1.1. The present note has been prepared by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), pursuant to the invitation of the Chair of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Council for TRIPS of 29 July 2014, to provide updated information on its technical, legal and financial cooperation programs relevant to the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement for the meeting of the Council for TRIPS scheduled for 28 and 29 October 2014.
1.2. TRIPS-related legal assistance and technical cooperation activities and programs managed by WIPO fall within the framework of the provisions of the Agreement between WIPO and WTO which entered into force on 1 January 1996. Since then, WIPO has responded to requests received from developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs) by providing extensive legal and technical assistance. It is recalled that the WIPO WTO Agreement was later complemented by two joint initiatives launched by the Directors General of the two Organizations in July 1998 and in June 2001, respectively. These initiatives further reinforced the commitment of the two organizations to provide necessary advice and assistance to developing countries and LDCs relating to the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement.
1.3. In the period September 2013 to September 2014, WIPO has continued to provide legal-technical assistance to developing countries and LDCs in support of their efforts in implementing obligations deriving from the TRIPS Agreement and within the context of WIPO’s Results Framework as approved by WIPO Member States. WIPO, therefore, continued to assist countries in developing and implementing strategies and policies aimed at creating, protecting, managing and exploiting IP for economic, social and cultural development. WIPO also strengthened its assistance to help countries in integrating IP into overall national development and public policy in areas such as health, trade, education, research, technology transfer and competition policies, including advising countries on the flexibilities available under international IP treaties, and in particular the TRIPS Agreement.
1.4. WIPO Lex, the Organization’s global online database, offers free access to the most comprehensive collection of intellectual property (IP) laws and treaties. It includes almost 200 country profiles containing more than 12,000 laws and regulations covering a wide range of IP areas (patents, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, geographical indications, copyright, traditional knowledge, trade secrets and more). At the same time, WIPO Lex features 750 multilateral and bilateral IP-related treaties. The database is available in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish. Developed also for the benefit of TRIPS implementation, it is another instrument of legal assistance on intellectual property matters.
1.5. Appendix I provides a list of the relevant activities undertaken by WIPO in the period September 2013 to September 2014. This information is also publicly available on the WIPO IP Technical Assistance Database (IP-TAD) at the following link: (http://www.wipo.int/tad/en/) and in the WIPO Country Profiles (http://www.wipo.int/directory/en/).
