RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE IP/C/W/21
5March 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-0783)
Council forTrade-Related Aspects
ofIntellectual Property Rights
ISSUES RELATING TOTHE WORK OFTHE COUNCIL
ONTECHNICAL COOPERATION
Discussion Note bytheChairman*
1. Atitsmeeting of21November 1995, theTRIPS Council requested theChairman, withthe
helpoftheSecretariat, toprepare, forthefirstmeeting oftheCouncil in1996, ashort informal
discussion noteoutlining andstructuring theissues which hadbeenraised onthesubject oftechnical
cooperation andidentifying possible options forcarrying forward theCouncil 'swork inthisarea.
Thepurpose ofthisnoteistorespond tothisrequest.
2. Article 67oftheTRIPS Agreement contains commitments ontechnical cooperation. Itrequires
developed country Members toprovide, onrequest andonmutually agreed terms andconditions,
technical andfinancial cooperation infavour ofdeveloping andleast-developed country Members.
According tothisprovision, theobjective ofsuchcooperation istofacilitate theimplementation of
theAgreement. TheArticle specifies thatsuchassistance shallinclude assistance inthepreparation
oflawsandregulations ontheprotection andenforcement ofintellectual property rights aswellas
ontheprevention oftheirabuse, andsupport regarding theestablishment orreinforcement ofdomestic
offices andagencies relevant tothese matters, including thetraining ofpersonnel.
3. Whereas theobligations intheTRIPS Agreement concerning technical cooperation areon
developed countries vis-à-vis developing andleast-developed country Members, theTRIPS Council 's
work ontechnical cooperation hasalsoaddressed other technical cooperation activities which would
facilitate implementation oftheAgreement, inparticular those ofintergovernmental organizations,
notably WIPO, andtechnical cooperation infavour ofcountries intransition which arenotdeveloping
countries.Alsoreferencehasbeenmadetotheimportantroleofcooperationamongdevelopingcountries
themselves, especially onaregional basis.
4. Stemming fromthediscussions thathavetaken place intheTRIPS Council, therewould appear
tobefourtypes ofissues thattheCouncil might wishtoconsider further incarrying forward itswork
inthisarea:
- thesystematic provision ofinformation ontechnical cooperation activities;
- howtheCouncil cancontribute toensuring thatneeds fortechnical cooperation are
adequately met;
*ThisNote wasinformally circulated totheMembers oftheCouncil forTRIPS on7February 1996. Since itwasthe
subject ofadetailed discussion attheCouncil 'smeeting on22February 1996andwillaccordingly bereferred tointheminutes
ofthatmeeting, itisbeing circulated asaCouncil document.IP/C/W/21
Page2
- thetechnical cooperation activities ofintergovernmental organizations, inparticular
WIPO andtheWTO itself, especially inthelightoftherecently concluded agreement
between thetwoOrganizations; and
- whether, intheframework oftheTRIPS Council, there would beaninterest inmore
in-depth discussion ofparticular themes inregard totechnical cooperation.
Theabove isnotintended tobeanexhaustive listofissues forpossible discussion intheCouncil.
Itremains openofcourse toMembers toraiseother aspects fordiscussion.
Systematic provision ofinformation
5. TheCouncil hassofarreceived information from13developed country Members (documents
IP/C/W/12 andAddenda 1to7)ontheirtechnical andfinancial cooperation programmes inthearea
ofintellectual property relevant totheimplementation oftheTRIPS Agreement. Anumber of
intergovernmental organizations withobserver status ontheTRIPS Council (theFAO, theInternational
Union fortheProtection ofNewVarieties ofPlants (UPOV), theIMF, theUNCTAD, theWCO, WIPO
andtheWorld Bank) haveprovided information ontheirtechnical cooperation programmes (documents
IP/C/W/10 andAddenda 1to6)andtheWTO Secretariat hasalsosubmitted information (document
IP/C/W/11).
6. Theprovision ofsuchinformation totheTRIPS Council would appear toserve twomain
purposes:
- inregard tothetechnical cooperation activities ofdeveloped country Members vis-à-vis
developing country Members, itserves asavehicle fortheCouncil tocarry outits
taskofmonitoring theoperation oftheAgreement, inthiscaseitsArticle 67;
- however, more generally, theprovision ofinformation alsoserves akeytransparency
function inenabling developing country Members whomaywishtoseektechnical and
financial cooperation toknow whattypes ofassistance arebeing made available and
towhom theymight address theirrequests.
7. There would appear tobethreeissues which theTRIPS Council might consider further inregard
tothesystematic provision ofinformation ontechnical cooperation activities:
- Thefirstiswhether theCouncil should seektheperiodic updating ofinformation from
developedcountryMembersandalsofromintergovernmentalorganizationsand,indeed,
anydeveloping country ortransition country Members which might wishtoshare
information ontheiractivities ofrelevance. Ifso,should thisbedoneonanannual
basisandinadvance ofwhich meeting oftheCouncil? Inthisregard, itwillberecalled
thattheinformation assembled in1995wassought forconsideration attheSeptember
meeting oftheCouncil andthesuggestion hasbeenmade thattheCouncil might focus
inparticular ontechnical cooperation atitsSeptember 1996 meeting.
- Thesecond issueforconsideration is:should therebesome kindofformat tofacilitate
theuniform presentation ofinformation, inparticular bydeveloped country Members?
