Report by Developed Country Members on the implementation of TRIPS Art. 66.2 (re. Technology Transfer to LDCs) - View details of the document

Australia

1  OVERVIEW

  1. Australia is committed to implementing Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement. Australia is also committed to sharing information with other WTO Members about incentives and support it offers enterprises and institutions to promote and encourage technology transfer to least developed country Members (LDCs).
  2. This is a full report in respect of Article 66.2 which builds upon annual update reports provided in 2012 (document IP/C/W/580/Add.2), 2013 (document IP/C/W/594/Add.7), 2014 (document IP/C/W/602), 2015 (IP/C/W/611.Add.4), 2016 (document IP/C/W/616/Add.1), 2017 (document IP/C/W/631/Add.1/Rev.1), 2018 (document IP/C/W/646/Add.2), 2019 (document IP/C/W/656/Add.3), 2020 (document IP/C/R/TTI/AUS/1) and 2021 (document IP/C/R/TTI/AUS/2).  It is submitted in accordance with the TRIPS Council's decision of 20 February 2003 on implementation of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement (document IP/C/28). Consistent with that decision, developed country Members are to provide annual reports on actions taken or planned in pursuance of their Article 66.2 commitments. The report focuses on incentives that are either targeted specifically at LDCs or at a group of countries which includes an LDC.
  3. In this report, technology transfer is taken to include training, education and the dissemination of knowledge, as well as the intellectual property embedded in transferred goods and services and the dissemination of business information and know-how on which a product, process or service is based.
  4. This report focuses on Australia's efforts to help LDCs create the conditions essential to encourage technology transfer. Technical cooperation in favour of least developed and developing countries to facilitate the TRIPS Agreement's implementation is another discrete obligation, on which Australia reports separately. Australia recognises that some technical cooperation activities may help to create an environment conducive to the creation or acquisition of technologies.
  5. In Australia, many incentives for technology transfer take the form of official development assistance. These incentives align with Australia's strategic focus on using aid as a catalyst to promote sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. Since 2012, Australia has provided AUD5.8 million of aid for trade funding to the Australia-World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Funds in Trust (FiT) program, to assist technology and knowledge transfer to least developing (LDC) and developing countries in the Indo-Pacific region. The third phase of this program (FiT3) concluded in March 2022. The Australian Government is currently considering funding a further phase of the program, which would build on previous themes, continuing support for a range of intellectual property (IP) capacity building activities to: help establish national IP systems; support accession to WIPO-administered treaties; assist development of legal frameworks and infrastructure for effective knowledge transfer, especially to assist marginalised groups; work on neglected tropical diseases; and increase access to educational materials for the visually impaired.
  6. During this reporting period, the majority of activities under the new work plan for the FiT3 have been scoped or commenced. There have been delays and postponement of activities due to global COVID-19 health concerns and subsequent travel restrictions. Development of a judicial toolkit on IP adjudication ('IP benchbook') for judges and judicial officers directed to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has begun. The IP benchbook is intended to be an important judicial resource, serving as a core element of future judicial capacity building programs for judges and judicial officers. Further activities, including a study visit program for Pacific policy makers and the placement of Indo-Pacific and East African scientists on training and research fellowships in Australia have been planned, and will take place when the health situation allows.
  7. Enterprises and institutions eligible for funding to deliver projects and activities to facilitate technology transfer include government agencies and public institutions, non-government organisations, independent consultants and experts, and universities and research organisations.
  8. Australian aid has been untied since 2006, allowing non-Australian organisations to bid for contracts to supply goods and services under bilateral and multilateral development assistance programmes.  Untied aid helps ensure activities represent value for money, are cost-effective and attract the best-available global expertise, thereby achieving the best development results.  Consistent with this, Australia's aid-funded incentives for technology transfer are not restricted to Australian institutions and enterprises.
  9. Australia recognises that LDC Members are interested in the outcomes of technology transfer activities. This report's annex includes specific examples of relevant programs and projects in the format suggested by LDCs (document IP/C/W/561), including work done to deliver safe, effective and accessible COVID-19 immunisation programs. Australia lists all LDC recipients.
andrew.feng@dfat.gov.au

