WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/W/456/Add.2 
20 October 2005 
 
 (05-4817) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English 
 
 
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES:  INFORMATION FROM 
OTHER INTERGOVERNMEN TAL ORGANIZATIONS 
 
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR THE PROTECTION OF 
NEW VARIETIES OF PLANTS (UPOV) 
 
Addendum  
  
 The present document reproduces the informa tion on technical and financial cooperation 
activities relevant to the implementation of the TR IPS Agreement, which has been received from the 
UPOV by means of a communication dated 5 October 2005.   
_______________ 
 
 
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION 
FOR THE PROTECTION OF NEW VARIETIES OF PLANTS (UPOV) 
FOR THE BENEFIT OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES 
 
 
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. The membership of UPOV has expanded worldwide, with many new members from 
developing countries and countries in transition to a market economy.  As of 15 October 2005, the 
number of UPOV members will have reached 60.   Moreover, 18 countries and one regional 
intergovernmental organization
1 have initiated with the Council of UPOV the procedure for becoming 
members of the Union.  There are also 47 other countries,2 which have been in contact with the Office 
of the Union with a view to developing legislation in line with the UPOV Convention.  
                                                     
 
 1 Armenia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Ge orgia, Honduras, Iceland, India, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mauritius, 
Morocco, Serbia and Montenegro, Tajiki stan, The former Yugosl av Republic of Macedoni a, Turkey, Venezuela, 
Viet Nam, Zimbabwe, as well as the African Intell ectual Property Organization (Benin, Burkina Faso, 
Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Togo (16)). 
 2 Algeria, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Barbados, Burundi, Cambodia, Congo (Democratic Republic of), Cuba, 
Cyprus, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvad or, Fiji, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Indonesia, 
Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran, Jamaica, Lao People' s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malawi, 
Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Phili ppines, Saudi Arabia, Seyc helles, Sri Lanka, Sudan, 
Suriname, Syria, Thailand, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, 
Yemen, Zambia . 
 
 IP/C/W/456/Add.2 
Page 2  
 
 2. Accordingly, there has been an increase in  the number of requests received from developing 
countries and countries in transition to a market economy for legal and technical assistance in the 
preparation and implementation of plant variety prot ection legislation.  In light of their emerging 
needs, UPOV places great importance on legal and te chnical assistance activities, subject to available 
financial and human resources. 
3. There is a demand-driven need to assist UP OV members that have acceded to the Union in 
the more recent past in the implementation of their UPOV-based system of plant variety protection.  The aim is to enable them to fully enjoy the bene fits and economic incentives the system is able to 
generate.  In the UPOV Programme and Budget for the 2004-2005 Biennium, the Council of UPOV 
approved a sub-programme in relation to services to  members of the Union, with the following 
objectives: 
• To maintain and improve the quality of protection provided by the UPOV system. 
 
• To provide and develop the le gal and technical basis for in ternational cooperation in a 
harmonized approach to plant variety pr otection according to the 1991 Act of the 
Convention.  
 
4. UPOV, as the leading institution in all matters of plant variety protection, has the obligation 
to provide assistance and advice to those countries having decided to become members of UPOV.  For 
this purpose, in the UPOV Programme and Budget for the 2004-2005 Biennium, the Council of UPOV also approved a sub-programme to assist possible future members of the Union with the 
following objectives:  
• To assist governments in implementing an effective plant variety rights system. 
 
• To assist governments, particularly governme nts of developing countries and countries in 
transition to a market economy, in the preparation and enactment of legislation conforming with the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention. 
 
5. UPOV has organized several assistance activities, some of them in cooperation with UPOV 
members and other international organizations, particularly the World Intellectual Property 
Organization (WIPO).  They have been carried out for the benefit of developing countries as well as 
other countries, since the policy is that assistance  should be provided where it is most needed to 
implement plant variety protection effectively.  UPOV now organizes various forms of workshops, in 
conjunction with its Technical Working Party mee tings, in order to give additional training 
opportunities to new and possible future members of UPOV. 
 
