TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES:

INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS

Australia

The following communication, dated 10 October 2025, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Australia.

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1  INTRODUCTION

1.  This report in respect of TRIPS Article 67 builds upon annual update reports provided since 2012 and available on the WTO e-TRIPS Gateway. The report provides information on Australia's intellectual property-related technical cooperation activities with developing and least developed countries.

2.  Australia fulfils its Article 67 cooperation commitments through multilateral, regional and bilateral programs and activities. Many activities are focused on 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.  The WIPO-Australia Funds in Trust arrangement is in its fourth iteration. Since its inception in 2011, the program has delivered across a range of IP development areas in support of the development of IP systems, enabling technology, and knowledge transfer. It has also achieved targeted impacts in specific sectors, including health and special needs education. Australia is pleased to highlight that the WIPO Funds in Trust Phase 4 received additional funding in June 2025 for a new activity to support policy makers and legislative draftspersons from Pacific Island Countries with potential ratification of the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (GRaTK Treaty). The workshop builds on the success of the treaty and has been requested by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.

4.  Australia, together with New Zealand, continues to fund the Regional Trade for Development (RT4D) initiative which responds to ASEAN-led priorities for trade policy capacity building. RT4D provides technical assistance to support ASEAN member States to take advantage of, and implement their commitments under, two regional Free Trade Agreements – the Agreement Establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Since its inception in 2022, RT4D has run seven IP focused projects in areas in support of the development of IP systems, inclusivity and traditional knowledge/traditional cultural expressions.

5.  Websites containing information on Australia's intellectual property regime are publicly available. These include the IP Australia website covering patents, designs, trademarks and plant breeders' rights (www.ipaustralia.gov.au); the Attorney-General's Department website covering copyright (Copyright | Attorney-General's Department);the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website on international IP developments (Intellectual property | Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.