WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/W/549/Add.4 
25 October 2010 
 
 (10-5557) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English 
 
 
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES:  INFORMATION FROM 
OTHER INTERGOVERNMEN TAL ORGANIZATIONS 
 
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) 
 
Addendum  
   At its meeting of 8-9 June 2010, 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 im plementation of the TRIPS Agreement. 
 The present document reproduces the information which has been received from the World 
Health Organization (WHO) by means of a communication dated 22 September 2010. 
_______________ 
  
I. INTRODUCTION   
1. The Constitution of WHO states that the enjoym ent of the highest attainable standard of 
health is one of the fundamental rights of every hum an being.  In recent years, the scope and content 
of the right to health has been further clarified in international law.  Access to essential medicines 
today is established as a part of the right to health that obliges governments to work for its progressive 
realization and intellectual property rights are one of the many determinants for access to medicines.  
2. WHO has a longstanding mandate to work at th e interface of public health and intellectual 
property.  This was reinforced by the WHO Global strategy and plan of action on public health, 
innovation and intellectual property  that states that "the WHO shall play a strategic and central role in 
the relationship between public health a nd innovation and intellectual property …".  
3. In fulfilling this mandate WHO has been work ing continuously and in collaboration with 
other relevant international orga nizations and together with WHO Country and Regional Offices, to 
support its Member States in their endeavours to apply and manage intellectual property in a manner 
that maximizes health-related innovation, protects pu blic health and promotes access to medicines for 
all.  
 IP/C/W/549/Add.4 
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  II. PUBLIC HEALTH, INTELLECTUAL PROP ERTY RIGHTS AND ACCESS TO 
MEDICINES 
A. T
HE GLOBAL STRATEGY ON PUBLIC HEALTH , INNOVATION AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY  
4.  In May 2008, the 61st World Health Assembly adopt ed Resolution WHA61.21 on the Global 
strategy and plan of action on public he alth, innovation and intellectual property . One year later, the 
World Health Assembly adopted some additional el ements, including on stakeholders responsible for 
implementation and progress indicators (WHA62.16).   
5. With regard to intellectual property the global strategy recognizes the importance of patents 
as incentive for the development of new health-care products, but concludes that "this incentive alone 
does not meet the need for the development of new products to fight diseases where the potential 
paying market is small or uncertain".  It also affirms that "there is a crucial need to strengthen innovation capacity as well as capacity to manage  and apply intellectual property in developing 
countries, including, in particular, the use to the full of the provisions in the TRIPS Agreement and 
instruments related to that agreement, which provi de flexibilities to take measures to protect public 
health". 
6. Within WHO, the Department of Public He alth, Innovation and Intellectual Property (PHI) 
coordinates the implementation of th e global strategy and plan of acti on. PHI is directly responsible 
for the issue of public health, trade and intellectua l property and thus the im plementation of relevant 
actions of the global strategy and plan of action and other relevant WHO resolutions.  
B. WHO
 POLICY PERSPECTIVES  
7. Lack of access to medicines is due to a wide array of reasons, including poverty, lack of 
availability, inefficient healthcare systems, includi ng weak supply systems, insufficient financing of 
health care systems, geographic and cultural isola tion, and high prices of medicines.  Although the 
great majority of medicines on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines1 are off-patent, 
intellectual property protection is one of the dete rminants for access to medicines, especially  
antiretrovirals as well as other new innovative medicines for non-communicable and chronic diseases 
where the patent term has not yet expired.  Patent s have an impact on price, as the exclusive rights 
granted to the patent holder allow the holder to keep  generic medicines out of the market and to enjoy 
monopoly prices for a defined period of time.  Generi c competition in the market however is one of 
the most efficient mechanisms to bring prices down.  
8. WHO's work in this field has been driven  essentially by demand and mandate from the 
Member States.  WHO's main role is to assist th em in safeguarding public health interests while 
adhering to their obligations under international trade agreements.  In this work, PHI is guided by the 
global strategy and plan of action a nd the relevant resolutions adopted by the World Health Assembly.   
Implementation activities focus on technical coopera tion, including capacity building and training as 
well as direct technical assistance.  
9. In accordance with the global st rategy, WHO strengthened its efforts to effectively coordinate 
work in the field of public health and intell ectual property with other relevant international 
organizations.  To this end, the Director-Gener al of WHO exchanged letters with the Directors-
General of the World Intellectual Property Organi zation (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization 
(WTO) to enhance collaboration and coordination of the respective activities in this field.  Based on 
this exchange of letters officials from the three secr etariats meet regularly to coordinate activities and 
                                                      