II. PROVISION OF LEGISLATIVE AND TECHNICAL ADVICE AND INFORMATION  
6. UPOV provided advice to States on plant va riety protection laws, commented on draft texts 
and, on request, assisted in preparing drafts of nati onal laws and regulations.  During recent years, it 
has provided assistance or advice on these matters to numerous developing countries. 
  IP/C/W/456/Add.2 
 Page 3 
 
 
 7. From 1 January 2004, to 30 September 2005, the Office of the Union provided information, 
advice or assistance and, in some cases, organized  advisory missions, to the following States: 
African/Arab 
Countries Asia/Pacific Latin America/ 
Caribbean Countries in 
Transition to a 
Market Economy 
Bahrain Bangladesh Argentina Albania 
Burundi Cambodia Barbados Armenia 
Cameroon China Bolivia Azerbaijan 
Congo (Democratic Republic of the) Democratic People's 
Republic of Korea Brazil Bulgaria 
Egypt India Chile Kyrgyzstan 
Irak Indonesia Colombia Lithuania 
Jordan Iran (Islamic Republic 
of)  Costa Rica Republic of Moldova 
Libyan Arab 
Jamahiriya Lao People's 
Democratic Republic Cuba Romania 
Mauritius Malaysia Dominican Republic Russian Federation 
Saudi Arabia Mongolia Ecuador  Serbia and Montenegro 
Senegal Myanmar El Salvador Tajikistan 
Sudan Nepal Guatemala Uzbekistan 
Syrian Arab 
Republic Pakistan Honduras  
Uganda Philippines Jamaica  
United Arab 
Emirates Singapore Mexico  
Zimbabwe Sri Lanka Nicaragua  
OAPI (African 
Intellectual Property Organization) Thailand Panama  
 Turkey  Paraguay  
 Viet Nam Peru  
  Uruguay  
  Venezuela  
 
 
III. SEMINARS, WORKSHOPS, TRAINING COURSES  
8. UPOV organized and cooperated in the orga nization of national seminars on plant variety 
protection.  UPOV has also organized internati onal seminars and extended courses for developing 
countries on subjects related to plant variety protection.  
9. UPOV has provided speakers and lecturers for seminars, workshops and training courses 
organized by other organizations or governments to assist with national efforts in the preparation and 
implementation of plant variety protection legisla tion and to promote intern ational understanding of 
plant variety protection.  
10. UPOV, in cooperation with the World In tellectual Property Organization (WIPO), has 
launched a distance learning programme with the aim of providing a clear understanding of plant 
breeders' rights under the UPOV Convention.  IP/C/W/456/Add.2 
Page 4  
 
 11. UPOV members continued to cooperate with the Office of the Union in the organization of 
practical training for indivi duals or courses for groups. 
 12. Seminars, workshops and training courses organized by UPOV or supported by UPOV, from 
January 1, 2004, to September 30, 2005, are summarized in the Annex to this document. 
 
[Annex follows] 
  IP/C/W/456/Add.2
 Page 5ANNEX 
 
Seminars, Workshops and Training Courses Organized or Supported by UPOV  
from 1 January 2004, to 30 September 2005  
 
