Australia FIT/IP helps developing and least developed countries (LDCs) to improve their intellectual property (IP) systems and enhance their capabilities to facilitate innovation, investment and technology transfer in the Asia-Pacific Region.
The fund was established in 2012 through a $2 million AUD contribution from the Australian government funded under Australia’s multilateral "Aid for Trade" program. A further contribution of $3 million AUD was made in 2015 to continue to advance WIPO's Development Agenda through the delivery of technical assistance.
Projects under Australia FIT/IP are developed and implemented in consultation with IP Australia and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The funds at work
Developing IP strategies and capacity
Through the development of national IP strategies for Cambodia, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Tonga, Australia FIT/IP is delivering sustainable results that help real people.
We also work to improve the capacities of national experts in managing IP systems.
Accession to WIPO treaties
Australia FIT/IP builds capabilities of partner countries to promote accession to WIPO treaties, in particular the WIPO Convention, Berne Convention, PCT and Madrid Protocol.
Accessible educational materials
The Australia FIT/IP contribution to WIPO's Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) has provided 162 books in accessible formats to visually impaired people in Bangladesh, as well as 1096 books in accessible formats in Sri Lanka.
The initiative received recognition for the innovative nature and impact of its work at the 2015 London Book Awards.
Spotlight on the funds
"The FIT2 program has been very beneficial, for me and my institution. The program allowed me to gain skills and knowledge in advanced immunology and genomics technology which will be useful in combating dengue."
— Dr. Tedjo Sasmono, Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology (EIMB), Indonesia
"The Australia FIT/IP fellowship has given me an international platform, where I had the opportunity to meet others and to create new collaborations. I am hopeful to have my own research team at ICDDR,B to work on drug resistance mechanisms."
— Ms. Tahmina Ahmed, International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR, B)
"The sabbatical was a learning curve for me and as an upcoming scientist from a developing country, it was a good platform for exposure to advanced technology for research."
— Ms. Dulcie Lautu, Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research (PNGIMR), Papua New Guinea
"The new skills I gained during this FIT2 sabbatical have advanced my knowledge in malaria research, enabling me to do high-throughput studies to get faster results using advanced technology."
— Dr. Rintis Noviyanti, Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology (EIMB), Indonesia