RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE IP/C/W/12/Add.2
11September 1995
ORGANIZATION(95-2567)
Original: English Council forTrade-Related Aspects
ofIntellectual Property Rights
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES: INFORMATION FROM
DEVELOPED COUNTRY MEMBERS
Addendum
United States
Thisaddendum reproduces acommunication, dated 21August 1995, which hasbeenreceived
fromthedelegation oftheUnited States inresponse totherequest bytheCouncil forTRIPS todeveloped
country Members, asagreed atitsmeeting of24May1995(IP/C/M/2, paragraph 53),forinformation
ontheirtechnical andfinancial cooperation programmes intheareaofintellectual property relevant
totheimplementation oftheTRIPS Agreement.IP/C/W/12/Add.2
Page2
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ININTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROVIDED BY
THE UNITED STATES COPYRIGHT OFFICE, LIBRARY OFCONGRESS
International Copyright Institute
TheU.S.Copyright Office hasbeenassisting foreign countries seeking todevelop andimprove
theircopyright lawsformore than50years. However, ithasbeenonlyinthelastseven years that
ithasfullyformalized these efforts.
In1988, Congress established theInternational Copyright Institute (ICI), theCopyright Office 's
premier training program designed tohelpdeveloping countries bring theircopyright practices into
conformance withthose oftherestoftheworld bydemonstrating theUnited States laws, systems,
andattitudes toward ahostofcopyright issues. TheInstitute, aseries ofcomprehensive international
copyrightsymposiawithintheCopyrightOffice,providestrainingforhigh-levelofficialsfromdeveloping
andnewly industrialized countries, andfrom those countries making thetransition from non-market
tomarket economies. While inWashington, participants intheInstitutes learn copyright principles
andhowtheyareimplemented inthiscountry, aswellasissues thatarerelevant totheirowncountries
orregions.
Taking intoconsideration problem areasidentified byindustry andthefocus ofU.S.intellectual
property trade policy, theICIbrings topgovernment andindustry officials towork withforeign
government officials inthesuppression ofpiracy andthecreation ofahealthy global marketing climate.
Inall,some 200individuals from 80countries haveparticipated inthese seminars, eachof
which includes issues relating totheirparticular region. TheICIpaystravel andallexpenses forforeign
participants toattend itsprograms.
Insupport oftheUnited States government efforts toimprove copyright protection through
encouraging thedevelopment ofeffective copyright lawsandenforcement mechanisms toeradicate
piracy indeveloping countries, theCopyright Office hassuccessfully organized thirteen major training
programs.
Allofthese seminars lastfromonetothreeweeks andareheldinWashington, D.C. Thefirst
ofthese washeldinSeptember 1988.IP/C/W/12/Add.2
Page3
Number of Region or
Date Participants Represented Co Language
1. September 1988 5 FarEast English
2. June1989 7 Egypt English
3. September 1989 14 Arabian Pen/Pacific Rim English
4. April 1990 15 Worldwide English
5. September 1990 11 French-Speaking Africa French
6. April/May 1991 13 South America Span/Engl
7. August 1991 20 PRC English
8. November 1991 18 EastEurope, former USSR Russ/Engl
9. September 1992 17 Nigeria, Ghana English
10. February 1993 18 South andEastAsia English
11. May1993 27 CenAmer andCaribbean Span/Engl
12. September 1993 20 MidEast/North Africa Arab/Engl
13. December 1993 16 Former USSR Rus/Engl
14. September 1995 30 South, CenAmer Span/Engl
Other Recent Activities Funded bytheICI
Turkey
Funded several tripsofalawyer charged withdrafting anewcopyright lawforconsultations
withU.S.government andprivate sector officials.
United Arab-Emirates
Sponsored thetravel totheUnited States foramember oftheMinistry ofInformation who
wasworking ondrafting thecopyright implementing regulations thatwereaimed atsolving some of
theproblems inthelawforconsultations withU.S.government andprivate sector officials.
China
Provided financial assistance toaChinese official toattend aWIPO conference inCambridge,
Massachusetts, ondigital technology (March 1993).
Facilitated thedeputy chief oftheinternational division ofCanailles National Copyright
Administration tospend morethanoneyearintheUnited States studying copyright lawattheCopyright
Office.IP/C/W/12/Add.2
Page4
International Visitors Center (IVC)
TheCopyright Office alsoaddresses theneeds andinterests ofdeveloping countries byassisting
theUnited States Information Agency initsInternational Visitors Center, theAmerican Participants
Program anditsWorldnet broadcasts. USIA willdetail itsprograms; however, herewehaveoutlined
ourefforts.
Staffmembers havebeenparticipants intheAmparts program, e.g.,inTrinidad andTobago,
andbeen guests onWorldnet broadcasts thatfocus oncopyright protection orenforcement, e.g.,
broadcasts toNigeria, Liberia, Romania, andEgypt. Most ofourdealings arewiththeInternational
Visitors Center, which isfunded byagrant from USIS. Examples include:
(i) Avisitbythepresident ofastatepublishing company inIndonesia. Asaleading
publisher ofthousands oftitles, hewasinterested intherelationship ofU.S.copyright
lawstodomesticbookandjournalpublishingandtheimpactoftechnologyonpublishing
andlibrary science.
(ii) AvisitbyalegaladvisorfromtheUnitedArabEmirates(UAE)responsibleforbringing
itscopyright lawintoconformance withtheTRIPs agreement where thefocus was
ontheU.S.copyright law.
(iii) VisitoftwoRomanianseniorofficialsoftheStateOfficeforInventionsandTrademarks,
andagroup oftelevision andradio professionals visited theOffice inNovember 1994.
