WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/W/553 
25 October 2010 
 (10-5553) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights  
 
 
 
WTO SECRETARIAT TECHNICAL COOPERATION IN THE TRIPS AREA  
 
Note by the Secretariat  
 
 
    
 
This document reports on the WTO Secretaria t's technical cooperation activities concerning 
TRIPS undertaken between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010.  It covers activities that 
specifically relate to intellectual property and the TRIPS Agreement, as well as some of a broader 
character which have a significant intellectual prope rty component.  It follows the previous report to 
the TRIPS Council contained in document IP/C/W/535, dated 29 September 2009.   
Main Orientations
 
1. 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 re levant decisions of WTO bodies.  In particular, 
Members have received assistance regarding the flexibilities in the TRIPS Agreement, including the 
Paragraph 6 Mechanism on TRIPS and public health , and the interplay between TRIPS standards and 
policy choices, as well as notifications and review s of national legislation.  Technical cooperation 
activities have also aimed at assisting Members to pa rticipate fully in the o ngoing work in the WTO 
on TRIPS matters, in particular by assisting them to assess what is at stake for them in issues under negotiation, examination or review.  The Secret ariat has paid increasing attention to building 
sustainable capacity in developing countries, including through the training of trainers and 
strengthening regionally based expertise.  
2. The technical cooperation made available has been driven essentially by demand from 
Members.  The diversity of needs and interests id entified by Members has led to increased tailoring 
and focussing of technical assistance activities on specif ic areas of interest or sectoral policy themes, 
complementing the activities that provide genera l overviews of the TRIPS Agreement.  The 
Secretariat has also assisted countries to prepare for accession to the WTO and trained officials of 
acceding countries.  The technical assistance pr ogramme further prioritized assistance to least 
developed countries, in the light especially of th e needs assessment and coordination of technical 
assistance foreseen in paragraph 2 of the Decision on the Extension of the Transition Period under 
Article 66.1 for Least Developed Country Members.
1  The emphasis on the individual priority needs 
                                                      
1 The Decision of the Council for TRIPS of 29 November 2005 (IP/C/40) extends the transition period 
for least-developed country Members until 1 July 2013 and calls for them to provide information to the Council for TRIPS, preferably by January 2008, on their individual priority needs for technical and financial cooperation 
in order to assist them taking steps nece ssary to implement the TRIPS Agreement. 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/553 
Page 2  
 
  of LDCs was carried through in programme delivery and through closer interagency coordination.  
The past focus on ensuring complementarity a nd cooperation with other intergovernmental 
organizations has been further enhanced, with a par ticular focus on coordinating on public health and 
intellectual property technical assistance with WI PO and the WHO.  Technical cooperation on TRIPS 
has been delivered through information and advice given to Members in Geneva, and through study 
programmes, training courses, seminars and work shops for developing coun tries in Geneva and 
elsewhere. 
Information and Advice to Members
 
