TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES:
INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS
Canada
The following communication, dated 15 September 2025, is being circulated at the
request of the delegation of Canada.
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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 2024-2025 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 semiannual 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 7-14 August
2025 in Incheon; Korea, Republic of; Canada exchanged information and
best practices in areas such as IP finance and valuation, as well as
safeguarding trade secrets for small and medium-sized enterprises. 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.