Date  Venue  Co-organizers, sponsors  Activities  Participants  
(a) Meetings organized/co-organized by UPOV   
2004      
12 February Kuala Lumpur, 
Malaysia Ministry of Agriculture of 
Malaysia, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and 
Fisheries of Japan National Seminar on the Protection of 
New Varieties of Plants under the UPOV Convention Experts from the 
Government of Malaysia, Malaysian Agricultural 
Research and Development 
Institute (MARDI), universities and the breeding sector 
16 to 20 February Hanoi, 
Viet Nam Ministry of Agriculture and 
Rural Development of 
Viet Nam, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan Fifth Asian Regional Technical Meeting 
for Plant Variety Protection Officials from Bangladesh, 
Cambodia, China, India, 
Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, 
Philippines, Sri Lanka, 
Thailand, Viet Nam, and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and International Tropical Fruits Network (TFNet)  
 IP/C/W/456/Add.2 
Page 6 Date  Venue  Co-organizers, sponsors  Activities  Participants  
23 and 24 February Bangkok, 
Thailand International Rice Research 
Institute (IRRI), Ministry of 
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan Training Workshop on Plant Variety 
Protection Participants from 
International Network for 
Genetic Evaluation of Rice (INGER) and IRRI 
23 March Hammamet, 
Tunisia African Seed Trade Association 
(AFSTA), Groupement national 
interprofessionnel des semences 
et plants (GNIS), Ministry of 
Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources of Tunisia Regional Seminar on Plant Variety 
Protection under the UPOV Convention Participants mostly 
delegates to the Annual Congress 2004 of African 
Seed Trade Association 
(AFSTA) 
5 June Seoul, 
Republic of 
Korea Ministry of Agriculture and 
Forestry of the Republic of 
Korea Technical Workshop on the Examination 
of New Varieties of Plants under the 
UPOV Convention Participants from the 
Republic of Korea 
9 to 11 June Beijing, China State Forestry Administration of 
China, Ministry of Agriculture of China, State Intellectual Property Office of China, 
Ministry of Agriculture, 
Forestry and Fisheries of Japan Workshop on Data Handling Officials from China, 
Mongolia, Singapore and Viet Nam 
12 and 13 June Beijing, China State Forestry Administration of 
China, Ministry of Agriculture of China, State Intellectual Property Office of China, 
Ministry of Agriculture, 
Forestry and Fisheries of Japan Workshop on the Benefit of Regional 
Cooperation and the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention Officials and breeders from 
China, Mongolia, Republic of Korea, Singapore and Viet Nam  
  IP/C/W/456/Add.2
 Page 7Date  Venue  Co-organizers, sponsors  Activities  Participants  
20 to 22 September Serdang, 
Malaysia Ministry of Agriculture of 
Malaysia, Ministry of 
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan National Training Course on the 
Protection of New Plant Varieties Officials, scientists and 
breeders from Malaysia 
27 September Kishinev, 
Republic of Moldova Ministry of Agriculture and 
Food Industry of the Republic of Moldova National Workshop on Plant Variety 
Protection Officials from the 
Government of the Republic of Moldova 
28 September Bucharest, 
Romania Ministry of Agriculture, Forests 
and Rural Development of Romania, State Office for Inventions and Trademarks (OSIM) National Workshop on Plant Variety 
Protection Officials from the 
Government of Romania 
30 September Sofia, Bulgaria Ministry of Agriculture and 
Forestry of Bulgaria National Workshop on Plant Variety 
Protection Officials from the 
Government of Bulgaria 
8 and 9 November Bridgetown, 
Barbados Corporate Affairs and 
Intellectual Property Office (CAIPO) of Barbados National Seminar on Plant Variety 
Protection Scientists, attorneys and 
government officials from Barbados 
11 and 12 November Kingston, 
Jamaica Ministry of Science and 
Technology and the Intellectual Property Office of Jamaica (JIPO) Regional Seminar on Plant Variety 
Protection Scientists, attorneys and 
officials from JIPO and the Ministry of Agriculture  
 IP/C/W/456/Add.2 
Page 8 Date  Venue  Co-organizers, sponsors  Activities  Participants  
2005      
18 February Phnom Penh, 
Cambodia Ministry of Industry, Mines and 
Energy (MIME) of the Kingdom of Cambodia National Seminar on the Protection of 
New Varieties of Plants under the UPOV Convention Experts from the Ministry 
of Industry, Mines and Energy, Ministry of 
Agriculture, Forestry and 
Fisheries, Royal University of Agriculture 
21 February Hanoi,  
Viet Nam Ministry of Agriculture and 
Rural Development of Viet Nam National Seminar on the Protection of 
New Varieties of Plants under the UPOV 
Convention Experts from the Ministry 
of Agriculture and Rural 
Development 
23 and 24 February Managua, 
Nicaragua The Secretaría de Integración 
Económica Centroamericana 
(SIECA) , through the Proyecto 
de Propiedad Intelectual 
SIECA-USAID , the Ministerio 
de Fomento, Industria y Comercio de Nicaragua 
(MIFIC ), through the Registro 
de la Propiedad Intelectual de 
Nicaragua y del Proyecto de 
Fortalecimiento de la Gestión del Comercio Exterior (BID ) Seminario Regional Sobre el Sistema 
UPOV (Énfasis en el Acta de 1991) para la Protección de las Obtenciones Vegetales Costa Rica, Guatemala, 
Honduras, Nicaragua 
15 March Yaoundé, 
Cameroon African Seed Trade Association 
(AFSTA) and the African Organization for Intellectual Property (OAPI) Workshop on the protection of plant 
varieties Participants at Annual 
Congress of AFSTA from Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, 
Cameroon, Central African 
Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia,  
  IP/C/W/456/Add.2
 Page 9Date  Venue  Co-organizers, sponsors  Activities  Participants  
Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, 
Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, 
Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia 
8 to 10 May Karaj, Islamic 
Republic of 
Iran Ministry of Jihad-e-Agriculture 
of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Center for Agricultural Research 