Franklin Pierce LawCenter
Franklin Pierce LawCenter hasaspecial intellectual property program forforeign students
thatexposes them topractical intellectual andindustrial property experience through internships and
part-time orsummer jobswithU.S.lawfirms, government agencies, andtheU.S.Court ofAppeals
fortheFederal Circuit.
Each summer, aspartofthisprogram, theOffice offers athree-week internship program for
foreign nationals interested incopyright lawandadministration. In1995, theparticipants came from
Korea, Chinese Taipei andIndia. The1994program included seven interns: fivefromChinese Taipei,
andoneeachfrom Malaysia andSriLanka.
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Development Cooperation Program
Officials fromtheOffice havefrequently beenspeakers atWIPO training courses fordeveloping
countries. Forexample, inJulyandAugust 1995, theRegister ofcopyrights wasaspeaker atthe
WIPO regional training course fordeveloping countries ofAsiaandthePacific. Shedelivered six
lectures --fouroncopyright lawandadministration, oneoncontrolling piracy, andoneontheimpact
ofemerging technologies oncopyright law.Thecourse included participants from16countries. During
thatvisit, theRegister alsospoke atacolloquium onthejudiciary andintellectual property system
heldforSriLankan judges, which wasalsosponsored byWIPO andtheSriLankan Judges Institute.
Hertopic was,"Combating Infringement ofCopyright andtheProblem ofPiracy."IP/C/W/12/Add.2
Page5
Other
Anumber oforganizations, which sponsor foreign visitors interested incopyright, schedule
meetings withCopyright Office officials. These organizations include, butarenotlimited to,The
FordFoundation, theU.S.China Business Council, theAsiaFoundation, theSoros Foundation, and
thePhelps Stokes Fund. Forexample, theOffice spent several hours recently withagroup ofprint
andsoftware publishers whowereinterested inhowtheirrights would beenforced intheUnited States.
TheRegister spent several hours lastweek withagroup ofIndian publishers andlawyers whowanted
toraisethestandards ofintellectual property inIndia sothatIndia would notbeontheWatch List.
Assistance toUSTR
TheOffice alsoassists USTR when requested intraining activities inconnection withthereview
andconsultation process ofSection 301oftheTrade Act.Forexample, inNovember, 1994, anOffice
attorney waspartofaU.S.delegation toSaudi Arabia, theU.A.E. andEgypt topromote protection
forU.S.intellectual property, toaddress certain problems encountered inbringing legitimate products
totheregion, andtoassess progress intheregion.
InFebruary, 1995, anOffice attorney visited Turkey andCyprus toencourage further
improvement intheirprotection ofintellectual property. Specifically, issues ofcombating piracy and
ofthescope ofexceptions topublic performance, rebroadcast, andretransmission rights wereaddressed.
Issues Addressed
Alistofrecent andupcoming topics covered inthevarious discussions between theCopyright
Office andforeign visitors:
Basic notions ofcopyright andneighbouring rights
TheU.S.copyright system
Copyright lawintheregion: recent trends
International conventions andNorm-setting activities
Intellectual Property inNAFTA andGATT/TRIPs
TheRoleoftheState inProtection ofCopyright andRelated Rights
Copyright andRelated Rights under Regional Agreements
Copyright andtheGlobal Information Infrastructure
High Technology Issues
Border Control
Enforcement
RoleoftheU.S.Supreme Court inCopyright Litigation
Collective Administration ofRightsIP/C/W/12/Add.2
Page6
Countries Participating inOneorMore Copyright Office Programs
Albania
Algeria
Argentina
Armenia
Austria
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belarus
Benin
Bhutan
Bolivia
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Burma (Myanmar)
Burundi
Cambodia
Chile
China
Chinese Taipei
Congo
Costa Rica
Cuba
Ecuador
Egypt
ElSalvador
Fiji
Georgia
Ghana
Guinea
Haiti
Honduras
Hungary
India
Indonesia
Iran
Jamaica
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Rep.ofKoreaKuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Lebanon
Lithuania
Malaysia
Malawi
Mexico
Moldova
Mongolia
Morocco
Nepal
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
North Korea
Oman
Pakistan
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Singapore
SriLanka
Tajikistan
Thailand
Tunisia
Turkey
Uganda
Ukraine
UAE
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Yemen
ZaireIP/C/W/12/Add.2
Page7
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ININTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
PROVIDED BYTHE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE,
DEPARTMENT OFCOMMERCE
Following isasummary ofthetechnical assistance theU.S. Patent andTrademark Office
(USPTO) hasprovided recently todeveloping andleast-developed countries, andofon-going programs
ofassistance. Itdoesnotinclude programs conducted forcountries thatarenotMembers oftheWorld
Trade Organization, suchasthenewly independent states.
Visiting Scholars
Since 1985, theUSPTO hasprovided theVisiting Scholars Program toparticipants fromover
30foreign countries. Through threeweeks ofclassroom and"hands-on" study, participants learnabout
various aspects oftheadministration ofindustrial property law,inparticular patent andtrademark
examination, andgainanunderstanding oftherôleofintellectual property protection asatoolfor
economic development. Those participating intheprogram learn thebasic elements ofpatent and
trademark examination, including classification, search, office action creation, communication with
applicants, andfinalapplication processing.
Approximately 24students, primarily from Central andEastern Europe participated inthe
October 17-November 4,1994program. TheAgency forInternational Development (AID), through
theCommercial LawDevelopment Program (CLDP) oftheDepartment ofCommerce, funded the
Central andEastern European students andtheUSPTO provided thetrainers andthetraining facilities.