1 WHO (2010), WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, 16th list (updated), March 2010, 
http://www.who.int/medicines/publicati ons/essentialmedicines/en/index.html  IP/C/W/549/Add.4 
 Page 3 
 
 
  to discuss possible areas of joint cooperation ar ound public health and intellectual property.  The 
trilateral cooperation will foster the understanding of public health policy and intellectual property 
and is facilitating the way for a mutual supportive implementation of public health and intellectual 
property policies. 
III. WHO TECHNICAL COOPERATION 
10. More than fifteen years after the adoption of  the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) developing c ountries continue to express a need for assistance 
on how to address the health implications of trade-re lated intellectual property rights.  In particular, 
least developed countries have requested assist ance with the implementation of the substantial 
requirements of the TRIPS Agreement once the curren t transitional periods have  expired.  A recent 
study published by the WIPO showed that despite  the opportunities provided by TRIPS flexibilities, 
many countries have yet to amend their laws to incorporate these flexibilities, which is a precondition 
for their use.2    
11. WHO's priorities in technical cooperation have thus been to provide Member States with 
information, training and technical assistance on how  to apply and manage intellectual property in a 
manner that maximizes health-related innovation and promotes access to medical products.  Special 
emphasis has been given to the implementation a nd use of flexibilities and public policy options in 
accordance with the TRIPS Agreement and the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and 
Public Health to promote implementation of th e TRIPS Agreement that is supporting access to 
medical products and needs driven innovation. In the past years, WHO has focused  its work on a 
number of areas, including  (1) policy and technical  guidance;  (2) training and enhancing capacity 
and (3) direct country support. 
A. POLICY AND TECHNICAL GUIDANCE  
12. Based on the global strategy and plan of action and other relevant resolutions, WHO 
continues to develop technical and policy guidan ce in the form of publications and briefing 
documents.    
13. In this regard, WHO is in the process of finalizing a joint United Nations Development 
Programme (UNDP), UNAIDS and WHO brief on the flexibilities in the TRIPS Agreement to 
improve access to HIV/AIDS treatme nt.  The paper will review how countries can use and have used 
the flexibilities of the TRIPS Agreemen t to increase access to HIV treatment. 
14. Within the context of element 4 of the global strategy and plan of action, WHO has initiated a 
European Commission supported project in partnershi p with the United Nations Conference on Trade 
and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development 
(ICTSD) that will examine the main obstacles to the transfer of pharmaceutical-related technology to, 
and local production in, developing countries.  Work includes a survey of relevant stakeholders; a 
review of existing initiatives and support schemes ; and an overview on tr ends in health-related 
technology transfer and local production.  Additio nally, the project scope has been expanded to 
include vaccines and diagnostics. 
15. Information on the patent status is often not easily accessible.  Especially in developing 
countries there is often considerable uncertainty over the existence of patents with regard to specific 
medicines.  WHO together with WIPO is thus su pporting the University of New Hampshire School of 
                                                      
2 WIPO (2010), Patent Related Flexibilities in the Multilateral Legal Framework and their Legislative 
Implementation at the National and Regional Levels, Committee on Development and Intellectual Property, 
Fifth Session, Geneva, April 26 to 30, 2010, CDIP/5/4 IP/C/W/549/Add.4 
Page 4  
 
