BRIEF OUTLINE OF TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN DURING THE REPORTING YEAR

Article 67 of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) requires that, "[i]n order to facilitate the implementation of this Agreement, developed country Members shall provide, on request and on mutually agreed terms and conditions, technical and financial cooperation in favour of developing and least-developed country Members". Pursuant to Article 67 of the TRIPS Agreement, the Council for TRIPS requests that developed country Members report on their technical and financial cooperation programmes in favour of developing and least-developed country (LDC) Members. The present document provides an update on Canada's activities in respect of technical and financial cooperation in the area of intellectual property (IP) in favour of developing country and LDC Members, covering the 2022‑2023 period.

Canada continues to undertake a number of technical cooperation activities in favour of developing and LDC Members at the multilateral, plurilateral, and bilateral levels. At the multilateral level, Canada works in close collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), as well as with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Intellectual Property Rights Experts' Group (APEC-IPEG) where Canada participates in the IPEG's semi-annual deliberations aimed at sharing information and best practices on IP rights. In addition, Canada's technical cooperation activities are administered by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), Global Affairs Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and other Government of Canada departments and agencies. Other Canadian institutions that receive funding from the Government of Canada – such as the Centre for Trade Policy and Law (CTPL) and the University of Ottawa Centre for Law, Technology and Society – are also involved in international technical cooperation efforts.

Details of technical cooperation activities are provided in the Annex