Three tofivestudents fromMexico, funded byAIDthrough aprogram administered bytheUSPTO
andonestudent from Saudi Arabia, independently funded, alsoattended allorpartoftheprogram.
TheUSPTO expects torunasimilar program inOctober -November 1995.
Review ofCountry Laws
Attherequest ofdeveloping countries, theUSPTO reviews draftintellectual property laws
andprovides comments andadvise about theconsistency ofthelawwithinternational obligations and
theprocedural aspects ofthelaw.Inrecent years, theUSPTO hasprovided suchcomments andadvice
ondraftlawsonmany Central andEastern European countries, Latin American countries, Middle
Eastern countries andSoutheast Asian countries.
Mexico
TheUSPTO provided extensive technical assistance toMexico, coordinating itsactivities with
those oftheWorld Intellectual Property Organization andother organizations toavoid duplication.
After ananalysis oftheneeds ofthecountry, theUSPTO provided training forpatent andtrademark
examiners, firstinWashington theninMexico City. Thetraining inMexico Citywasprovided by
USPTO officials inSpanish. Thetraining forpatent examiners wasadapted toeachofthethreemain
technical specialties --chemical, mechanical andelectrical fields. Thetraining oftrademark examiners
covered bothlegalandprocedural matters.
Inaddition toproviding training, theUSPTO provided documentation resources fortheMexican
Patent Office, aimed ateliminating thebacklog ofapplications andwould assist theon-going examination
function. ThesetofU.S. patents forthe1973-1992 wasprovided onrollfilmandanexchangeIP/C/W/12/Add.2
Page8
arrangement between thetwoOffices willsupplement thatcollection withrollfilmofU.S.patents
since 1992. Inaddition, other search tools were provided onCD-ROM.
TheUSPTO alsohasdiscussed other procedures andsystems withofficials oftheMexican
Patent Office, including office automation, management andquality control, protection for
biotechnologicalinventions(particularplants),anduseofautomatedpatentandtrademarksearchsystems.
Courses inSpanish ontheuseofsearch tools, including CD-ROMS, havebeenoffered inMexico.
Anofficial fromtheUSPTO alsoparticipated inaseminar inMexico CityinMarch of1994,
conductedbytheU.S.CustomsService,onborderenforcementofintellectualpropertyrightsforcustoms
officials.
Latin America andtheCaribbean
Officials fromtheUSPTO haveconducted study missions toseveral Latin American/Caribbean
countries during 1994-95, including theDominican Republic, Guatemala, ElSalvador, Costa Rica,
Honduras, Nicaragua, andPanama. Theofficials meet withrelevant government officials, private
sector representatives, andacademics toinventory theinfrastructure fortheregistration ofintellectual
property rights, including patents, trademarks, industrial designs, semi-conductor layout-designs, etc.
andtheir enforcement. Everything from legislation tooffice space, personnel, andequipment is
considered. Based upontheinventory, theneeds forlegislation, technical assistance, including training
andequipment areassessed andaplanformeeting these needs isdeveloped. Follow-up participation
bytheUSPTO depends upon available funds.
Romania
UndertheCLDPprogram,fundedbyAID,theUSPTOhasprovidedtechnicalexpertsonpatents
andtrademarks toactasin-country advisers totheGovernment ofRomania foronemonth periods
each. Inthecourse ofthemonth, theexpert meets withgovernment officials, provides training and
advice andprovides seminars forprivate sector representatives onintellectual property.IP/C/W/12/Add.2
Page9
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ININTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
PROVIDED BYTHE UNITED STATES CUSTOMS SERVICE,
TREASURY DEPARTMENT
Thefollowing isasummary ofthetechnical assistance theU.S.Customs Service hasprovided
recently todeveloping andleast-developed countries, andofongoing programs ofassistance. The
Customs Service hasanactive foreign visitor program which hashosted many individuals, hasCustoms
MutualAssistanceAgreementswithmanycountriesandisamemberoftheWorldCustomsOrganization.
People 'sRepublic ofChina
Bilateral Intellectual Property Rights Agreement
Asamember oftheUnited States Trade Representative (USTR) negotiating teamsince 1993,
theU.S.Customs Service hasparticipated innegotiating sessions inBeijing andcontributed expertise
onCustoms lawandprocedures relating tointellectual property rights (IPR) border enforcement.
Pursuant tothebilateral IPRagreement reached inFebruary, 1995, U.S.Customs willprovide training
toChinese Customs officers having responsibility forenforcing intellectual property rights, methods
ofidentifying infringements andthebuilding ofacentralized system ofIPRrecordations.
AsofJuly, 1995, details oftheU.S./China action planarestillbeing worked out,butU.S.
Customs hasalready sentaninception mission teamtoChina andisnowready tosendinterdisciplinary
teams totrainChinese officers ininspection, processing, andinvestigative techniques. InJune, a
delegation ofChinese Customs officials visited U.S. Customs Headquarters inWashington andthe
portofSanFrancisco where theyobserved training methods. TheU.S.Customs Intellectual Property
Rights Branch hadalsoademonstration ofitsautomated recordation system fortrademarks and
copyrights.
InmidJuly, anattorney from theIPRBranch, aSpecial Agent ofCustoms, andatechnician
from theResearch Division oftheCustoms Office ofLaboratories andScientific Services, travelled
toBeijing topresent seminars onIPRborder enforcement lawandprocedure, investigative techniques
andtechnical procedures forenforcement, inconjunction withlectures being conducted bytheFBI
forChina ’sOffice oftheProcuratorate.
Asian Development Bank Technical Assistance Project
Aspartofacompetitive consultancy project awarded bytheAsian Development Bank, U.S.