3. 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 on issues such as domestic draft legislation or the 
ongoing work and negotiations in the TRIPS Council.  Advice and information have also been given 
to officials from acceding countries.   
4. As regards more specifically the LDC needs assessments foreseen in the aforementioned 
TRIPS Council Decision of 29 November 2005, the WT O Secretariat, at the request made by Angola 
and Tanzania on behalf of the LDC Group at th e Council's meeting on 8 June 2009, has held two 
regional workshops on needs assessment, respectivel y for English-speaking Africa (on 31 May-2 June 
2010) and the Asia-Pacific region (on 27-29 July 2010).  A similar workshop, for French-speaking 
Africa is also scheduled for 9-11 November 2010.  At the request of a number of Members, the Secretariat also invited a WTO coordinator of  Aid-for-Trade and a representative of the EIF 
Secretariat to brief the Council at its 27-28 Oc tober 2009 meeting on the potential role of these two 
initiatives in addressing LDC priority needs in the area of intellectual property.  In preparation for the 
discussion, the Secretariat had prepared a note on "Least Developed Country Members' Priority Needs 
Assessments:  the Aid-for-Trade Initiative and the Enhanced Integrated Framework" (IP/C/W/544).  
At the request of the LDC Group, this was fo llowed up on 29 October 2009 by a workshop on LDC 
priority needs that brought together delegates and other officials from LDCs and donor countries, and 
from the WTO and WIPO Secretariats. The Secretaria t also explored options for closer systematic 
coordination at the WIPO Conference on Building Pa rtnerships for Mobilizing Resources for IP and 
Development, held on 5-6 November 2009.  
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 ex ample, the regular 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 regular Trade Policy Course he ld in Geneva during the reporting period (49th TPC 
for English-speaking countries from 11 January to 9 July 2010) also included a visit to WIPO, learning about that Organization, its conventions and activities.  In addition, the Secretariat organized 
a number of special study programmes for government officials. 
6. The seventh joint WIPO-WTO Colloquium fo r Teachers of Intellectual Property from 
Developing Countries, convened from 28 June to 9 Ju ly 2010, was a major element of Geneva-based 
technical assistance in this period.  For the WTO, it formed part of the wider approach in the WTO  IP/C/W/553 
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  Biennial Technical Assistance and Training Plan  2010-2011 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 WIPO  and the WTO, to strengthen the independent 
research and teaching capacity of developing countri es on intellectual property law and policy, and to 
provide a forum for exchange of information and ideas between the teachers and the two Secretariats 
on these matters.  The Colloquium programme emphasized recent developments and policy issues under debate in the two Organizations.  Univer sity teachers from the following 20 developing 
countries and economies in transition participated in the event:  Argentina, Brazil, China, Egypt, 
Ethiopia, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Moldova, South Africa, Sri Lanka, 
Sudan, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Tanzania, Viet Nam, Zimbabwe and Bulgaria.  
Two self-funded participants from the Russian Federa tion and the United Kingdom also took part.  In 
addition to speakers from the two Secretariats a nd from the WHO and the UPOV, several Geneva-
based delegates as well as representatives from indus try and NGOs shared views on certain topical 
issues under discussion or negotiation.  Participati ng university teachers also made presentations on 
selected topics.
2 
7. This period also saw the convening of the fifth (3-5 November 2009) and sixth 
(21 -24 September 2010) workshops on the TRIPS Ag reement and Public Health in Geneva.  The 
programmes opened with expert overviews from the WHO, WIPO and WTO Secretariats on the 
interplay between intellectual pr operty and public health, and incl uded extensive material on the 
public health related elements a nd flexibilities in the TRIPS Agreement, including the implementation 
and application of the Paragraph 6 System es tablished under the August 2003 Decision and the 
amendment of December 2005, as well as a related case study.  The workshops drew on experts with 
a wide range of experience and background to provide sessions on a range of key issues in the 
interplay between public health and intellectual property, including regulatory approval and quality 
control of medicines, the role of competition ru les, procurement policy and strategies for essential 
medicines, the use of patent landscaping to gu ide policymakers. A wide ranging panel discussion on 
the relationship between TRIPS, innovation and public health provided an opportunity for 
representatives of the research and generic industri es, access to medicines programmes, not for profit 
product development, and innovati on and production capacity programmes for developing countries 
to share their views.  Substantive contributions were made by the WHO and WIPO, and presentations 
by speakers with different backgrounds (WHO, WI PO, the Geneva-based missions of the European 
Union, India, the Philippines and Canada, NGOs  and academia) provided a comprehensive overview 
of the key players' views and the most important aspects related to public health.   
8. The first and second joint WIPO-WTO Advanced  Courses on Intellectual Property were held 
respectively on 5-9 October 2009 and 26 April-5 May 2010 as an important new component of the Geneva-based activities.  This initiative drew on the experience of the successful Colloquium for 
teachers of intellectual property, and applied a si milar programme structure and pedagogic strategy, 
but was tailored and focussed on government offici als and public sector policymakers instead of 
university teachers and researchers.  The two courses also built on the notion of gradual and 
progressive learning:  in order to qualify for th e courses, the candidates had to complete the WTO 
eTraining TRIPS Course or possess commensurate knowledge or professional experience.  Most of the selected participants had completed either the WTO eTraining Course or the WIPO Distance 
Learning Course, and the courses were able to work from a truly advanced baseline and thus explore 
cutting edge issues through interactive debate and practical case studies, so  as to strengthen the 
capacity of government officials and policymakers to critically review policy options and their 
implications, and to learn from the wide range of  practical experiences covered in the programme. 
                                                     
