IP/C/W/573

Canada

The following communication, dated 23 July 2012, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Canada. Communications from other developed country Members will be circulated as addenda to this document. _______________ 1. Pursuant to Article 67 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), 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 Members. The present document provides an update on Canada's activities concerning technical and financial cooperation in the area of intellectual property in favour of developing and least developed country Members. Canada's 2011 report covering the 2010-2011 period was issued on 6 October 2011 (IP/C/W/560/Add.4). 2. Canada has undertaken a number of technical cooperation activities at the multilateral, plurilateral and bilateral levels. At the multilateral level, Canada contributes to two WTO funds, namely the WTO Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF) and the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) and works in close collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization. Canada also provides continuing contributions to the World Bank, the Inter American Development Bank, the African Development Bank and the Asia Development Bank, as well as the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Canada's regional activities are mainly undertaken in the context of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Intellectual Property Rights Expert's Group (APEC-IPEG), where Canada participates in the organization's biannual deliberations aimed at sharing information and best practices on intellectual property rights. Canada's bilateral efforts are mainly focused on the Latin American, Caribbean and Asia-Pacific regions. 3. The following summary provides an update of these activities, which are mainly administered by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Health Canada (HC) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Other Canadian institutions, such as the Centre for Trade Policy and Law (CTPL) and Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), are also involved in international technical cooperation efforts.