Customs willprovide technical assistance toChinese Customs inanumber ofenforcement areas,
including some intellectual property rights activities. U.S.Customs willprovide information onseveral
countries 'laws, regulations andtreaties pertaining toIPRforuseintheconstruction ofaLegal
Information System (LIS). Also, U.S.Customs willparticipate inasymposium inChina onintellectual
property rights which willinclude lecturing ontheimportance ofprotecting trademarks, copyrights
andpatents worldwide, andtheU.S.experience intheinternational debate onIPRenforcement.
Chinese Taipei
Over thepast5years, theUnited States hasprovided extensive assistance toChinese Taipei
inallaspects ofIPRprotection. Inparticular, Customs has:
(1) provided lengthy legalreview andanalysis oftheIPRlawsandregulations ofChinese
Taipei astheypertain totheborder enforcement ofintellectual property rights. ThisIP/C/W/12/Add.2
Page10
included written analyses, position papers, negotiating positions prepared fortheUSTR
dealing primarily withinadequacies inChinese Taipei IPRprotection, andaline-by-line
critique/re-write oftheChinese Taipei regulations;
(2) madenumeroustripstoChineseTaipeifornegotiationsandreviewoftheChineseTaipei
IPRenforcement scheme, including review andanalysis oftheChinese Taipei export
monitoring system forcopyright;
(3) arranged atleastonetriptoChinese Taipei byCustoms laboratory personnel todiscuss
software andvideo programming examination techniques;
(4) arranged foratriptoChinese Taipei byU.S.Customs personnel trained incomputer
systems design, toevaluate andcritique theChinese Taipei proposals forthecopyright
export monitoring system;
(5) arrangednumeroustripstotheUnitedStatesbypersonnelfromChineseTaipeiCustoms,
theBureau ofForeign Trade ("BOFT") andtheInstitute forInformation Industry ("III")
tostudy theU.S.recordation system, Customs 'operational procedures, andlaboratory
techniques;
(6) continued toreview theperformance andeffectiveness ofboththesoftware and
trademark monitoring systems, through theUSTR andtheAmerican Institute inTaiwan
("AIT").
Middle East
(1) Participated inaGulfCooperation council seminar heldinRiyadh, Saudi Arabia,
regarding theprotection ofintellectual property rights intheMiddle East. Specifically,
theseminar addressed theneedforidentifying infringing products, andtheenforcement
steps thatmaybetaken tointerdict such goods 'movement. Theother seminar
participants included representatives fromU.S.Government agencies andtheprivate
sector.
(2) Conducted aday-long seminar onIPRenforcement intheUnited ArabEmirates. The
seminar wassponsored bytheDubai Department ofEconomics, andthere were no
other presenters.
(3) Hosted avisittoCustoms byselected Middle Eastgovernment officials, journalists,
andprivate industry representatives forashort presentation onCustoms 'IPRborder
enforcement activities.
Republic ofKorea
Onfiveoccasions fromMarch 1994toMay1995, arepresentative oftheIntellectual Property
Rights Branch, U.S.Customs Service, metwithrepresentatives oftheKorean Customs Service ("KCS")
andtheMinistry ofFinance ("MOF"). Thepurpose ofthese meetings wastoaddress inadequacies
intheKCSIPRborder enforcement regulations. Theregulations weredrafted inlate1993andbecame
effective inJanuary 1994.
Three ofthesemeetings occurred within thecontext ofabilateral negotiation ortradesub-group
meeting. Twooccurred when representatives ofKCSandMOF wereintheU.S.forother reasons.
Each meeting lasted several hours.IP/C/W/12/Add.2
Page11
During themeetings withtheKCSrepresentatives, thediscussion focused onaline-by-line
critique oftheKCSregulations andrecommendations regarding howtoimprove theexisting regulations
tocreate aneffective enforcement scheme. These meetings were verydetail oriented.
Discussions withMOF representatives, whoareintheposition ofapproving amendments to
theregulations,focusedonmajorpointsofcontentionandthebenefitsassociatedwithresolvingproblems
withtheregulations intherecommended manner. These meetings focused lessondetail andmore
onthebroader issues.
USCS provided KCSwithawritten line-by-line critique oftheinitial regulations. Many of
theamendments suggested byUSCS were incorporated inamore recent version oftheregulations
published latein1994. InMarch 1995, USCS provided KCSwithawritten critique oftheamended
regulations.
InMay1995, USCS provided acopyofthedraftofthenewUSCS IPRborder enforcement
regulations toKCS during theirannual bilateral meeting. Presumably, thisdocument willbeused
asamodel foraddressing theremaining shortcomings intheKCSregulations.
USCSwillcontinuetoprovideverbalandwrittenassistancetoKCSforthepurposeofdeveloping
aneffective IPRborder enforcement system intheRepublic ofKorea.
Thailand
Inthespring of1994, inresponse toarequest fromThaiCustoms officials toreceive training
indeveloping anIPRborder enforcement regime, asenior attorney intheIntellectual Property Rights
Branch conducted anall-day seminar onthelegalandadministrative procedures necessary tocreate
sucharegime. Theattorney alsometwithThaiCustoms andother government officials involved
intheprotectionofintellectualpropertyrightstodiscussThailand'scurrentIPRenforcementprocedures.
TheUnited States Trade Representative ’sOffice inconjunction withtheU.S. Embassy in
Thailand arranged thetraining which wasrequested byThaiCustoms officials during theSpecial 301
negotiations. Toassist ThaiCustoms initsefforts toimprove itsprotection ofintellectual property
rights attheborder, U.S.Customs hasoffered toprovide additional training onthelegalprocedures
necessary toimplement aneffective IPRborder enforcement regime andtechnical training intheuse
ofcomputers andlaboratory analysis.