 
2 For the programme, go 
to:http://www.wto.org /english/tratop_e/trips_e/wipo_ wto_colloquium_program10_e.pdf  IP/C/W/553 
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   Outside Geneva 
9. An important part of WTO technical cooperation in the field of intellectual property has been 
the organization of, or participation in, internati onal, regional and national 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.  
10. In accordance with the above-mentioned WTO Bi ennial Technical Assistance and Training 
Plan 2010-2011, two regional workshops with a focus on certain topical issues under discussion, examination or negotiation in the TRIPS contex t, in particular TRIPS and public health, 
biotechnology/traditional knowledge/biodiversity, and geographical indications were held during the 
reporting period, in cooperation with the host count ry:  in Tunis, Tunisia, from 13-15 October 2010 
for French-speaking Africa;  and Nairobi, Kenya, from 20-22 January 2010 for English-speaking 
Africa.  The aim of the workshops was to provide in formation and an opportunity for an exchange of 
views among countries of the region that would facilita te their effective participation in the ongoing 
negotiations or discussions.  Another objective wa s to provide an improved understanding of the 
WTO and the TRIPS Agreement, including the hea lth-related flexibilities in that Agreement and the 
operation of the Paragraph 6 System.  The program mes for these workshops provide for presentations 
by WTO staff members and representatives of WIPO and WHO as well as by two invited experts from Members that were participating or had par ticipated in the discussions or negotiations on these 
topical issues. 
11. Other important elements of the Secretariat regional technical assistance activities included a 
Workshop on intellectual property for customs offi cers of the Central American Secretariat for 
Economic Integration (SIECA) members, Panama and the Dominican Republic, organized jointly 
with SIECA and held in San José, Costa Rica on 10-12 November 2009, and a Workshop on TRIPS Standards and Public Policy Options for WTO Me mbers and Observers in Asia and the Pacific, 
organized jointly with the Government of Singapo re and held in Singapore on 25-29 January 2010. 
12. In addition, the WTO organized six  national seminars or workshops devoted to intellectual 
property matters, in cooperation with the host c ountry (Philippines on 17-18 November 2009, Iran on 
12-13 January 2010, Senegal on 13- 14 January 2010, Grenada on 10-12 February 2010, Uganda on 
23-24 February 2010, and China on 19-20 May 2010).  Upon request by the Government of China, 
the workshop in Beijing concentrated on the economi c and negotiating aspects of two topical issues in 
the area of TRIPS, i.e. its relationship with th e CBD and geographical indications. As the national 
workshop in Uganda was the first national event th ere since Uganda had subm itted the assessment of 
its priority needs for technical and financial assi stance with respect to TRIPS implementation, the 
event addressed some of the issues identified in Ug anda's submission.  WIPO sent a speaker to the 
national workshops in Senegal and Uganda. 
13. One of the features of activities during the r ecent years has been the broader WTO events 
outside Geneva which have included a significant TR IPS component.  The intellectual property staff 
contributed, in partnership with universities, to  three WTO regional Trade Policy Courses with an 
important IPR component (French-speaking A frica, Latin America and Asia-Pacific).  
 eTraining  
14. An important development of WTO technical c ooperation in the field of intellectual property 
has been the inclusion of a TRIPS module in the WTO eTraining Courses.  These are web-based 
courses for developing countries and economies in transition, which are either WTO Members or 
observers.  Participants have online access to cour se material, background documents, interactive 
sessions (chat, discussion forum and enquiry board).  They are assisted throughout the course by a 
tutor, a course administrator and a helpdesk.  The TRIPS module was implemented for the first time at  IP/C/W/553 
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  the Autumn 2007 session.  The course took place from 21 September to 13 November 2009, in 
English, and from 15 February to 9 April 2010, in Fr ench.  In the invitations to events on the TRIPS 
Agreement, the Secretariat recommended giving pr iority to officials having successfully completed 
the WTO TRIPS eTraining course.  
Cooperation with WIPO and other Intergovernmental Organizations  
15. 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 1995 coopera tion agreement between the two Or ganizations, Article 4 of which 
deals with legal-technical assistance and technical cooperation3, and the WIPO-WTO Joint Initiative 
on Technical Cooperation for Least-Developed Countri es, launched in June 2001.  In response to 
paragraph 4 of the Decision on the Extension of the Transition Period for Least-Developed Country 
Members4, and based on the 1995 Cooperation Agre ement as well as the 2001 WIPO-WTO Joint 
Initiative, the two Organizations have further intensified their cooperation. 
16. The WTO Secretariat has also cooperated in the provision of technical cooperation in the area 
of TRIPS with other intergovernmental organizations .  In particular, this period saw an increased 
focus on activities on public health and intellectua l property in dialogue with the WHO and WIPO, 
including the strengthening of coordination on rele vant technical cooperation and the provision of 
factual background information.  Among others, the three organizations jointly organized a technical 
symposium on "Access to Medicines: Pricing and Procurement Practices" in Geneva on 16 July 2010.
5  Its purpose was to gather experiences in the pricing and procurement of medicines as 
important determinants of access and to examine how and where to obtain information on access to 
medicines, their prices and their availability.  It pr ovided an opportunity for pa rticipants with different 
backgrounds, coming from Govern ments, international and ph ilanthropic initiatives on the 
procurement of medicines, civil society organizatio ns and industry, to share experiences, take stock 
and look at future needs.  
                                                      
