IP/C/W/582
Page 15
Organization
IP/C/W/582
19 October 2012
(12-5707)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights / Original: English
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES:
INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS
japan
The following communication, dated 28 September 2012, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Japan.
Communications from other developed country Members will be circulated as addenda to this document.
______
I. TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL COOPERATION IN THE FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
A. Voluntary Contributions for WIPO Funds-in-Trust/Japan
1. Since 1987, the Government of Japan has been providing voluntary contributions in the field of industrial property to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The "WIPO Funds-in-Trust/Japan" (FIT/JP) in the field of industrial property was established with these voluntary funds. The FIT/JP is used annually to finance various projects for WIPO member States in the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), such as the holding of IP office conferences or symposia, acceptance of trainees and IPR research students, dispatch of Japan Patent Office (JPO) officials and support for the automation and modernization of IP offices. The voluntary fund for the Japanese fiscal year (FY) 2012 amounts to Sw F 1.83 million.
2. In addition to the above, since FY 2008, the Government of Japan has been providing a new Japan Funds-in-Trust programme for Africa to the amount of Sw F1.1 million. This fund will support activities aimed inter alia at strengthening the legal and administrative frameworks for Intellectual Property (IP) protection, modernize IP infrastructure to ensure high quality service to users, share the experience of Japanese SMEs and experts in business oriented IP management and human resource development in Africa.
B. Programmes by JPO
1. Training Programme
3. In order to support developing countries obligated to implement the TRIPS Agreement, Japan has been receiving trainees from these countries. Between April 1996 and March 2012, Japan received 3,730 trainees in both the public and private sectors from 58 countries and one economy primarily in the Asia-Pacific region. In the future, with the goal of the efficient implementation of laws in mind, Japan is scheduled to proceed with human resource development activities emphasizing the area of enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR).
(a) Training programmes for government officials
4. The JPO has been holding group training courses about industrial property rights for government officials. In FY 2011, 12 group training courses were held and 164 participants in total received training.
Training Courses / Target / Participants / OrganizerTraining Program/Patent Examination Practices for APEC Economies / patent examiners in APEC Economies / 12 participants from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Viet Nam, Chile & Mexico / JPO and JICA*
Training Program/Patent Examination on Bio-technology / patent examiners and judges / 5 participants from Malaysia / JPO and JICA*
Training course for Planning of Human Resource Development (HRD) and Training of DGIPR / officials of DGIPR / 11 participants from Indonesia / JPO and JICA*
Training Course on the Enforcement of IPR under WIPO FIT/JP / senior officials engaged in the enforcement of IPR in enforcement-related government agencies / 17 participants from China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam, Cambodia & Mongolia / WIPO and JPO
Training Course on the Use of Information Technology in IP Administration under WIPO FIT/JP / senior officials responsible for information technology matters / 16 participants from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, VietNam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Brazil & Kyrgyz / WIPO and JPO
Training Course on the Examination Practices of Industrial Property (Intermediate/Advanced Programme) under FIT/JP / patent examiners, industrial design examiners, and trademark examiners / 16 participants from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, VietNam, Pakistan & Brazil / WIPO and JPO
Training Course on the Examination Practices of Industrial Property (Basic Programme) under WIPO FIT/JP / patent examiners and trademark examiners / 15 participants from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippine, Thailand, VietNam, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Bhutan, Cambodia, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan & Sri Lanka / WIPO and JPO