Mexico
InAugust of1994, U.S.Customs arranged foratwo-day IPRseminar tobepresented inMexico
City. TheU.S.Government teamofpresenters consisted oftheChief oftheIPRBranch, theDirector
oftheCustoms Research Division intheOffice ofLaboratories andScientific Services, atraining officer
fromtheOffice ofInternational Affairs, andanattorney fromtheOffice ofInternational Affairs, and
anattorney fromtheU.S.Patent andTrademark Office 'sOffice ofLegislative andInternational Affairs.
Alsodoing presentations ontheimportance andmethods ofIPRenforcement wererepresentatives from
Reebok, theInternational Trademark Association, LeviStrauss &Co.andtheRecording Industry of
America Association (RIAA).
Theaudience consisted ofamixofrepresentatives from government andindustry, including
visitors fromPeruandArgentina. Inaddition toMexican Customs officers, therewererepresentatives
fromMexico ’sTreasury Department andexperts onpatent, trademark andcopyright law.There were
lively discussions andcomments which appeared tostimulate ideas about Mexico ’sapproach toIPR
border enforcement under NAFTA.IP/C/W/12/Add.2
Page12
Flowing from thisevent, inApril of1995, U.S. Customs made available totheMexican
representative attheDallas, Texas, NAFTA Center, acopyofdraftU.S.regulations toimplement
NAFTA IPRrequirements while atthesame timeanticipating GATT "TRIPS" requirements. Itwas
recognized onbothsides thatthedraftmight beuseful toMexico asitfashions itsapproach toIPR
border enforcement under NAFTA.
Russia
UndertheDepartmentofCommerceGeneralCounsel’sCommercialLawDevelopmentProgram
(CLDP), theChief ofCustoms 'Intellectual Property Rights Branch wenttoMoscow, Russia (Russian
Federation) foroneweek, inMayofl995, withanattorney fromtheU.S.Patent andTrademark Office 's
Office ofLegislation andInternational Affairs. Themission wastoconduct ashort-term program on
theprotection ofintellectual property rights, insupport ofRussia ’sgoalofaccession totheWorld
Trade Organization (WTO). Lectures, slides andvisual aidswerepresented astraining examples of
customs lawandprocedures relating toIPRs.
TheU.S. Customs representative encouraged empowerment ofCustoms andtheraising of
consciousness about theimportance ofprotecting IPRsattheborder, bothonimport andexport. In
furtherance ofthateffort, Russia ’smembership intheWorld Customs Organization (WCO) wasnoted
andacopyoftheWCO draftofmodel legislation forIPRborder enforcement given toseveral ofthe
Russian government agencies participating. Since thatdraftisbased onTRIPS, itfollows thatadoption
ofitwould putRussia incompliance withthatportion ofthe"Uruguay Round," eventhough theU.S.
would liketoseeevenhigher standards adopted.
TheCLDP maintains aresident contact person inMoscow whowillserve ascoordinator for
further follow-up activities. Also, anumber ofcontact persons andoffices intherelevant Russian
government agencies wereidentified. U.S.Customs plans toparticipate inseminar events which are
plannedintheU.S.forRussianvisitors,andotherplanswillbedevelopedtofurthertheprogramoverall.
Ukraine
UndertheDepartmentofCommerceGeneralCounsel’sCommercialLawDevelopmentProgram
(CLDP), theChief ofCustoms 'Intellectual Property Rights Branch wenttoKiev, Ukraine, forone
week inMay of1995, withanattorney from theU.S. Patent andTrademark Office 'sOffice of
LegislationandInternationalAffairs.Themissionwastoconductashort-termprogramontheprotection
ofintellectual property rights, insupport oftheUkraine 'sgoalofaccession totheWorld Trade
Organization (WTO). Lectures, slides andvisual aidswerepresented astraining examples ofcustoms
lawandprocedures relating toIPR.
TheU.S. Customs representative encouraged empowerment ofCustoms andtheraising of
consciousness about theimportance ofprotecting IPRsattheborder, bothonimport andexport. In
furtherance ofthateffort, theUkraine 'smembership intheWorld Customs Organization (WCO) was
noted andacopyoftheWCO draftofmodel legislation forIPRborder enforcement given toseveral
oftheUkrainian government agencies participating. Since thatdraftisbased onTRIPS, itfollows
thatadoption ofitwould puttheUkraine incompliance withthatportion ofthe"Uruguay Round,"
eventhough theU.S.would liketoseeevenhigher standards adopted.
TheCLDP maintains aresident contact person inMoscow whowillserve ascoordinator for
further follow-up activities. Also, anumber ofcontact persons andoffices intherelevant Ukrainian
government agencies wereidentified. U.S.Customs plans toparticipate inseminar events which are
planned intheU.S.forUkrainian visitors, andother plans willbedeveloped tofurther theprogram
overall.IP/C/W/12/Add.2
Page13
World Customs Organization
Asamember oftheWorld Customs Organization (WCO), headquarters inBrussels, Belgium,
U.S.Customs hasbeenactive inthedevelopment ofmodel national legislation togiveCustoms Services
greater powers tofightcounterfeiting andpiracy. There aremore than130members oftheWCO,
andtherecently (July, 1995) approved model isbased ontheAgreement onTrade-Related Aspects
ofIntellectual Property Rights ("TRIPS").