List of programmes/projects

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# Name of programme or project Beneficiary Members(s) Category of technology  
1 Australia Awards
Other
2 Research on Climate Change Using Nuclear and Isotopic Techniques, under the auspices of the Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA)
Bangladesh; China; Indonesia; Japan; Kazakhstan; Korea, Republic of; Malaysia; Mongolia; Philippines; Thailand; Viet Nam
Climate change mitigation technology
3 ASEAN Regional Diagnostic Network Project
Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; India; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Malaysia; Myanmar; Philippines; Singapore; Thailand; Viet Nam
Environmentally friendly or sustainable technology; Food and agriculture
4 Demonstrating the impact on trade and regional plant protection of streamlined information systems for pest surveillance and reporting
Cambodia; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Malaysia; Myanmar; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Thailand; Viet Nam
Environmentally friendly or sustainable technology; Food and agriculture
5 Asia-Pacific Metrology Programme (APMP) and Asia Pacific Legal Metrology Forum (APLMF)
Bangladesh; Cambodia; Fiji; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Myanmar; Nepal; Papua New Guinea
Other
6 Regional Cooperative Agreement (RCA) – ongoing projects
Bangladesh; Cambodia; China; Fiji; Indonesia; Japan; Korea, Republic of; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Malaysia; Mongolia; Myanmar; Nepal; Pakistan; Philippines; Singapore; Sri Lanka; Thailand; Viet Nam
Environmentally friendly or sustainable technology; Food and agriculture; Other
7 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Accessible Book Consortium (ABC)
Indonesia; Myanmar; Viet Nam
Other
8 Indo-Pacific Regulatory Strengthening Program
Cambodia; Indonesia; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Malaysia; Myanmar; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Thailand; Viet Nam
Other
9 ASEAN-Australia Health Security Fellowships
Cambodia; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Myanmar; Viet Nam
Other
10 Pacific Infectious Disease Prevention (PIDP)
Papua New Guinea
Health-related technology; Other
11 ASEAN-Pacific Infectious Disease Detection and Response (APIDDaR)
Cambodia; Fiji; Indonesia; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Myanmar; Papua New Guinea; Solomon Islands; Vanuatu
Other
12 Research for One Health System Strengthening - Collaboration on One Health Economic Research for Systems (COHERES)
Cambodia; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Viet Nam
Other
13 Stronger Systems for Health Security - Surveillance Training, Research Opportunities and National Guidelines for communicable disease control in Timor-Leste (STRONG TL)
Other
14 The Pacific Biosecurity Partnership Program (PBPP) (new phase 2020-2024)
Fiji; Papua New Guinea; Samoa; Solomon Islands; Tonga; Vanuatu
Other
15 The Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access Program (PHAMA) Plus (new phase 2018-2022)
Other
16 Pacific Quality Infrastructure Initiative (PQI): Phase 1
Other
17 Australian Expert Technical Assistance Program for Regional COVID-19 Vaccine Access (AETAP)
Cambodia; Fiji; Indonesia; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Malaysia; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Samoa; Solomon Islands; Tonga; Vanuatu; Viet Nam
Health-related technology; Other
18 Pacific Quality Infrastructure Initiative (PQI): Phase 2 (Pacific)
Other
19 Funding arrangement - PACER Plus Implementation Unit (Pacific) (2021 – 2025)
Other
20 Regional Collaborations Programme COVID-19 Digital Grants
Bangladesh; Cambodia; China; India; Indonesia; Japan; Malaysia; Nepal; Pakistan; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Singapore; Sri Lanka; Thailand; Viet Nam
Health-related technology
21 Australian Water Partnership
Cambodia; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Myanmar
Other
22 Cambodia Agricultural Value Chain Program (CAVAC)
Cambodia
Food and agriculture
23 Scaling Frontier Innovation Program (SFI)
Bangladesh; Cambodia; Myanmar; Nepal
Other
24 Customs Automation: Pacific ASYCUDA World Project
Other
25 Regional Cooperative Agreement (RCA) – completed projects
Bangladesh; Cambodia; China; Fiji; India; Indonesia; Japan; Korea, Republic of; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Malaysia; Mongolia; Myanmar; Nepal; Pakistan; Philippines; Singapore; Sri Lanka; Thailand; Viet Nam
Health-related technology; Other