Training Course on IP Management and the Formulation and Implementation of Results-Based IP Office Plans under WIPO FIT/JP / senior officials in charge of industrial property administration / 20 participants from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, VietNam, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka / WIPO and JPO
Training Course for Patent Examiners in the field of Optical Apparatus under WIPO FIT/JP / patent examiners in the field of Information and communication technology / 15 participants from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, VietNam & Pakistan / WIPO and JPO
Training Courses / Target / Participants / Organizer
Training Course for Patent Examiners in the field of Pharmaceuticals under WIPO FIT/JP / patent examiners in the field of automobiles / 18 participants from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, VietNam, India & Pakistan / WIPO and JPO
Training Course on Patent Examination Practices for ASEAN / patent examiner in IP offices of ASEAN member countries / 16 participants from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, VietNam, Cambodia, Lao PDR & Myanmar / JPO
Training Course for Patent Practical and Tailored Training Program for India (PPTT) / patent examiner in IP offices of India / 3 trainees from India / JPO
(b) Training programmes for the private sector
5. The JPO has also been holding the following group training courses on industrial property rights for trainees from the private sector. In FY 2011, the following five group training courses were held, and 63 participants in total received training:
Training Courses / Target / Participants / OrganizerThe JPO/IPR Training Course for IP Trainers / employees at universities or research institutions involved in education on the IP system and those engaged in the dissemination of IPR at IP assistance organizations / 16 participants from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, VietNam, Mexico, Cambodia & Myanmar / JPO
The JPO/IPR Training Course for Lawyers / patent attorneys and/or IP lawyers, corporate employees engaged as liaisons for legal affairs dealing with licence agreements and the infringement of rights, among other things, and judges and/or prosecutors / 20 participants from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippine, Thailand, Viet Nam, India & Brazil / JPO
The JPO/IPR Training Course for Advanced IP Practitioners / IP practitioners in private businesses, patent attorneys, IP lawyers, and employees at patent/law offices, and persons undertaking business guidance at IP promotional organizations / 12 participants from China, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand & Viet Nam / JPO
The JPO/IPR Training Course for Patent Experts / patent practitioners in private businesses, patent attorneys and IP lawyers, and persons engaged in patent work within organizations such as those disseminating and encouraging patent use and knowledge / 15 participants from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Viet Nam, India & Brazil / JPO
2. Long-term Fellowship
6. Under the long-term fellowship project funded by WIPO FIT/JP, a trainee, from China was invited to Japan in FY 2011 to study IP issues for a period of six months. In FY 2011, the JPO accepted two trainees on the long-term fellowship, one from China and one from Brazil, for about six months under an independent project.
3. Seminar on Intellectual Property Rights for Alumni Association Members
7. The JPO has suggested to the trainees that an alumni association be established to help disseminate information on IP systems in their home countries and to keep the members of the association informed of current IP developments. The JPO have conducted follow-up seminars in various Asian countries for those who have completed a training programme in order to sustain the fruits of the training programmes and contribute to human resources development.
8. When the JPO receives a request from an alumni association to assist them in conducting an IP seminar, the following types of assistance is provided: financial assistance to meet the cost of holding the seminar, and the dispatching of Japanese speakers to the event.
9. In FY 2011, follow-up seminars were held in Indonesia, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
4. Expert Missions
10. Experts and seminar speakers specializing in various areas of IPR are dispatched by the JPO through WIPO FIT/JP and the JICA mainly for periods of about two weeks. The dispatched experts mainly provide on-site instruction regarding examination practices, computerization and so forth.
11. The JPO has dispatched long-term experts under the JICA scheme in order to engage in JICA technical cooperation projects being implemented in the IP office of the respective recipient countries.
12. In FY 2011, 21 experts were dispatched under the WIPO scheme, and five experts were dispatched under the JICA scheme.
