TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES:
INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS
Australia
The following communication, dated 26 September 2023, is being circulated at the
request of the delegation of Australia.
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1 INTRODUCTION
1. Australia is committed to sharing information with other WTO Members
on its technical and financial cooperation activities in the area of
intellectual property rights in fulfilment of Article 67 of the TRIPS
Agreement. This is a full report on Australia's intellectual
property-related technical cooperation activities with developing and least
developed countries. It builds upon annual update reports provided in 2012 (document
_IP/C/W/582/Add.2),
2013 (document _IP/C/W/593/Add.7),
2014 (document _IP/C/W/601),
2015 (document _IP/C/W/610/Add.4),
2016 (document _IP/C/W/617/Add.1),
2017 (document _IP/C/W/632/Add.1),
2018 (document _IP/C/W/647/Add.2),
2019 (document _IP/C/W/655/Add.4),
2020 (document _IP/C/R/TC/AUS/1),
2021 (document _IP/C/R/TC/AUS/2)
and 2022 (document _IP/C/R/TC/AUS/3).
2. Australia fulfils its Article 67 technical cooperation commitment
through multilateral, regional and bilateral programs and activities. Many
activities are focused on developing and least developed countries in the
Indo-Pacific region. Australia works closely with the World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) Secretariat and other partners to assist developing and least developed
countries to build their intellectual property capacity and systems.
3. Many of the technical cooperation activities implemented under
Article 67 of the TRIPS Agreement align with Australia's strategic focus
on using aid as a catalyst to promote economic growth and poverty reduction.
This is embedded in the UN Sustainable Development Goals and our future
investments, including proposed ongoing support for the WIPO-Australia Funds in
Trust program, which will be influenced by these goals.
4. Websites containing information on Australia's intellectual property
regime, which may be considered a technical cooperation resource, include the
IP Australia website covering patents, designs, trademarks and plant breeders'
rights (www.ipaustralia.gov.au); the
Attorney-General's Department (Copyright | Attorney-General's Department (ag.gov.au));
and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website on international IP
developments (Intellectual property | Australian
Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (dfat.gov.au)).