  Law in a project that is aimed at assessing the pate nt status of medicines on the WHO Model List of 
Essential Medicines.  
16. Access to reliable information about the pate nt status of pharmaceutical products is also 
important for organizations involved in medicines procurement that often have limited knowledge of 
and little experience in establishing whether a partic ular medicine is under patent in a particular 
country.  In an effort to assist them, the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia and the WHO 
Regional Office for Western Pacific have prepared a guide that describes a step-by-step approach to 
locating information about patents on medicines by us ing resources that are available in the internet.
3 
17. Together with WIPO, WHO is in addition wo rking on developing a global patent landscape 
on patenting trends in the field of vaccines.  To date, no comprehensive overview on the patent trends 
in the field of vaccines exists.  The patent landscap e report is intended to provide an overview on what 
is being patented in terms of disease targets and ap proach, who is doing the patenting, where patents 
are filed and on how patent policies change over time. 
18. Within the scope of the WHO, WIPO and WTO trilateral collaboration, the three 
organizations have started to organize a series of joint technical symposia on issues concerning 
intellectual property, trade and public health.  Th e symposia will enhance the dialogue between the 
relevant organizations and provide  a platform for exchanging inform ation and experiences related to 
health and intellectual property.  The series has started with a successful symposium on "Access to 
medicines:  pricing and procurement practices" on 16 July 2010 at WTO in Geneva which was the 
first public event that was jointly organized by the three organizations.  
B. TRAINING AND ENHANCING CAPACITY  
19. Training and capacity building has been among the core activities of WHO with regard to 
public health and intellectual property for a number of  years.  WHO works closely with other relevant 
international organizations namely  WIPO and WTO.  Workshops have been organized driven by 
demands of Member States.  The overall objective is  to strengthen developing country capacity to 
apply and manage intellectual property in a manne r that maximizes health-related innovation and 
promotes access to health products, to implement and to use the flexibilities provided by the TRIPS 
Agreement and to ensure that public health inte rests are adequately taken into account in the 
formulation of national policies and legisl ation on trade and intellectual property. 
1. Regional and national training workshop s for developing country policy makers  
20. In 2009-2010, WHO continued to organize re gional, subregional and national training 
workshops for developing country policy makers .  Specific emphasis was given on developing a 
public health perspective in the pate nt granting process.  Building on the Guidelines for the 
examination of pharmaceutical patents: developing a public health perspective4, WHO together with 
partner organizations and WHO Regional Offices or ganized subregional and regional trainings for 
patent examiners on how to develop a public h ealth perspective regarding examination of 
pharmaceutical patents.  Among others, the fo llowing training workshops were organized:  
21. A training session was held in Cape Town, South Africa on 30 and 31 October 2008.  This 
session was jointly organized with the WHO Regional Office for Africa, UNDP and the University of 
                                                      