3 The Agreement between the World Intellectua l 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. 
4 See above footnote 1.  Paragraph 4 of the Decision states that "in order to assist least-developed 
country Members to draw up the inform ation to be presented in accordance with paragraph 2 and with a view to 
making technical assistance and capacity  building as effective and operational as possible, the WTO shall seek 
to enhance its cooperation with the World Intellect ual Property Organization and with other relevant 
international organizations." 
5 For more information see http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news10_e/trip_16jul10_e.htm.  IP/C/W/553 
Page 6  
 
  ANNEX 
 
 
Technical Cooperation Missions in the TRIPS Area from 1 October 2009 to 30 September 2010
 
(Activities outside Geneva.  For Geneva-b ased events, see paragraphs 5 to 9 above) 
 
Date Place Mission 
13-15 October 2009 Tunis, Tunisia WTO Regional Workshop on certain topical issues 
in regard to intellectual property for French-speaking Africa 
3-4 November 2009 Cotonou, Benin TRIPS Se ssions in WTO Regional Trade Policy 
Course for French-speaking Africa 
10-12 November 2009 San José, Costa Rica WTO/ SIECA Regional Workshop on intellectual 
property for customs officers of SIECA members, Panama and the Dominican Republic 
17-18 November 2009 Manila, Philippines  WTO National Workshop on the TRIPS 
Agreement 
12-13 January 2010 13-14 January 2010 Teheran, Iran 
Dakar, Senegal TRIPS Technical Cooperation Mission 
WTO National Workshop on the TRIPS 
Agreement   
20-22 January 2010  Nairobi, Kenya WTO Regional Workshop on Certain Topical 
Issues in Regard to Intellectual Property for English-Speaking African Countries 
25-29 January 2010 Singapore WTO Works hop on TRIPS Standards and Public 
Policy Options for WTO Members and Observers 
in Asia and the Pacific 
10-12 February 2010 Saint George, 
Grenada WTO National Workshop on TRIPS and on 
Competition Policy 
23-24 February 2010 Kampala, Uganda  WTO National Workshop on the TRIPS 
Agreement 
24-25 February 2010 Mexico WTO Nati onal Seminar on intellectual property 
15-17 March 2010 
10-11 April 2010 Bogotà, Colombia 
Cape Town, South 
Africa TRIPS Sessions in WTO Regional Trade Policy 
Course for Latin America 
ARIPO-TradeCom workshop on GI 
19-20 April 2010 Trinidad, Trinidad 
and Tobago CARICOM-TradeCom workshop on GI  IP/C/W/553 
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  Date Place Mission 
19-20 May 2010 
31 May-2 June 2010 Beijing, China 
Entebbe, Uganda WTO National Workshop on Certain Topical 
Issues in Regard to Intellectual Property 
WTO Workshop for LDC Members and  
Observers from English-Speaking Africa on the 
"Assessment of Priority Needs to Implement the 
TRIPS Agreement" 
12-13 July 2010 
14-15 July 2010 27-29 July 2010 
 
8-10 August 2010 Singapore 
Luanda, Angola Dhaka, Bangladesh 
 
Damascus, Syrian 
Arab Republic TRIPS Sessions in WTO Regional Trade Policy 
Course for the Asia-Pacific Region 
WIPO National Conference on Intellectual 
Property 
WTO Workshop for LDC Members and  
Observers from the Asia-Pacific Region on the "Assessment of Priority Needs to Implement the TRIPS Agreement" 
Video Presentation at the Workshop on the 
Memorandum of the Foreign Trade Regime (MFTR), jointly organized by the WTO and the Syrian Arab Republic
 
 
13 September 2010 Beijing, China Beijing In ternational Forum: "Brand Development 
and Global City" Forum 
 
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