5. Symposia
13. Major symposia, etc., in FY 2011 funded by the WIPO FIT/JP are shown below:
Title / Venue/Date / Theme / Participants /WIPO Study Programme / Morocco
April 2011 / Innovation and Transfer of Technology / 11 participants from 11 African countries (Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Mali, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, and Zambia)
WIPO Policy Dialogue / Zambia
May 2011 / Role of Intellectual Property for Economic, Social and Cultural Development / About 30 participants from 14 Africa n countries (Botswana, Cameroon, Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, and Zambia) and 3 organizations (COMESA, EAC, and UEMOA)
WIPO Seminar / Zimbabwe
May 2011 / Realization of Development Potential of ICT-Based Business / About 40 participants from 17 African countries (Botswana, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), the ARIPO
WIPO
National Workshops / Cambodia and Indonesia September 2011 / Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights / About 60 participants in Cambodia, and about 90 participants in Indonesia, including government officials involved in intellectual property rights enforcement such as customs, police and chamber of commerce
WIPO Regional Forum / Viet Nam November 2011 / University-Industry Collaboration to Promote Technology Transfer / 28 participants including individuals such as senior government officials involved in IP and staff from universities and research institutions from 9 countries (India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand)
WIPO
Sub-Regional
Workshop / Malaysia
November 2011 / Utilization of Patent Examination Results to Enhance Patent Examination Capacities and Increase the Quality of Patents / 21 participants, mainly patent examiners from13 countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam )
WIPO
Regional
Workshop / Bhutan
December 2011 / LDCs of Asia and the Pacific Region on the Use of Intellectual Property for Enhancing Economic Competitiveness and Development / 13 participants including government officials and business institutions such as chambers of commerce and industry from 7 countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Nepal, Samoa)
WIPO
Conference / Japan
February 2012 / Role of Intellectual Property Offices in Promoting Innovation, Business Competitiveness and Economic Growth / 21 participants from 13 countries (Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra-Leone, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Viet Nam)
WIPO
Workshop / Japan
March 2012 / Measures for Accession to, and Effective Use of, the Madrid System / 25 participants from 15 countries/regions (Algeria, ARIPO, Brunei, Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, , Malaysia, Myanmar, OAPI, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand)
6. Provision of the "Patent Abstracts of Japan (PAJ)" on CDROM
14. There has been a problem of third parties obtaining patents in other countries for the inventions for which applications have already been filed in Japan. To help prevent this problem and improve the quality of examinations in developing countries, the JPO has been publishing the CDROM version Patent Abstracts of Japan (PAJ). PAJ contains English translations of bibliographic data and patent abstracts as well as representative drawings published in the Kokai Tokkyo Koho, which contains information about unexamined patent applications. Since April 1995, the JPO has been providing PAJ on CD-ROM free of charge to foreign organizations/institutions including major IP Offices and international organizations, and as of August 2012, about 80organizations/institutions receive them on a regular basis.
7. Project to Publish (in English and Japanese) the Industrial Property Laws and Regulations in Effect in Various Countries
15. The JPO translated laws and regulations, which were related to the industrial property rights of major developed and developing countries, into English. From 1997 to 2003, the translations were published as CD-ROMs equipped with searchable indexes.
16. Since 2004, the JPO has provided the laws and regulations of various countries and regions through its website. At present, translations of the laws and regulations of about 80 countries and intergovernmental organizations can be browsed on the JPO website.
8. Assistance in Search and Examination - WIPO/State-of-the-Art Searches for Developing Countries
17. Since 1975, the WIPO has been conducting a "State-of-the-Art Searches Programme" by which IP offices of advanced countries have been making search reports for developing countries in order to provide the latter with such information at no charge within the framework of the WIPO Patent Information Services. The JPO reached an agreement with the WIPO on 23 September 1984 in terms of cooperating with it, and has been carrying out searches concerned from the standpoint of international contributions since then.
C. JICA projects
1. Intellectual Property Rights Administration through Utilization of Information and Communication Technology in Indonesia
18. In Indonesia, the JICA implemented the development study, which was carried out from June2005 to March 2007 at the Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights (DGIPR), in cooperation with the JPO to support the establishment of an Intellectual Property Digital Library (IPDL) system.
2. Project for Intellectual Property Administration in Indonesia
19. From February 2005 to June 2010, the JICA offered instruction and advice to the DGIPR in terms of the "Project for Intellectual Property Administration" for the purpose of modernizing its IP administration, improving its legislation and enforcement, and expanding the cooperative network in South-East Asia.
3. Project for Strengthening Intellectual Property Rights Protection in Indonesia
20. Following the "Project for Intellectual Property Administration" implemented from 2005 to 2010, the "Project for Strengthening Intellectual Property Rights Protection" was launched by JICA in April 2011. This project is designed to strengthen IPR protection and utilization by enhancing the functions of IPR enforcement, improving examination capacity in the DGIPR, and encouraging utilization and dissemination of IPRs. In cooperation with JPO, JICA sent two long-term experts in order to support this project. The duration of the project will be four years.