WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/W/454 
5 October 2005 
 (05-4471) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights  
 
 
  
WTO SECRETARIAT TECHNICAL COOPERATION IN THE TRIPS AREA  
 
Note by the Secretariat
 
 
    
 
  1. This document updates the information on the WTO Secretariat's technical cooperation 
activities in regard to TRIPS matters contained in  document IP/C/W/428, dated 17 September 2004.  
It covers the period from 18 September 2004 to 30 September 2005.  It deals both with the 
Secretariat's technical activities that specifically relate to intellectual property and with those of a 
broader character which have a significant intellectual property component. 
Main Orientations
 
2. The Secretariat's technical cooperation activities in relation to TRIPS ha ve continued to be 
directed towards assisting Members to understand th e rights and obligations, including the available 
options, which flow from the TRIPS Agreement and relevant decisions of WTO bodies.  This has 
been particularly the case for the least-developed country Members whose general transition period, unless extended, will expire at the end of 2005.  Th is activity includes helping Members to assess the 
amendments that may be needed to their national le gislation, the adaptations in institutions that may 
be called for and other requirements for which they would need to plan.  The Secretariat's technical 
cooperation activities in the TRIPS area have also been aimed at assisting Members to participate 
fully in the ongoing work in the WTO on TRIPS matt ers.  This has included assisting Members to use 
the mechanisms under the TRIPS Agreement, such  as the "paragraph 6 mechanism" on TRIPS and 
public health and in regard to notif ications and reviews of national legislation.  It has also been aimed 
at assisting Members to assess what is at stake fo r them in issues under negotiation, examination or 
review and thus to participate in this work.  In  the last years, the Secretariat has sought to pay 
increasing attention to capacity building, the traini ng of trainers, etc. in  developing countries. 
3. The technical cooperation made available has been essentially driven by demand from 
Members.  The Secretariat has also provided assi stance to countries seeking to join the WTO by 
helping them to prepare for the accession process and by training officials.  Priority continues to be 
attached to assistance to least-d eveloped countries.  Importance has been attached to ensuring 
complementarity and cooperation with other intergov ernmental organizations, in particular WIPO and 
WHO.  The main modes of supply of technical  cooperation specifically relating to the TRIPS 
Agreement have been informati on and advice given to Members in  Geneva and study programmes, 
training courses, seminars and workshops for developing countries in Geneva and elsewhere. This document has been prepa red under the Secretariat's own 
responsibility and without prejudice to the positions of Members 
and to their rights and obligations under the WTO.IP/C/W/454 
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Information and Advice given to Members in Geneva
 
4. A significant part of the work of Secretariat o fficials dealing with intellectual property matters 
has been concerned with providing information in response to questions put to them by representatives of Member governments, e.g. notifi cation and review procedures, the meaning of 
particular provisions of the TRIPS Agreement,  the options available under these provisions and 
matters under discussion or negotiation in the TRIPS Council.  Matters have been raised with the 
Secretariat not only by local delegations but also by visiting intellectual property officials and as a 
result of direct contacts from officials in capitals  by telephone or in written form on issues such as 
domestic draft legislation or the ongoing work a nd negotiations in the TRIPS Council.  Advice and 
information have also been given to officials from acceding countries. 
Seminars, Workshops, Training Courses and other Technical Cooperation Activities
   