While themodel legislation, likeTRIPS, setsaminimum baseline, amember ofthemember
nationswouldnodoubtqualifyas"developing"or"least-developed"countries,withlittleornoprotection
forintellectual property rights. TheWCO product isaimed specifically atIPRborder enforcement,
and,indebate, thehigher standards ofU.S.Customs lawandprocedure werepromoted asanexample.
Inanyevent, the"legislative" proceedings before theWCO membership atlarge, andincommittee,
spotlighted theimportance ofborder protection forIPRs andshould influence member countries to
consider adopting thepackage.
TheWCO model legislation hasbeen, andcanbe,stressed when attempting toinform and
facilitate implementation ofanimport/export IPRcontrol system bydeveloping andleast-developed
countries.IP/C/W/12/Add.2
Page14
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ININTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROVIDED BY
THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
AsiaandtheNear East
Egypt
The1993/1994 Sector Policy Reform measure required theGovernment ofEgypt tosubmit
anewpatent lawtothePeople 'sAssembly. USAID anticipates thatasuitable draftwillbesubmitted
during thecurrent legislative session. Asecond condition resulted intheGovernment completing a
study aimed atidentifying needed administrative improvements foritsIPRsystem. Based onthisstudy,
USAID isnowdesigning along-term technical assistance program toimprove Egypt 'sIPRlegal
framework. Implementation ofthisactivity bytheGovernment willsatisfy 1994/95 and1995/96 Sector
Policy Reform measures.
Indonesia
USAIDhasthreeprojectsdealingwithIPRissues;theEconomicLawandImprovedProcurement
Systems project; theAgribusiness Development project. These projects provided technical assistance
toIndonesian government officials onrequirements forbringing theirlawsinlinewithinternational
agreements.
Jordan
Disbursement ofacashtransfer istiedtotheaccomplishment ofasetofreform measures,
including thereview ofcurrent IPRlawsandregulations andtheexamination ofmechanisms fortheir
enforcement. USAID sponsored anassessment ofthefeasibility ofJordanian ratification ofinternational
conventions andfollowed upwithspecific technical assistance indrafting ofbothdomestic legislation
andimplementing regulations. Aseminar onenforcement ofIPRs anditsimpact oninvestment is
planned forthisupcoming year.
ThePhilippines
Incooperation withthePhilippine government, USAID iscoordinating aprivate sector response
toIPRenforcement. USAID isawaiting aproposal from theIIPAandthePhilippine private sector
andisprepared tooffer matching support totheinitiative.
Thailand
In1993 theScience andTechnology forDevelopment project funded aworkshop on
"International Patents forTechnology Development," which provided anoverview ofU.S.patent laws
andtheirrelationships tothepatent lawsofother countries.
Latin America andtheCaribbean
Bolivia
USAID hasrecently initiated plans forpossible interventions overthenextfewyears. In
cooperation withtheECON Section fromtheU.S.Embassy, USAID hasentered intoapolicy dialogue
withthegovernment within theframework ofthecurrent investment climate initiative.IP/C/W/12/Add.2
Page15
Dominican Republic
USAID provided funding foraspeaker from thePatent andTrademark Office foraseminar
ontheneedforimplementing anewIPRlawintheDominican Republic. Anadditional activity was
planned aspartoftheTrade Practices andProductivity Improvement project, butwillbedropped due
tobudget andstaffing constraints.
Ecuador
USAID 'sprimary strategic objective, toincrease sustainable economic growth forabroad base
ofthepopulation, includes IPRactivities implemented through acooperative agreement withFoundation
Ecuador, aprivate-sector ledorganization. Todate, activities haveinvolved policy dialogue with
government officials andaninternational conference. Now, USAID issponsoring acomprehensive
review oftheEcuadoran IPRregime andplans tousethisstudy oftheEcuadoran legislation and
commitment tointernational IPRstandards todevelop anoverall IPRprogram forthecountry.
Guatemala/Central America Regional
USAIDfundedastudyandothertechnicalassistancetodraftnewpatent,copyrightandtrademark
legislation. Adisbursement under theTrade andLabour Relations Development project waspartly
conditioned onIPRreforms. Theregional Economic Policy Research project conducted acomparison
ofactual andplanned IPRlegislation intheregion withtheterms ofNAFTA andother international
agreements, andtoanalyze governmental IPRenforcement capacity. USAID provided funding for
theChief Judge oftheUSPTO 'sBoard ofAppeals toparticipate inaseries ofUSAID sponsored regional
IPRseminars. Future support willfocus ontechnical assistance designed toimprove thelegislative
framework andenforcement capacity.
Honduras
USAID provided technical assistance totheGOH'sIntellectual Property Rights Directorate
andhasparticipated intheregional IPRinitiative.
Jamaica
USAID funding provided aspeaker toaddress IPRissues atalarge conference ontheeffects
ofeconomic policy reform onbusiness. USAID alsorecently sponsored ateam consisting of
USAID/Washington personnel, arepresentative fromthePatents andTrademarks Office, andaprivate
attorney toassess thecurrent stateofplayintheJamaican IPRregime. Thisteam’sfindings willbe
usedbythemission toincorporate IPRactivities intotheUSAID ’soverall Economic Growth strategy.
Eastern Europe andtheNIS
Russia
Through various mechanisms, USAID 'smission inMoscow provided technical assistance in
thedrafting ofcommercial legislation, including issues surrounding IPRs. USAID hasalsosponsored
interventions bytheCustoms Service, thePatents andTrademarks Office andtheCommerce
Department 'sCommercial LawDevelopment Program: USAID iscoordinating withother Federal
agencies indeveloping acoordinated IPRstrategy forRussia.IP/C/W/12/Add.2
Page16
Eastern Europe andtheNIS
USAID provided funding totheAmerican BarAssociation 'sCentral andEastern European
LawInitiative (CEELI). CEELI hasconducted several analyses ofIPRregimes inBulgaria, Estonia
Latvia, Albania, andUzbekistan.
