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

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1 ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN BY TECHNICAL COOPERATION ORGANIZATONS 1.1 JICA 4. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provides technical cooperation through ODA, through which knowledge and technologies are transferred. The budget for technical cooperation through JICA amounts to approximately JPY 191.7 billion for FY 2015. Some examples of technical cooperation for LDC Members are listed in Table 1 attached in the Annex. 5. Under the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) programme, the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), as the funding agencies for science and technology, collaborate with JICA to promote international joint research projects with developing countries, aimed at resolving global issues. JST/AMED support Japanese research institutions/researchers for the project activities in Japan. JICA supports project implementation in developing countries, such as dispatching Japanese experts (researchers), providing equipments and training of personnel, and other supports related to the project in developing countries in the framework of ODA technical cooperation. SATREPS projects implemented with LDC members are listed in Table 2 attached in the Annex. 6. In 2013, JICA launched a new public-private partnership programme, "Collaboration Program with the Private Sector for Disseminating Japanese Technology", which aims to promote understanding of Japanese enterprises' technology, knowledge and system and to explore the possibility of using them for the development of developing countries. Some examples of projects implemented under this programme are listed in Table 3 attached in the Annex. 1.2 AOTS 7. The Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS), which was renamed on July 1 2017 from The Overseas Human Resources and Industry Development Association (HIDA), provides various programmes as regards technical cooperation for developing countries. 1.2.1 Technical Training 8. Training is conducted for engineers and managers invited to Japan from developing countries as trainees. Its programmes include practical trainings implemented by private companies, which allows trainees to acquire skills and techniques in specific fields. In 2016, AOTS provided technical training courses for engineers and managers of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Lao PDR and Myanmar (see Table 4 attached in the Annex). 1.2.2 Management Training 9. Engineers along with middle and top managers etc. from developing countries are invited to Japan to acquire business or factory management skills and techniques through understanding management concepts and observing actual examples of their usage. In 2016, AOTS provided management training courses for middle and top managers of Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Nepal and Sudan (see Table 5 attached in the Annex). 10. AOTS experts provide technical guidance and advice to local companies, and contribute to improvements in areas such as manufacturing technologies and business management skills. In 2015, technical guidance on various issues was offered in Bhutan, Cambodia, Ethiopia and Myanmar (see Table 6 attached in the Annex). 1.3 JETRO 1.3.1 Sending Experts to the Private Sector - Dispatching Experts to Improve the Business Environment of Developing Countries in order to Promote Trade and Investment 11. The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) is engaged in dispatching experts to assist developing countries in the establishment of various rules and institutions necessary to create a business environment conducive to trade and investment. More specifically, in response to the requests of private sectors and other entities from developing countries, experts were dispatched in respective industry fields such as automotive parts, mold and die, food processing, handicrafts, etc. 1.3.2 Supporting Developing Countries to Expand Their Exports Industries (OVOP) 12. JETRO helps developing countries to expand their exports to Japan and achieve self sustainable economic growth, by promoting products from emerging countries. Some projects are implemented as part of "One Village One Product (OVOP)" campaign, the initiative for supporting and promoting local economies in developing countries. The core activities of the campaign are to exhibit and sell craftworks, accessories, processed foods and other such products at "OVOP Market". These are sourced from developing countries in Asia, Africa, Central America and the Pacific and are sold at Narita and Kansai International Airports. This promotion will be carried out to introduce the merits of these products to Japanese customers and to expand sales in the Japanese market. 1.3.3 Pilot Project for Business in Africa 13. The "Pilot Project for Business in Africa" is a project aimed at providing support, including financing, to Japanese companies for the purpose of developing their business, planning to invest in African countries. JETRO provides support (by subsidizing partial expenses and providing local information) to the selected business plans proposed by Japanese companies or organizations that are considering investing in Africa. After implementing the project, business tips learned through the project are planned to be introduced to the public through JETRO's websites and seminars. 2 ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF CLIMATE CHANGE 2.1 ACE2.0 14. In November 2015, Japan announced "ACE: Actions for Cool Earth 2.0", which aims to encourage developing countries' participation in a new framework for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction, and to contribute to significant reduction of GHG emissions by leading the world in further reinforcing development of innovative technologies. This strategy consists of two pillars: the implementation of climate-related assistance to developing countries totalling approximately 1.3 trillion yen from public and private sources in 2020; and innovation enhancement, a key to take actions against climate change while maintaining economic growth. 