3 WHO SEARO and WPRO (2010), How to conduct pa tent searches for medicines: a step-by-step 
guide, http://www.wpro.who.int/publications/PUB_9789290223757.htm 
4 ICTSD, WHO, UNCTAD (2006), Guidelines for the examinatio n of pharmaceutical patents: 
developing a public health perspective - A working paper, 
http://www.iprsonline.org/resources/docs/ Correa_Patentability%20Guidelines.pdf  IP/C/W/549/Add.4 
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  Cape Town and was targeted at patent examin ers and intellectual property experts from selected 
African countries.  Patent examiners from six African countries (Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, 
Namibia and Zambia) participated in the training as well as a representative from the African 
Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO). 
22. A training session in Karachi, Pakistan, held on 10-12 November 2008 was targeted at patent 
examiners of the Pakistan patent office.  The participants included twelve patent examiners, 
representatives of the Minister of Health and the local pharmaceutical industry.  
23. A training session was held in Panama City, Panama on 8-10 December 2008 that was 
attended by patent examiners and intellectual property experts from eight Central American countries 
(Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salva dor, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama). 
24. A workshop in Cairo, Egypt, held on 14 a nd 15 April 2009 was organized in collaboration 
with the WHO Regional Office for Eastern Me diterranean.  The workshop was attended by 
44 participants, 26 of whom were patent examin ers representing seven patent offices in the Arab 
Region, namely Algeria, Egypt, Gulf Cooperation C ouncil, Jordan, Morocco, Syria and Tunisia.  This 
was the first time patent examiners in the Regi on met to discuss pubic health-related aspects of 
pharmaceutical patenting and to exchange relevant experiences. 
25. A regional training course on the examination of  pharmaceutical patents from a public health 
perspective was held in Jakarta, Indonesia from 15-17 July 2009. 
26. Two training courses on intellectual property and p ublic health were organized in the African 
Region in collaboration with the Regional Office for Africa, UNDP and local Universities.  The 
training for the Anglophone countries took place in  Cape Town, South Africa from 22-26 June 2009 
and the training for the Francophone countries took place in Irfan, Morocco from 7-11 December 
2009.   
27. A consultative meeting was collaboratively organized by the WHO Regional Office for 
Africa, UNDP, and the Association for Promotion of Intellectual Property in Africa (APPIA), and 
Third World Network in Yaoundé, Cameroon from 31 August to 2 September 2009.  The meeting 
examined the 1999 Bangui Agreement that created the African Intellectual Property Organization 
with regard to its public health implications.  The main question was as to whether the agreement 
makes effective use of the policy space availabl e under the TRIPS Agreement to accommodate public 
health needs.  The meeting proposed amendments  to the Bangui Agreement to better reflect public 
health needs. 
28. In March 2009 an Informal Intercountry Cons ultation on Public Health and Intellectual 
Property Rights for Selected Pacific Island Countries was held in Nadi, Fiji.  The objective of the 
three day consultation was to increase knowledge  and understanding about the public health 
implications of intellectual property rights (notably  patents).  The consulta tion facilitated interaction 
between different sectors, notably health and trade, th at need to work together  to design "public health 
friendly" intellectual property laws through shar ing and exchanging experiences with regard to 
implementing the TRIPS Agreement and drafting or amending a national patent law.  The 
consultation was attended by par ticipants from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, 
Tonga and Vanuatu as well as from Laos and the Ma ldives.  Representatives from the Delegation of 
the European Commission for the Pacific, the Foru m Secretariat and the Secretariat of the Pacific 
Community also attended the consultation.  
29. WHO headquarters and the Regional Office for S outh-East Asia together with the National 
Law School of India University in Bangalore orga nized an Executive course: towards an intellectual 
property regime that protects public health in Banga lore, India from 4 - 11 July 2009.  The objectives IP/C/W/549/Add.4 
Page 6  
 
