a business enabling environment for SMEs ($NZ780,000) 
• the Foreign Investment Advisory Servi ce provides policy advice to governments on 
creating an environment friendly to foreign and domestic direct investment and the 
private sector ($NZ810,000) 
• the Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Cent re assist countries to have the skills and 
institutional capacity to effectively manage  their economies (for example, helping the 
Solomon Islands to modernise their tax and customs divisions)  ($NZ560,000) 
• the Pacific Islands Trade and Investment Commission office in Auckland aims to 
enhance trade, investment and tourism opportunities for Pacific Island businesses ($NZ890,000) 
7. NZAID is also funding a Regional Trade Facilita tion Project to assist Forum Island Countries 
in the areas of sanitary and phytosanitary me asures, customs procedures, and standards and 
conformance ($NZ1million over three years).  IP/C/W/480/Add.1 
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  8. Funding has been obtained from NZAID to enab le representatives from Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga, 
Samoa, Kiribati and Papua New Guinea to atte nd the New Zealand Intellectual Property Office 
Asia-Pacific IP Office Forum in November 2005.   
9. NZAID has funded the installation of a New Ze aland-designed customs database (PC Trade) 
in a number of Pacific Island Countries, including several LDCs.  We also fund helpdesk services 
(provided by Statistics New Zealand) to enable countries to effectively utilise this technology. 
2. Pacific Environmental Activities 
10. NZAID annually provides financial support to the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional 
Environment Programme (SPREP) and South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) ($NZ1.76m and $NZ1.55m respectively). These agen cies in turn provide technical assistance to 
Pacific Countries and Territories in the areas of biodiversity management, climate change 
adaptation, land management and ocean resource us e, water and sanitation, and hazard and disaster 
management. 
3. Greater Mekong Subregion Trade and Development Programme 
11. In 2005/06 this programme amounted to $N Z3.24 million, with the aim of assisting 
developing countries to harness international trade fo r development.  This is achieved by building 
partners’ capabilities at the government level to legisl ate, regulate and implemen t, and at the business 
level in terms of production tec hniques and business skills, including elements of technology transfer.  
The projects involve the LDCs Cambodia, Lao PDR a nd Myanmar (Viet Nam is also a participant in 
some activities).  In 2005/06 the programme included:  
• building the legislative and regulatory capabilities of governments  in phytosanitary 
matters as well as building capacity to ensure effective p est surveillance and 
management and phytosanitary inspections; 
• improving government capabilities in food safety/quality; 
• building capacity of government in metrology (consistent weights and measures) to 
develop legislation and regul ation and provide world-class inspection and testing, 
including through provision of technical hardware/equipment to assist in this area. 
4. Africa:  Basic Education  
12. New Zealand’s development assistance to Africa is  concentrated in the south and east of the 
continent, and focuses on basic education, incl uding non-formal training, rural livelihoods, food 
security and projects that address the impact of HIV/AIDs.  Expenditure for the Africa programme in 2005/06 was $NZ4.9 million which includes programmes under a grant assistance system in Zambia, 
Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique, and provides assistance to African LDCs through 
multilateral agencies, the Emergency Management and Disaster Relief (EMDR), and the Voluntary 
Agency Support Scheme (VASS).    
B. E
XAMPLES OF NZAID  BILATERAL PROGRAMMES  
1. Kiribati:  Marine Training Centre (MTC) 
13. Kiribati is an independent Micronesian country cons isting of 33 atolls and reef islands.  It is 
one of the poorest countries in the Pacific, and very  dependent on income from fishing – both in terms 
of the sale of fishing licences and from remittances from  mariners at work on foreign owned vessels.  IP/C/W/480/Add.1 
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  The primary emphasis of the NZAID Kiribati programme is basic education, human resource 
development, public sector capacity building and ur ban development.  In the year to June 2006 
New Zealand’s bilateral assistance to Kiribati amount ed to $NZ1.9million, with around 78% of this 
for education and training.  This included a range  of scholarships and training activities both within 
Kiribati and overseas.  Support will increase in the coming year to $NZ3.1 million.  
14. An example of NZAID’s assistance is our support to the Kiribati Marine Training Centre 
(MTC), which is intended to maintain the compe titiveness of Kiribati’s seamen in the maritime labour 
market.  Expenditure on training at the MTC was $NZ201,000 in the year to June 2006.  Over the next five years we are expecting to provide an additional $NZ1.5 million to support capability 
building at the MTC and provide training at the New Zealand Maritime School.  
2. Tuvalu: Education Programmes 
15. In Tuvalu, a small constitutional monarchy of 10,000 people spread over nine low-lying coral 
atolls, New Zealand’s ODA programme strategy is focused on supporting ec onomic development and 
reform; promoting self-reliant local developm ent on the outer islands; and human resource 
development.  In 2005/06, we provided $NZ900,0 00 to Tuvalu in bilateral funding for various 
education activities (additional assistance was provi ded through NZAID’s regional programmes).  
This included:  
• scholarships to study in New Zealand and in the region, e.g. at the University of the 
South Pacific and Fiji School of Medicine, to transfer knowledge and expertise to further the social and economic development of Tuvalu 
• short courses and training attachments in New Zealand and in Fiji to improve the 
technical and vocational skill base in Tuvalu 
• technical assistance for costing proposed high priorities for the Tuvalu Education 
Sector Implementation Plan (TEIP) for the 2006-2010 period, and supporting policy 
development for a national early childhood education system; 
• designing a programme for capacity build ing activities to upskill island councils’ 
officers to improve administration and utilisa tion of the Falekaupule  Trust Fund, whose 
focus is to help fund small to medium sc ale development projects in outer islands.  
3. Future Prospects 
16. As NZAID’s programmes evolve over time differe nt elements of technology transfer will 
feature.  For example, New Zealand is beginning a two-year programme with the Government of 
Vanuatu to develop an Educati on Information Management System that will provide essential 
management information for planning, monitoring and evaluation for the Ministry of Education.  The 
cost is likely to be $NZ1.5 million over 2006/07 and 2007/08.  
III. OTHER PROGRAMMES WITH A TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER COMPONENT   
A. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY  
17. New Zealand has been actively involved in th e development of the South Pacific Forum 
Regional Framework on Intellectual Property.  Ne w Zealand has provided technical assistance and 
advisors in developing national, regional and international rules and legislation to protect the 
intellectual property rights of indigenous pe oples.  This has led to the creation of a sui generis  system 
to protect traditional knowledge a nd expressions of culture that can be adopted by South Pacific 
nations, many of which are LDCs.  IP/C/W/480/Add.1 
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  18. The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) provides ongoing technical 
assistance, on request, to help developing and l east developed countries on issues relating to the 
registration of intellectual property rights, including plant variety rights.  Some specific examples include technical training and seminars on plant va riety right protection and hosting the Asia-Pacific 
IP Office Forum, an opportunity for economies from the Asia-Pacific region to share experiences and 
gain knowledge in relation to th e running of their IP offices. 
 
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