 In Geneva 
5. TRIPS issues have continued to figure prominen tly in the context of broader training courses, 
seminars and workshops held in Geneva.  For example, the long WTO Trade Policy Courses, the 
Introduction Courses for LDCs, the "Geneva Weeks" fo r Non-Residents, and other events held in 
Geneva included presentations on the TRIPS Agreem ent and the ongoing work and negotiations in the 
TRIPS area.  The four long Trade Policy Courses held in Geneva during the reporting period 
(30th TPC for Spanish-speaking countries in November 2004, 31st and 32nd TPC for English-speaking 
countries in March 2005 and 33rd TPC for French-speaking countries in July 2005) also included a 
day at WIPO, learning about that Organization, it s conventions and activities.  In addition, the 
Secretariat organized a number of special study programmes for individual countries or groups of 
countries in Geneva, and provided speakers or brie fings for a number of seminars and training 
programmes organized in Gene va by other organizations. 
6. An important component of the activities carried  out in Geneva during the reporting period 
was the holding, from 27 June to 8 July 2005, of a second joint WIPO-WTO Colloquium for Teachers of Intellectual Property from developing countries. 
 For the WTO, this formed part of the wider 
approach in the WTO Technical Assistance Plan 2005 towards cooperation with the academic 
community in developing countries aimed at local  capacity-building on WTO matters.  The main 
objectives of the Colloquium were to update university  teachers of intellectual property in developing 
countries on the activities and instruments of WI PO and the WTO, and to provide a forum for 
exchange of information and ideas among the particip ants and officials of the two Organizations.  The 
emphasis was put on recent developments and on polic y issues under debate in the two Organizations.  
The Colloquium also provided an opportunity fo r an exchange of views on teaching methodologies 
and on the outsourcing of technical cooperation.  The Colloquium took place at the WIPO Worldwide 
Academy and at the WTO.  University teacher s from the following 19 developing countries 
participated in the event this year:  Belarus, Bo tswana, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, 
Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Jordan, Ke nya, Morocco, Niger, Pakistan, Peru, Romania and 
Tanzania.  In addition to speakers from the two Secr etariats and from the Secretariat of the Union for 
the Protection of New Plant Varieties (UPOV), several capital or Geneva-based delegates were 
invited to share views on certain topical issues under discussion or negotiation.  Participating university teachers also made presentations on selected topics.
1 
7. As a new element of the capacity building activities under the TA Plan 2005, the Secretariat 
organized for the first time a Workshop on the TRIP S Agreement and Public Health in Geneva from 
26 to 28 September 2005.  Discussions and practical exercises addressed, in particular, the 
August 2003 Decision on the Implementation of Para graph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS 
Agreement and Public Health.  The main purpose of th is activity was to seek to give participants a 
                                                      