USAID Washington IPRInitiatives:
G/Center forEconomic Growth :TheCenter 'sAgricultural Biotechnology forSustainable
Productivity project includes training activities inintellectual property protection. Participants
include Costa Rica, Indonesia, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Thailand, Mexico, Brazil, andthe
InternationalAgriculturalResearchCenters.Traininghastakentheformofworkshops,seminars
andinternship programs. TheCenter 'sOffice ofEconomic andInstitutional Reform has
dedicated astaffmember toliaise withtheUSPTO, Customs, theUSTR andvarious industry
groups regarding IPRissues andhasprovided stafftoUSAID/Kingston toassist intherecent
IPRsurvey.
Global/Human Capacity Development: TheCenter ishosting anemployee ofthePatents
andTrademark Office towork onIPRissues andisplanning toconduct aworkshop onIPRs
thisfall.
G/Center fortheEnvironment: TheCenter issponsoring aworkshop onBiodiversity
Prospecting inCosta Ricathatwilladdress IPRidentification, enforcement, etc.Thisworkshop
mayberepeated inother regions, ortheCenter maydevelop training programs which target
specific topics ofinterest, suchascapacity building forIPRenforcement.IP/C/W/12/Add.2
Page17
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ININTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROVIDED BY
THE UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY
Speaker Programs
During thecurrent Fiscal Year, Travelling Speaker programs onIPRs havebeencompleted
inMexico, Nicaragua, Brazil, andEstonia. Weplantosendspeakers onthissubject toPoland,
Indonesia, thePhilippines andPanama during theremainder ofFY95.Thus far,plans areunderway
torecruit forspeaker programming inItalyinFY96.During FY95,oneteleconference onIPRwas
conducted withRomania onthevaluation ofintellectual property. During FY94,oneteleconference
eachinTurkey andBangladesh, twoinIndia andfourinChina onvarious IPRsubjects.
Foreign Press Centers
Plans arebeing finalized byUSIA 'sForeign Press Centers foratripforresident foreign
journalists toLosAngeles, Seattle andWashington, DCbeginning thethird week ofSept. 1995.
Journalists areexpected tovisitWashington, DC,California andWashington State. Thetourwillfocus
ontheIPRinterests ofAmerican software, publishing, manufacturing, entertainment, pharmaceutical
andbiotech companies andwillprovide participants access tosome oftheplayers mostinfluential in
American efforts forinternational protection ofintellectual property rights. Thistourisoffered to
allresident journalists accredited totheUSIA Foreign Press Centers inWashington, NewYork and
LosAngeles.
Publisher Education
InFY95,USIA 'sPublisher Education Program sponsored tworegionally based workshops
onthetheme ofIntellectual Property Rights. Workshop/seminars were designed andheldinHong
Kong andWarsaw. Wehadplanned athirdregional conference forBucharest, buthadtocancel because
oftherecisionorder.InHongKong,theconferencefocusedontheroleofnon-governmentorganizations
inpromoting andimplementing effective systems ofIPRprotection. Theconference wasorganized
ontheassumption thatalthough property rights issues havebeenandwillcontinue tobeaddressed
ingovernment-to-government discussions, theroleofprivate andprofessional organizations working
intandem withgovernments wasparticularly critical tothelong-term development ofeffective property
rights régimes. Fifty representatives ofnon-governmental organizations from theU.S.andsixteen
EastAsian countries andterritories participated.
Worldnet Television
USIA 'sWorldnet International Television Service hasbeenveryactive during FY94and95
onthissubject. Worldnet Dialogues areone-way video/two-way audio teleconference discussions
transmitted byUSIA 'ssatellite transmission system. Audiences invited toAmerican Embassies,
Consulates orCultural Centers participate indiscussions withAmerican IPRexperts.
InFY95,there havebeensixWorldnet Dialogues thusfar.Thesixprograms weretargeted
to:Japan, thePhilippines, Australia; Panama, ElSalvador; Venezuela, Ecuador, Dominican Republic;
Nicaragua, Guatemala; Argentina; Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Lebanon.IP/C/W/12/Add.2
Page18
InFY94,there were twelve Worldnet Dialogues. These programs were targeted to:
- UAE andLebanon;
- CoteD'Ivoire, Senegal, Guinea, Burkina FasoandMali;
- India;
- Nicaragua andPanama;
- Jordan, UAE andKuwait;
- PeruandColombia;
- Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, thePhilippines andAustralia;
- Belgium, Germany, France/OECD;
- Canada andSweden;
- Turkey, Romania andItaly.
International Visitor Programs
TheOffice ofInternational Visitors intheBureau ofEducational andCultural Affairs arrange
individual andgroup visits totheUnited States under theInternational Visitor orVoluntary Visitor
programs. IntheEastAsiaandPacific Branch ofthisOffice, alarge number ofindividual visitors
coming tofocus onthegeneral areaoftrade receive some treatment ofIPRs aspartoftheiroverall
program. Wehaveincomplete datahereforthisfiscal year, butfourvisitors fromKorea, onefrom
Malaysia andfourfrom Thailand hadappointments concerning IPRs asoneelement oftheiroverall
visittotheUnited States.
