WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/108/Add.4
16 September 1998
(98-3530)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES:  INFORMATION FROM
OTHER INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR THE PROTECTION
OF NEW VARIETIES OF PLANTS (UPOV)
Addendum
The present document reproduces the updated information on UPOV's technical and financial
cooperation activities relevant to the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement, which has been
received from the UPOV by means of a communication, dated 2 September 1998.
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I. TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL COOPERATION PROGRAMME WITH
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR THE PROTECTION
OF NEW VARIETIES OF PLANTS ("UPOV")
1. UPOV is not a specialized agency of the United Nations.  Consequently, its constitution does
not embody a specific obligation to provide development assistance to developing countries, as such.
2. The objectives of the programme and budget of UPOV for the current 1998-99 biennium,
include the following:
"…
"(v) to propagate the concept of plant variety protection, particularly in countries 
that do not yet afford such protection, by explaining, where appropriate, in 
cooperation with national governments, with intergovernmental and with 
non-governmental organizations the need for and the modalities of the 
protection of plant breeders' rights; to publish information for this purpose;
"(vi) to promote the accession of States to the UPOV Convention and to assist 
them in taking measures which will enable them to accede to the Convention;
"(vii) to provide or promote the provisi on of programmes for education and training
in the field of plant variety protection, seeking, when possible, sources of extra-budgetary funding for such programmes;"IP/C/W/108/Add.4
Page 2
3. Pursuant to the above-mentioned objectives, UPOV has the following technical assistance
activities, which are carried out for the benefit of developing countries as well as other countries,
since the policy is that such assistance is provided without regard to the developmental status of the
countries which are involved:
(a) UPOV provides advice to States on plant variety protection laws, comments on draft
texts and, when requested to do so, prepares drafts of national laws and regulations.
During recent years, it has provided assistance or advice on these matters to
numerous developing countries.
(b) The Office of UPOV has published model laws for the protection of new plant
varieties in Arabic, English, French and Spanish which conform with the
requirements of the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention.  These model laws as well asother UPOV publications are available free of charge to the governments of
developing countries.
(c) Subject to the limitations of its budgetary resources, the UPOV Office is prepared to
cooperate in the organization of national seminars and symposia on the subject of
plant variety protection and, on request, to provide speakers for other meetings.  Overrecent times, UPOV has participated in the organization of many such national
meetings in developing countries.
(d) Where extra-budgetary resources have been made available, UPOV has organized,
and is ready to organize in the future, inte rnational seminars for developing countries
on subjects related to plant variety protection.
(e) Member States of UPOV in general have expressed their willingness to cooperate
with UPOV in the organization of on-job training for individuals or courses for
groups, subject to funding being available for the travel and subsistence expenses of
trainees, while some member States have made and are making funds available to
UPOV for technical assistance purposes.
(f) UPOV is prepared, in principle, subject to the availability of adequate funding, to
participate in, or to execute segments of seed industry or intellectual property
development projects which call for the establishment of national plant variety
protection systems.  A number of such projects have been proposed.
4. Since UPOV's last statement to the TRIPS Council, in September 1997, concerning
programmes of technical and financial cooperation with developing countries and countries in
transition in the field of intellectual property, there have been two notable developments:
(a) By an amendment adopted in April 1998 to the UPOV Programme and Budget for
1998/99, the Council of UPOV has established a new budget head UV.08 bis as
follows:
"UV.08 bis TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
The Office of the Union will"(i) establish and maintain contact with non-member States envisaging accession to the 
UPOV Convention (the overwhelming majority of which are developing countries or 
countries in transition to market economies), including the rendering of assistance in 
the preparation and the discussion of the necessary legislation, providing comments IP/C/W/108/Add.4
Page 3
on the compatibility of such legislation with the UPOV Convention and the 
organizing of seminars, workshops or similar activities;
"(ii) particularly in the context of the wo rldwide need for food security and the 
obligation embodied in Article 27.3(b) of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights ("the TRIPS Agreement") for 
Members of the World Trade Organization to provide protection for plant 
varieties, assist such non-Member Stat es to establish plant variety protection 
offices and to develop relevant human resources by the provision of training 
courses (when possible in cooperation with Member States) and a fellowship 
programme to facilitate participation in such training courses."
(b) The Programme and Budget of the Worl d Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
for 1998/99, adopted in March 1998, includes a new sub-programme 02.5 entitled
"Cooperation with the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of
Plants".  The objectives of this sub-programme are:
"To promote a wide understanding of the role and effects of intellectual 
property protection relating to plants.
"To coordinate WIPO's cooperation with UPOV in education, training and 
advisory activities for government officials aimed at assisting developing countries in meeting TRIPS obligations concerning protection of plant 
varieties."
5. Since UPOV last provided information to the Council for TRIPS on its technical assistance
activities, UPOV has undertaken the following relevant activities:
(a) Seminars, Courses, Workshops
22 September 1997: Brisbane, Australia.  In cooperation with the Plant Breeders'
Rights Office of Australia and the Asia and Pacific Seed Association and with
Financial support from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan,
Workshop on the Exercise of Plant Variety Protection Rights by the Holders of the
Rights.
3 and 4 November 1997:  La Paz, Bolivia.  National Seminar
17 to 19 December 1997:  Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.  Regional Seminar on Plant
Variety Protection under the UPOV Convention for the Member States of the African
Organization for the Protection of Intellectual Property (OAPI), organized in
cooperation with the Government of Burkina Faso and OAPI and with the financial
support of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries of France.
29 April to 1 May 1998:  Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.  Regional Seminar on
Plant Variety Protection under the UPOV C onvention for Caribbean States organized
by UPOV with financial support from WIPO.
18 to 29 May  1998:  Wageningen, Netherlands.  Plant Variety Protection course
organized by the Centre for Plant Breeding and Reproduction Research of the
Netherlands.  UPOV/WIPO financed participants from Albania and Tanzania.IP/C/W/108/Add.4
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8 to 19 June 1998:  Cambridge, United Kingdom.  Briefing Workshop on Plant
Variety Protection organized by UPOV in cooperation with the National Institute of
Agricultural Botany of the United Kingdom and with financial support from the
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan and from WIPO.  23
participants from the following countries:  Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia,Kenya, Malaysia Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand,
Vietnam, Zimbabwe.
8 to 23 June 1998:  Madrid, Spain.  Course  on Plant Variety Protection organized by
UPOV with financial support from the Mini stry of Agriculture of Spain and from
WIPO.  16 participants from the following countries:  Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil,
Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama,Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela.
(b) Provision of Information, Advice or Assistance
The Office of UPOV has provided information advice or assistance to the following
States:
Africa Asia/Pacific Latin America/Caribbean
Algeria Bangladesh Bolivia
Burkina Faso China Brazil
Côte d'Ivoire India Costa Rica
Egypt Iran Cuba
Kenya Pakistan Dominica
Lesotho Philippines Ecuador
Mauritius Republic of Korea Honduras
Zimbabwe Sri Lanka Nicaragua
Vietnam Panama
Suriname
Venezuela
5. UPOV has no independent activity involving the provision of direct financial support for the
establishment or reinforcement of domestic offices and agencies relevant to plant variety protection.
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