1 For the programme, see http ://www.wipo.int/academ y/en/meetings/wto_acad_05/index.html.  IP/C/W/454 
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"hands on" knowledge of the use of the "paragraph 6 mechanism", in particular through the provision 
of information and exercises pertaining to its impl ementation and applicatio n in practice, and to 
provide a platform for the analysis of issues relate d to the legislative and institutional framework at 
the domestic level.  The Workshop also offered an  opportunity to exchange views and experiences 
among participants and with representatives from ot her international organizations, industry and 
NGOs.  Twenty-three capital-based government offici als from intellectual property, trade and public 
health departments in developing and least-develope d countries with direct responsibility for matters 
relating to the interaction between  the TRIPS Agreement and public health, in particular for the 
implementation of the paragraph 6 system in their count ries, participated in the activity.  In addition to 
speakers from the Secretariat, representatives from international organizations (WHO, World Bank, 
UNICEF, the Global Fund, the Commonwealth S ecretariat, WIPO, UNAIDS and UNCTAD), the 
research-based and generic industries, NGOs, as we ll as Geneva-based delega tes from developed and 
developing countries shared their experiences and vi ews on the paragraph 6 system with participants. 
 Outside Geneva 
8. An important part of the WTO technical coopera tion in the field of intellectual property has 
been the organization of, or participation in, inte rnational, regional and na tional seminars, workshops 
and other events outside Geneva.  The Annex to  this document lists the technical cooperation 
missions outside Geneva organized by, or involving, intellectual property staff.  
9. The WTO Technical Assistance Plan 2005 foresees the holding in 2005 of four regional 
workshops on certain topical issues under discu ssion, examination or negotiation in the TRIPS 
context, in particular TRIPS and public health, biotechnology/traditional knowledge/biodiversity, and 
geographical indications.  Matters related to enfor cement and copyright have also been addressed in 
these workshops.  The aim of the workshops is to  provide information a nd an opportunity for an 
exchange of views among countries of the region that will facilitate their effective participation in the 
ongoing negotiations or discussions.  With regard to the Decision on Paragraph 6 of the Doha 
Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Hea lth, the workshops have also as their objective to 
provide information that will assist the countries of  the region in implementing and making effective 
use of the mechanism set out therein.  The progr ammes for these workshops provide for presentations 
by WTO staff members and representatives of WIPO and WHO as well as by two external experts from Members that are participating or have par ticipated in the discussions or negotiations on the 
topical issues mentioned.  In the period covere d by this report, six regional workshops were 
organized, in cooperation with the host country, in Moldova from 19-21 October 2004 (jointly with 
WIPO), Saint Lucia from 3-5 November 2004, th e Dominican Republic from 8-10 November 2004, 
the United Arab Emirates from 6-8 December 2004, Gabon from 24-26 May 2005, and Zambia from 
19-21 July 2005. The last regional workshop in 2005  will be held in Antigua  and Barbuda from 11 to 
13 October.  The Secretariat, in cooperation with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, also organized 
a workshop in the Pacific region in Fiji from 26-28 January 2005 for the Pacific Island countries, in 
response to requests from several of these countries fo r assistance in regard to TRIPS implementation. 
10. In addition, the WTO organized five national se minars or workshops devoted to intellectual 
property matters, in cooperation with the host country (Niger from 14-15 December 2004 (co-organized with WIPO), Papua New Guinea from 24-25 February 2005, Viet Nam from 12-14 April 2005, China from 20-21 June 2005, Mozambique from 4-5 August 2005), and participated in five regional events on inte llectual property organized by WIPO and other 
intergovernmental or regional organizations.   
11. One of the features of activities during the repor ting period has been the increasing number of 
broader WTO events outside Geneva which have  included a significant TRIPS component.  The 
intellectual property staff contributed to four WTO regional Trade Policy Courses (the Caribbean, 
Asia-Pacific, English-speaking Africa and French-s peaking Africa) and two WTO Short Trade Policy 
Courses, organized by the WTO Secretariat, or  co-organized with other intergovernmental IP/C/W/454 
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organizations and/or universities (for English-speaking OIC Member Countries and for the Arab Member Countries of the OIC).   
Cooperation with WIPO and other Intergovernmental Organizations
 
12. As indicated in this note and earlier reports s ubmitted to the Council for TRIPS, cooperation 
with WIPO has been a key feature of WTO Secretar iat technical cooperation in the TRIPS area.  This 
has been based on the Cooperation Agreement betw een the two Organizations, Article 4 of which 
deals with legal-technical assistance and technical cooperation2, and the WIPO-WTO Joint Initiative 
on Technical Cooperation for Leas t-Developed Countries, launche d in June 2001.  Since the 
Agreement was concluded, there has been intens ive cooperation between the two Organizations on 
technical cooperation matters, which has been regularly reported to the Council.3  T h e  W T O  
Secretariat has also sought to cooperate in the provi sion of technical cooperation in the area of TRIPS 
with other intergovernmental orga nizations, in particular the WHO on matters relating to TRIPS and 
public health (see Annex). 
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2 The Agreement Between  the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Trade 
Organization came into effect on 1 January 1996.  Article 4 of the Agreement provides for the International 
Bureau of WIPO to make available to developing country WTO Members which are not members of WIPO the same legal-technical assistance relating to the TRIPS Ag reement as it makes available to member states of 
WIPO which are developing countries.  The WTO Secretariat is required to  reciprocate.  The Agreement also 
provides for the International Bureau  and the WTO Secretariat to enhance cooperation in their legal-technical 
assistance and technical cooperation activities relating to the TRIPS Agreement for developing countries, so as 
to maximize the usefulness of those activities and ensure their mutually supportive nature. 
3 See documents IP/C/W/428, 406, 375, 304, 201, 156, 110, 79 and 36.  IP/C/W/454 
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ANNEX 
 
Technical Cooperation Missions in the TRIPS Area from 18 September 2004 to 30 September 2005  
(Activities outside Geneva. For Geneva-based  events, see paragraphs 5 to 7 above) 
 