in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), 
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan  West and Central Asian Regional 
Workshop on Plant Variety Protection 
under the UPOV Convention and its Relationship with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture Participants from 
Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, 
France, Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, United Arab 
Emirates, Uzbekistan 
12 May Aleppo, Syrian 
Arab Republic General Organization of Seed 
Multiplication, Ministry of 
Agriculture and Agrarian 
Reform of the Syrian Arab Republic Briefing on plant variety protection under 
the UPOV Convention Participants from the 
Government of the Syrian 
Arab Republic 
16 and 17 May Ankara, 
Turkey Ministry of Agriculture and 
Rural Affairs of Turkey National Seminar on Plant Variety 
Protection under the UPOV Convention Participants from the 
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, other 
institutions, seed companies 
8 to 12 August Santa Cruz de 
la Sierra, Bolivia Oficina Española de Variedades 
Vegetales (OEVV), Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional (AECI), WIPO, 
FAO Cuarto Curso de Formación para Países 
Iberoamericanos Sobre la Protección de las Obtenciones Vegetales y el Acceso a los Recursos Fitogenéticos para la 
Agricultura y la Alimentación Participants from 
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, 
Dominican Republic, 
Ecuador, El Salvador,  
 IP/C/W/456/Add.2 
Page 10 Date  Venue  Co-organizers, sponsors  Activities  Participants  
Honduras, Mexico, 
Nicaragua, Panama, 
Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela 
25 and 26 August Jakarta, 
Indonesia Ministry of Agriculture of the 
Republic of Indonesia, Ministry of Agriculture, 
Forestry and Fisheries of Japan National Seminar on the Protection of 
New Varieties of Plants under the UPOV Convention Participants from the Plant 
Variety Protection Office, Indonesia, Ministry of 
Agriculture, government 
agencies, universities, seed companies 
29 August to 2 September Singapore Intellectual Property Office of 
Singapore (IPOS), the 
Agri-Food and Veterinary 
Authority of Singapore (AVA), Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries  Sixth Asian Regional Technical Meeting 
for Plant Variety Protection Officials from Bangladesh, 
Cambodia, China, India, 
Indonesia, Lao Peoples' 
Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, 
Sri Lanka, Thailand and 
Viet Nam, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), International Tropical Fruits Network (TFNet), seed industries 
(b) Meetings for which UPOV provided speakers  
2004     
5 May Geneva, 
Switzerland WIPO/World Association for 
Small and Medium-sized 
Enterprises (WASME) Lecture on plant breeder's right and Small 
and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) at 
the WIPO-WASME special programme 
on Intellectual Property Rights Issues Entrepreneurs, economists, 
bankers, lawyers and 
accountants  
  IP/C/W/456/Add.2
 Page 11Date  Venue  Co-organizers, sponsors  Activities  Participants  
27 and 28 May Berlin, 
Germany International Seed Federation 
(ISF) International Seminar on the Protection of 
Intellectual Property and Access to Plant 
Genetic Resources Seed companies from all 
over the world 
4 June Geneva, 
Switzerland WIPO  Interregional In termediate Seminar on 
Intellectual Property IPR experts from selected 
countries 
21 June Wageningen, 
Netherlands Centre for Genetic Resources 
(CGN) Course on Plant Variety Protection International participants 
5 July Geneva, 
Switzerland WTO  WIPO-WTO Colloquium for Teachers of 
Intellectual Property Law Professors from developing 
countries 
12 to 14 July Asunción, 
Paraguay Latin-American Seed Federation 
(FELAS) XIX Pan-American Seed Seminar Participants from the seed 
industry, government institutions and scientists 
19 and 20 July Montevideo, 
Uruguay European Union, Government of 
Uruguay Intellectual Property Rights in Plant 
Varieties Representatives from the 
seed industry, farmers' associations, government officials, scientists and intellectual property 
attorneys  
22 July Santiago, 
Chile Ministry of Agriculture, 
Chile/National Association of Seed Producers/Fresh Fruit Association, Chile First Seminar on Intellectual Property in 
Plants Participants from the seed 
industry, farmers' associations, government officials, scientists and intellectual property 
attorneys 
1 September Gent, Belgium International Association of 
Horticultural Producers (AIPH) Annual Congress of AIPH AIPH members  
 IP/C/W/456/Add.2 
Page 12 Date  Venue  Co-organizers, sponsors  Activities  Participants  
7 to 9 September Tokyo, Japan Japan International Cooperation 
Agency (JICA), Ministry of 
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan Training course on plant variety 
protection Officials from Argentina, 
Bangladesh, Bolivia, China, 
Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam 
12 to 15 September Seoul, 
Republic of 
Korea Asia and Pacific Seed 
Association (APSA) Annual Congress of APSA 500 delegates, including 
government officials and 
companies from the APSA 
members 
29 September Geneva, 
Switzerland WIPO World Wide Academy, 
University of Turin, Italy Video conference as part of a Master of 
Laws in Intellectual Property Students from 20 different 
countries  
2005     
7 to 11 March Limbé, 
Cameroon African Intellectual Property 
Organization (OAPI) Workshop on the implementation of plant 
variety protection  OAPI officials, experts 
from Cameroon, Senegal, etc. 
12 May Aleppo, Syrian 
Arab Republic International Centre for 
Agricultural Research in the Dry 
Areas (ICARDA) Briefing on plant variety protection under 
the UPOV Convention Researchers from ICARDA 
22 and 23 August Tokyo, Japan Japan International Cooperation 
Agency (JICA) Training Course on the Protection of Plant 
Breeders' Rights Participants from 
Argentina, China, Kenya, Philippines, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe, and Japan 
 
 
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