2.2 JCM 15. Japan established and has been implementing the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) in order both to appropriately evaluate contributions from Japan to GHG emission reductions or removals in a quantitative manner achieved through the diffusion of low carbon technologies, products, systems, services, and infrastructure as well as implementation of mitigation actions in developing countries, and to use them to achieve Japan's emission reduction target. Currently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) are jointly proceeding with bilateral consultations with countries that are interested in the mechanism. As of July 2017, Japan signed this partnership with 17 countries including Bangladesh, Cambodia and Lao PDR. Japan is promoting the formulation of the JCM projects through various supporting schemes, and further accelerating the transfer of low carbon technologies. 2.3 Other Initiatives relating to Climate Change 16. In addition to the aforementioned JCM, Japan promotes technology transfer relating to climate change through active participation in multilateral initiatives under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), such as the Technology Executive Committee (TEC) and Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN). Furthermore, in the COP22, Japan released "Japan's Assistance Initiatives to address Climate Change Responding to Needs of the Developing Countries" in November 11, 2016, and introduced its activities and willingness to address climate change. One example of these initiatives is the Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN) which is a multilateral, public-private partnership initiated by the Climate Technology Initiative (CTI), and Japan is serving as the secretariat of the CTI. PFAN operates to bridge the gap between investments and clean energy businesses. In the framework of this initiative, PFAN, besides organizing its forum and so on, provided mentors for private companies which are engaging in the development of clean energy businesses in LDCs such as Bangladesh, Cambodia and Nepal. 3 ACTIVITIES IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR 17. Since providing good quality medicines forms the foundation of healthcare, it has become an important task to establish a system that can consistently ensure the availability of quality, safe and efficacious medicines in developing countries. 18. Furthermore, the spread of substandard/spurious/falsely labelled/falsified/counterfeit (SSFFC) pharmaceutical products is a significant public health problem, as it not only threatens the health of individual users but also leads to waste of public resources and/or to the risk of spawning drug resistant strains of bacteria. As such, strengthening measures to combat the distribution of SSFFC pharmaceutical products is also of great importance. 19. From these perspectives, the Government of Japan, through JICA and Japan International Corporation of Welfare Services (JICWELS), conducts training programmes in order to develop and reinforce specialist personnel engaged in pharmaceutical regulatory services. 20. In FY2016, these training programmes in the pharmaceutical sector had 17 participants from 12 countries such as Sri Lanka and Tanzania.(see Table 7 attached in the Annex) 21. Additionally, the Government of Japan in cooperation with the Japanese Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA) contributes to improvement of pharmaceutical regulations through participation in international conferences, and endeavours to disseminate the outcomes to developing countries in the Asian region. 4 ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS 22. In FY2016, the following 7 group training courses for government officials were held by the Japan Patent Office (JPO), in cooperation with the Asia Pacific Industrial Property Centre (APIC) of the Japan Institute for Promoting Invention and Innovation (JIPII): 29 participants from LDCs in total were welcomed for training (see Table 8 attached in the Annex). 23. In FY2016, the JPO also held 4 group training courses for the private sector, and 43 participants from LDCs were welcomed for training (see Table 9 attached in the Annex). 24. In addition, the sending of experts is a part of WIPO Funds-in-Trust/Japan programme implemented upon the request of developing countries in the Asia Pacific region for the purpose of providing foreign IP offices with necessary instructions and advice. The experts contribute to enhancing the efficiency of foreign IP offices to grant industrial property rights, and streamlining IP administration through the rationalization of administrative procedures. Since 2008, the Government of Japan has also made annual contributions to WIPO (i.e. WIPO Funds-in-Trust/Japan for Africa and LDCs) on a voluntary basis to promote technology transfer in Africa, and in 2009, the JPO began to send its experts to Africa utilizing the contributions, as well as supporting digitalization of the IP infrastructure and providing scholarships to the African University in Zimbabwe and the University of Yaoundé II in Cameroon. In FY2016, as many as 12 programmes were organized with the WIPO Funds-in-Trust/Japan (FIT Japan), which had more than 400 participants including those from LDCs (see Table 10 attached in the Annex). 25. Moreover, JICA provides various IP training programmes by inviting government officials from various countries to Japan. Under such programmes, participants are expected to acquire general and basic knowledge through lectures, discussion, site observation etc. and to share the knowledge among participants from various countries. Courses on Intellectual Property Rights have been held since 2000. The courses had many participants from LDCs including Myanmar, Cambodia, Gambia, Uganda, and Tanzania.
# Name of programme or project Beneficiary Members(s) Category of technology  
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