 
Date        Place Mission 
7-8 October 2004 Jakarta, Indonesia IsDB / WTO Regional Short Trade Policy Course 
for English-speaking OIC Member Countries, 
organized in cooperation with the Islamic 
Development Bank 
12-13 October 2004 New Delhi, India WHO Regional Workshop on Trade and Health 
19-21 October 2004 Chisinau, Moldova WIPO-W TO Regional Workshop on the TRIPS 
Agreement and Certain Topical Issues in the Field 
of Intellectual Property for Countries of Central 
and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (CEECA)  
25-29 October 2004 Montevideo, 
Uruguay Third Short Trade Policy Course for Countries 
Members of the Latin American Integration Association (Asociación Latino Americana de Integración (ALADI) 
3-5 November 2004 Saint Lucia WTO Regional Workshop on the TRIPS 
Agreement and Certain Topical Issues in the Field of Intellectual Property for the Caribbean Countries 
8-10 November 2004 Santo Domingo, 
Dominican Republic WTO Regional Workshop on the TRIPS 
Agreement and Certain Topical Issues in the Field 
of Intellectual Property for Latin American Countries 
16-19 November 2004 Rabat, Morocco WTO Regional Trade Policy Course for French-
speaking African Countries, organized in partnership with the University "Mohammed V - 
Souissi" in Rabat 
18-19 November 2004 Kampala, Uganda ID LO (International Development Law 
Organization) Regional Public International Trade Law Course 
6-8 December 2004 Abu Dhabi, United 
Arab Emirates WTO Regional Workshop on the TRIPS 
Agreement and Certain Topical Issues in the Field 
of Intellectual Property for Arab and Middle East Countries 
14-15 December 2004 Niamey, Niger WIPO -WTO National Seminar on the TRIPS 
Agreement IP/C/W/454 
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Date        Place Mission 
26-28 January 2005 Suva, Fiji WTO Regional Workshop on the TRIPS 
Agreement for the Pacific Island Countries 
24-25 February 2005 Port Moresby, Papua 
New Guinea WTO National Seminar on the TRIPS Agreement 
1-2 March 2005 Jakarta, Indonesia WIPO-ASEAN Forum on Policy Issues in the 
International Intellectual Property Agenda 
15 March 2005 Port of Spain, 
Trinidad & Tobago CARICOM Technical Advisory Group for TRIPS 
and access to medicines 
29-30 March 2005 Kingston, Jamaica WTO Regional Trade Policy Course for the 
Caribbean Countries, organized in cooperation 
with the University of the West Indies 
12-14 April 2005 Hanoi, Viet Nam WTO National Seminar on the TRIPS Agreement 23-24 May 2005 Tunis, Tunisia IsDB / WTO Short Trade Policy Course for the 
Arab Member Countries of the OIC, organized in 
cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank 
24-26 May 2005 Libreville, Gabon WTO Regional Workshop on the TRIPS 
Agreement and Certain Topical Issues in the Field of Intellectual Property for French-speaking African Countries 
20-21 June 2005 Beijing, China WTO Nationa l Seminar on Certain Topical Issues 
in Relation to the TRIPS Agreement  
23-24 June 2005 Hong Kong, China 2
nd Asia-Pacific WTO Regional Trade Policy 
Course, in partnership with the University of Hong Kong, China 
19-21 July 2005 Lusaka, Zambia WTO Regional Workshop on the TRIPS 
Agreement and Certain Topical Issues in the Field 
of Intellectual Property for English-speaking African Countries 
4-5 August 2005 Maputo, 
Mozambique WTO National Seminar on the TRIPS Agreement 
8-10 August 2005 Windhoek, Namibia WTO Regional Trade Policy Course for English-
speaking African Countries 
15-16 August 2005 Bagé, Rio Grande do 
Sul, Brazil International Seminar on Geographical Indications, 
organized by SEBRAE (Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service) and supported by EMBRAPA (Brazilian Ag ricultural Research 
Corporation)  IP/C/W/454 
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Date        Place Mission 
23-25 August 2005 Rabat, Morocco WTO Regional Trade Policy Course for French-
speaking African Countries, organized in partnership with the University "Mohammed V - Souissi" in Rabat 
   
   
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