Funds in Trust - Donor Updates

New contributions from Italy

Contributions by the Government of Italy in the framework of a recently concluded funds-in-trust (FIT) agreement with WIPO have reached 600,000 Euros.

The most recent contribution of 300,000 Euros was communicated to WIPO in October, and comes from the Directorate General for Development Cooperation at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. This follows an agreement signed in September by WIPO Director General, Dr. Kamil Idris, and Italy's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Massimo D'Alema, which formalizes Italy's long-standing support for WIPO's activities relating to economic development. It makes Italy one of the largest contributors of extra budgetary resources to WIPO.

The FIT program prioritizes activities which promote:

* the relationship between IP and technological development,

* the development of creative industries,

* the use of IP by small and medium-sized enterprises,

* the protection of geographical indications and industrial designs,

* IP training, and

* the fight against counterfeiting and audiovisual piracy.

While the FIT agreement extends to all developing and transition countries, it places special emphasis on assistance to least developed countries and to countries in the Mediterranean area.

An additional 300,000 Euros contributed earlier in the year in the context of this FIT has helped to finance a post-graduate program in IP, which is run jointly by the WIPO Academy, the University of Turin and the International Training Center of the International Labour Organisation.

France - The first FIT donor

France's National Institute for Industrial Property (INPI) first began contributing to WIPO's FIT programs in 1980, making France the longest established of all WIPO's FIT donor countries. The level of these voluntary contributions has increased from 200,000 to 300,000 Swiss francs per year.

INPI conducts an active bilateral cooperation policy in support of developing and transition countries. The doubling of the overall budget dedicated by INPI to bilateral cooperation between 2004 and 2006 illustrates the high priority accorded to this work. Collaboration with WIPO through the FIT program is an integral part of this broader policy, through which INPI builds on the synergies offered by partnerships...