Inconsidering thismatter, account would needtobetaken offinding anappropriate
balance between thebenefits tobegained from amore uniform presentation against
thepossible costs offorcing descriptions ofprogrammes andprojects intoartificial
straightjackets. Many programmes andprojects cover arange ofdifferent aspects,
e.g.preparation oflegislation, assistance withinstitution-building andtraining; muchIP/C/W/21
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oftherichness oftheirdescription might belostifinformation were tohavetobe
divided upunder different headings indifferent places. Onepossibility would beto
asktheSecretariat toproduce alistofbasic headings which delegations might usefor
presenting anoverview oftheirtechnical cooperation activities andtoencourage them
toannex details ofindividual programmes. Itistobehoped thatsuchanapproach
would alsohelpminimize burdens ondelegations providing information since they
would beabletousedescriptions oftheirprogrammes which havebeenprepared for
other purposes.
- Would there bemerit inrequesting theSecretariat toprepare ananalytical summary
oftheinformation already presented?
Ensuring thatneeds fortechnical cooperation areadequately met
8. AquestionthathasarisenintheTRIPSCouncil'sdiscussionsontechnicalcooperationiswhether
theCouncil canperform afunction inhelping toensure thatneeds fortechnical andfinancial cooperation
arematched bytheprovision ofsuchcooperation. Inconsidering this,itshould berecalled that,as
mentioned above, Article 67foresees cooperation based onrequests fromdeveloping country Members
andonmutual agreement ontheterms andconditions ofsuchcooperation.
9. There would seem tobetwoaspects tothismatter.
- First, thesuggestion hasbeenmade thattheSecretariat might actasakindofclearing-
house formatching requests fortechnical cooperation withtheprovision ofit.In
considering anysuggestion thatthisshould bedone onasystematic basis, itwould
havetobeassessed, first, whether thiswould notentail anunnecessary bureaucratic
burden andpossible inefficiencies, given thatthebilateral process forseeking and
obtaining technical cooperation would appear tobegenerally working and,second,
whether theSecretariat, withitslimited resources, would beabletocopewiththe
resulting burden. Itshould alsoberecalled thattheWIPO already plays animportant
roleinthisregard. However, itgoeswithout saying thattheSecretariat would always
beavailable toanydeveloping country Member which maywishtoseekadvice on
thepossibilities forcooperation and,ifnecessary, toactasanintermediary inexploring
these possibilities. Itmight alsobeconsidered whether, intheevent thatthere are
more substantive difficulties, theChairman oftheCouncil should alsobeavailable
toplayaroleinthisrespect.
- Thesecond aspect would relate toasituation where aMember orsome Members feel
thatthere aregapsofamore general nature inthetechnical andfinancial cooperation
available andwishtoraisethese matters intheCouncil forcollective discussion with
aview toseeing whether more canbedone inthese areas. TheCouncil 'sregular
inclusion of"Technical cooperation" onitsagenda provides anopportunity forsuch
matters toberaised.
Technical cooperation activities ofintergovernmental organizations including WIPO/WTO cooperation
10. IntheCouncil 'sdiscussions ontechnical cooperation, importance hasbeenattached tothe
activities ofother intergovernmental organizations, inparticular WIPO. Since these discussions, the
WTOhasconcludedwithWIPOanagreementoncooperation,whichcameintoforceon1January1996.
Theagreement provides, interalia,thattheInternational Bureau ofWIPO andtheWTO Secretariat
shallenhance cooperation intheirlegal-technical assistance andtechnical cooperation activities relating
totheTRIPS Agreement fordeveloping countries, soastomaximize theusefulness ofthose activitiesIP/C/W/21
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andensure theirmutually supportive nature. Theassistance eachOrganization makes available toits
ownMembers willbemade available alsototheMembers oftheother Organization. TheGeneral
Assembly oftheWIPO hasalsoagreed thattheInternational Bureau should make arrangements so
astobeabletorespond torequests fromdeveloping countries forWIPO legalandtechnical assistance
relating totheTRIPS Agreement andthatitshould expand thecoverage oftheTRIPS Agreement in
existing WIPO development cooperation activities.
11. Asraised inparagraph 7above, theCouncil maywishtoconsider whether toseekonaregular
basisupdatedinformationonthetechnicalcooperationactivitiesofotherintergovernmentalorganizations
andoftheWTO itself, aswellasoncooperation between theWTO Secretariat andtheInternational
Bureau ofWIPO inthisarea.
Thematic discussions
12. TheTRIPS Council maywishtoconsider whether itwould behelpful toschedule occasional
discussions onspecific aspects oftechnical cooperation withaview toamore in-depth exploration
ofthepossibilities available andtheexperience ofMembers. Thiscould either bedoneintheCouncil
itself orbydevoting halfadayimmediately before orafteraCouncil session toaworkshop opento
allinterestedMembers.Shortpresentationsmightbesoughtfromanumberofdevelopedanddeveloping
countries aswellasfromrepresentatives ofrelevant intergovernmental organizations, notably WIPO,
ontheissue inquestion andthenthematter opened fordiscussion. Possible topics might include
preparation oflawsandregulations; establishment and/or reinforcement ofindustrial property offices;
establishment ofplant variety protection systems; implementation ofTRIPS obligations inthearea
ofcopyright;establishmentandoperationofspecialborderenforcementmechanisms;otherenforcement
issues (e.g.theprovision ofinformation tothejudiciary, legalcommunity andother relevant actors)
etc.