Larger programs specifically dedicated toIPRsarefewer. Beginning March 27,1995, from
thePRC, atwenty-eight dayprogram titled "Enforcement ofIntellectual Property Rights" forthree
individuals fromShanghai. Withenforcement ofIPRsakeyissueintheUS-China bilateral relationship,
theprogram stressed U.S.Government views ofcopyright asanintellectual property right; howthese
views aretranslated intoviable laws; theU.S. Government 'suseofraids andother methods for
developing information about IPRviolations; andadministrative andother remedies taken todealwith
violators.
Aspecial program focusing onIPRs wasarranged forthree Italian Magistrates visiting the
U.S.together, March 23-April 22,1995. More akintoaU.S.District Attorney, theyinvestigate IPR-
related crimes intheirjurisdictions. Theprogram willlookattheprotection ofintellectual property
rights andcompliance withinternational accords; employment oftechnology against "white collar"
andcomputer crimes; andgovernmental relations andpolicies towards mass media.IP/C/W/12/Add.2
Page19
COMMERCIAL LAW DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
OFFICE OFTHE GENERAL COUNSEL
U.S.DEPARTMENT OFCOMMERCE
Intellectual Property Rights Assistance Activities
TheCommercial LawDevelopment Program oftheU.S. Department ofCommerce Office
oftheGeneral Counsel provides avariety oftypes ofassistance withrespect tothedevelopment and
implementation oflawsandinternational agreements affecting trade andinvestment, including the
protection ofintellectual property rights.
Thefollowing isanindicative listofCLDP 'srecent activities andthose scheduled forthenear
future withrespect tointellectual property rights.
Region-wide Programs
Central andEastern Europe
Inthefallof1994, CLDP provided threeweeks ofintensive training onthefundamentals and
intricacies ofpatent andtrademark protection toCental andEastern European government officials
responsible fortheregulation ofintellectual property rights. Training, provided under theauspices
oftheDepartmentofCommercePatentandTrademarkOffice,concentratedonidentifyinganddiscussing
thesolutions tovarious practical problems andpolicy questions thatthevisiting officials likely face
astheyencounter changes accompanying atransition toamarket economy. Thediscussion ranged
fromlawreform tooffice procedures. Workshop leaders wereattorneys, patent examiners, scientists
andadministrators withsignificant experience inthefield.
Participatingcountriesincluded:Albania,CzechRepublic,Estonia,Hungary,Latvia,Lithuania,
Poland, Romania andtheSlovak Republic.
Russia andUkraine
Inthefallof1995, CLDP willprovide atwo-week program centred inWashington, DC,with
asidetriptotheportofBaltimore, forthepurpose ofstrengthening thetechnical expertise andpractical
skills ofgovernment andjudicial officials responsible fortheenforcement ofintellectual property rights,
withparticular emphasis onissues arising inconnection withWorld Trade Organization Membership.
Organized byCLDP incooperation withtheU.S.Patent andTrademark Office andtheFederal
Judicial Center, theprogram alsoisbeing coordinated withother U.S.Government agencies, including
USTR, theCustoms Service, theFBI,andtheCopyright Office, aswellasprivate groups, including
theInternational Intellectual Property Alliance.
Participants willinclude twenty persons involved invarious aspects ofintellectual property
rights protection, including government officials, prosecutors, judges andlegislators, formRussia and
Ukraine.IP/C/W/12/Add.2
Page20
Country-specific Activities
Estonia
Inthespring of1995, CLDP provided aone-week advisor totheEstonian Patent Office for
thepurpose ofassisting them withdevelopment ofprotection forcomputer chipdesigns.
Latvia
Inthespring of1995, CLDP sentanexpert onpatent appeals procedures towork withthe
Latvian Patent Office foroneweektoassist themindeveloping theirownprocedures forpatent appeals.
Lithuania
Inthespring of1995, CLDP sentanexpert ontrademark appeals procedures towork with
theLithuanian StatePatent Bureau foroneweek toassist themindeveloping procedures fortrademark
appeals.
Inthesummer of1995, CLDP provided anexpert onintellectual property rights, specifically
asconcerns pharmaceuticals, towork withtheLithuanian State Patent Bureau indeveloping the
procedures necessary toprotect theholders ofpharmaceutical patents.
Romania
Since 1993, CLDP hasprovided acontinuous series ofresident advisors totheRomanian State
Office forInventions andTrademarks (OSIM). These advisors haveassisted OSIM withavariety
ofspecific IPRissues, including drafting oflegislation andregulations andthedevelopment ofoffice
procedures withrespect topatents, design patents, trademarks, trade secrets andcopyrights.
Inaddition,duringthesummerof1995,CDLPbroughtthreeofficialsfromOSIMtoWashington
fortwoweeks ofconsultations withPTOandother USG agencies withrespect topatent, trademark
andcopyright procedures, judicial training andenforcement ofintellectual property rights. These
consultations served asfollow-up totheCLDP-sponsored 1994 Regional Program mentioned above
andthetraining provided bytheCLDP advisors atOSIM.
Russia
Inthespring of1995, CLDP senttwoIPRexperts, onefromthePatent andTrademark Office
andonefrom theU.S. Customs Service IPREnforcement Branch, toconsult withtheRussian
Government withrespect toIPRenforcement issues andtheWTO TRIPS Agreement.
CLDP willbesending another advisor toMoscow thisfalltofollow-up thework donebythe
firsttwoexperts.
Ukraine
Inthespring of1995, CLDP senttwoIPRexperts, onefromthePatent andTrademark Office
andonefromU.S.theCustoms Service IPREnforcement Branch, toconsult withtheUkrainian Patent
Office andCustoms Agency withrespect toIPRenforcement issues andtheWTO TRIPS Agreement.
CLDP willbesending another advisor toKievthisfalltofollow-up work donebythefirst
twoexperts.