Minutes - TRIPS Council - View details of the intervention/statement

Ambassador Karen Tan (Singapore)
European Union
J TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING
104. The representative of the European Union reaffirmed the commitment of his delegation to its obligation under Article 67 of the TRIPS Agreement to provide, on request and on mutually agreed terms and conditions, technical and financial cooperation in favour of developing and least developed country Members. The EU annual report included three types of activities: (i) activities by the EU itself; (ii) activities by its individual member States; and (iii) activities by the European Patent Office. 105. He highlighted three specific technical activities carried out by the European Union itself. The EU-China Project on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR2) was a cooperation project between the European Union and China. It consisted of a genuine partnership between the European Union and China. With about €11 million from the European Union and €5 million from China, IPR2 had been launched in November 2007 for a four-year period. IPR2 targeted the reliability, efficiency and accessibility of the IP protection system towards establishing a sustainable environment for effective IPR enforcement in China. This was done by supporting a comprehensive framework of technical assistance and cooperation with the Chinese authorities and institutions promoting the environment of IP protection in China. In practice, IPR2 organized seminars, symposia, workshops, studies, training programmes, study tours and information management activities across six core components: (i) legal framework; (ii) capacity building; (iii) access to information; (iv) enforcement; (v) support to right holders; and (vi) trademarks and designs. 106. The EU-WIPO Intellectual Property Rights Project for Bangladesh was an EU initiative implemented by WIPO. The project budget was €1.22 million, of which €1.10 million was the EU contribution. The implementation of the project had started in July 2008 and was expected to end in July 2011. The purpose of that project was to strengthen national capacity to develop, modernize, administer and use the IP system to meet national developmental objectives taking into account the relevant international standards, including those in the area of IP under the TRIPS Agreement. 107. Finally, the EU TradeCom Facility Project was an ACP Group Programme financed by the European Development Fund. It was divided into three main complementary components, each with its specific beneficiaries and results, namely: formulation of trade policies; trade negotiations; and implementation of trade policies and international trade agreements. For all programmes, the choice and precise contents of technical activities were subject to an exchange of views between representatives of the European Union and of the partner country. Due account was taken of the level of development and the needs of each partner country. Further details on technical cooperation activities by the EU member States could be found in document IP/C/W/539/Add.7.
IP/C/M/62