TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES:
INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS
Canada
The following communication, dated 16 September 2024, is being circulated at the
request of the delegation of Canada.
_______________
1 BRIEF OUTLINE OF TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN DURING
THE REPORTING YEAR
1. Article 67 of the WTO Agreement
on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
requires that, "[i]n order to facilitate the implementation of this
Agreement, developed country Members shall provide, on request and on mutually
agreed terms and conditions, technical and financial cooperation in favour of
developing and least-developed country Members". Pursuant to Article 67 of
the TRIPS Agreement, 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 (LDC) Members. The present
document provides an update on Canada's activities in respect of technical and
financial cooperation in the area of intellectual property (IP) in favour of
developing country and LDC Members, covering the 2023-2024 period.
2. Pursuant to its commitments under Article 67 of the TRIPS Agreement,
Canada continues to undertake a range of technical cooperation activities in
favour of developing and LDC Members at the multilateral, plurilateral, and
bilateral levels. At the multilateral level, Canada works in close
collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), as well
as with the Asia‑Pacific Economic Cooperation Intellectual Property Rights
Experts' Group (APEC-IPEG) where Canada participates in the IPEG's semi-annual
deliberations aimed at sharing information and best practices for the
utilization, protection and enforcement of IP rights. For instance, at the most
recent APEC-IPEG meeting, held August 15-18 in Lima, Peru, Canada
exchanged information and best practices in areas such as patent examination
and prior art searches, cooperation with foreign IP offices, digital
modernization, IP-backed financing, and ongoing work to promote full and equal
access for the participation of women in the IP system. In addition, Canada's
technical cooperation activities are administered by various Government of
Canada departments and agencies, including the Canadian Intellectual Property
Office (CIPO), Global Affairs Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP),
and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). In addition, Canadian
institutions that receive funding from the Government of Canada, such as the
Centre for Trade Policy and Law (CTPL) and the University of Ottawa Centre for
Law, Technology and Society, are also involved in international technical
cooperation efforts.
3. Details of recent and ongoing technical cooperation activities
undertaken by Canada are provided in the Annex.