  of the course included increasing awareness of the importance of applying intellectual property laws 
and policies in a manner consistent with public h ealth requirements and patients' rights;  improving 
knowledge of international and nati onal laws and policies related to  intellectual property (notably 
patents and undisclosed information); and strengt hening national capacity to design and implement 
intellectual property policies consistent with public health needs and patients' rights.  The course was 
attended by twenty six participants from twelve  Asian countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, 
China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Maldives, Myanmar,  Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand).  They included 
officials from Ministries of Health, Drug Regulatory Authorities, Patent Offices, Attorney General's 
Offices and Ministries of Trade.  The resource persons included representatives from WIPO and 
WTO.  
2. Participation in training and capacity building organized by WTO and WIPO 
30. As part of the ongoing trilateral collaborati on WHO participates actively in training and 
capacity building workshops and seminars organized  by WTO and WIPO.  In the time period 2009 
and 2010 this included the following trainings and workshops: 
31. WHO provided several presentations covering differe nt health-related topics for the fifth (3-5 
November 2009) and sixth (21-24 September 2010) WTO workshops on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health in Geneva.  This training module ai ms at familiarizing participants with the TRIPS 
Agreement as it relates to public health.  It addr esses TRIPS provisions and flexibilities of relevance 
to public health to foster the understanding of par ticipants and tailor-made implementation of TRIPS 
flexibilities, including the Paragraph 6 System. 
32. WHO covered the public health-related aspects during the WTO Advanced regional seminar 
for WTO Members and observers in Asia and the Pacific held in Singapore from 1-5 February 2009 
and 25-29 January 2010.  
33. WHO also provided presentations on public hea lth and intellectual property at the sixth and 
seventh joint WIPO-WTO Colloquium for Teacher s of Intellectual Property from Developing 
Countries held in Geneva, 22 June to 3 July 2009  and 28 June to 9 July 2010.  The Colloquium 
provides university teachers of intellectual property in developing countries an update on the activities 
of the Geneva based organizations working in the fi eld of intellectual property.  The objective was to 
strengthen the research and teaching capacity of developing countries on intellectual property law and 
policy, and to provide a forum for exchange of information and ideas between the teachers and the relevant international organizations.  
34. On the first and second joint WIPO-WTO Adva nced Course on Intellectual Property held 
respectively on 5-9 October 2009 and 26 April-5 May 2010, WHO provided speakers on the issue of public health and intellectual property.  This course follows the concep t of the Colloquium for 
Teachers of Intellectual Property from Developing C ountries, but is tailored for government officials 
and public sector policymakers.  IP/C/W/549/Add.4 
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  3. Assessment of priority needs of least developed countries to implement the TRIPS 
Agreement  
35. Under the TRIPS Agreement least developed countries benefit from different transitional 
periods during which they are not obliged to implem ent certain provisions of the Agreement.  In 2005, 
on request of least developed countries (LDC) th e general transitional period was extended until 
2013.5 In addition, LDCs currently benefit from a specif ic transitional period with regard to protection 
of  pharmaceutical products.6  In exchange for the extension of  the general transition period, LDCs 
accepted to provide to the WTO TRIPS Council as mu ch information as possible on their individual 
priority needs for technical and financial coopera tion necessary to fulfil the substantive requirements 
of the TRIPS Agreement.  The developed country Members accepted on the other hand to provide the 
technical and financial cooperation needed to eff ectively address the needs identified by the LDCs.  
36. WHO actively engages in this LDC needs assess ment process and participated in the WTO 
workshop of WTO LDC country members and ob servers from the Asia-Pacific region on the 
assessment of priority needs to implement th e TRIPS Agreement that took place in Dhaka, 
Bangladesh (27 - 29 July 2010).  The purpose of  the workshop was to discuss the process of 
undertaking an assessment of priority needs to im plement the TRIPS Agreement and to define the 
scope of technical assistance that WHO could provide to LDCs. 
37. PHI participated in a mission to Cameroon to discuss the new WHO Partnership on 
Pharmaceutical Policies and to participate in a se minar with AMOAPI (Associations des mandataires 
agrées auprès de l'OAPI - Organisations Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle).  The purpose of the 
mission was to discuss possible cooperation with rega rd to public health and intellectual property 
under the Bangui Agreement and to familiarise WH O regional and local staff members as well as 
AMOAPI representatives with the WHO global stra tegy and plan of action on public health, 
innovation and intellectual property rights. 
C. DIRECT COUNTRY SUPPORT  
38. Upon request, WHO is providing technical a nd policy support in framing national policies, 
laws and regulations to favour app lication and management of intellectual property in a manner that 
maximizes health-related innovation and promotes access to health products.  Support is directed to 
assisting Member States in how to safeguard public health interests while adhering to their obligations 
under international trade agreements , namely developing public health  sensitive patent legislation and 
incorporating the TRIPS flexibilities within domestic le gislation.  Technical support is carried out in 
close collaboration with WHO Country and Regiona l Offices as well as relevant international 
organizations.  
__________  
                                                      
5 Decision of the Council for TRIPS of 29 November 2005, WTO IP/C/40 of 30 November 2005. 
6 Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health adopted on 14 November 2001, 
WT/MIN(01)/DEC/2; Decision of the Council for TRIP S on the Extension of the Transition Period under 
Article 66.1 of the TRIPS Agreement for Least-Deve loped Country Members for Certain Obligations with 
Respect to Pharmaceutical Prod ucts of 27 June 2002, WTO IP/C/25 of 1 July 2002.