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 World Trade Organization (WTO): The multilateral structure of the WTO provides opportunities for USTR to lead engagement with trading partners on IPR issues, including through accession negotiations for prospective Members, the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Council), and the Dispute Settlement Body. In the past year, the United States sponsored discussions in the TRIPS Council on the positive and mutually-reinforcing relationship between the protection and enforcement of IPR and innovation. For example, in February 2015, the United States co-sponsored an agenda item on the role of women in innovation. The United States joined the EU, Japan, Montenegro, Norway, and Turkey as proponents of this first-of-its-kind initiative in the TRIPS Council to recognize the accomplishments of women creators and innovators and to address the challenges they continue to confront. These countries, along with numerous others, exchanged best practices and policy experience in promoting women innovators. In its presentation, the United States highlighted the exemplary advances of American women in a variety of technology sectors, from medicine to computer science, advanced manufacturing, and education.

In 2014, the United States also co-sponsored several related agenda items in the TRIPS Council. In October 2014, the United States, the EU, and Switzerland co-organized the first-ever WTO Innovation Fair, which featured innovators, universities, start-ups, incubators, and accelerators from both developing and developed countries around the globe. This event provided a precedent-setting opportunity for trade and IPR delegates to observe first-hand the critical incentives for innovation provided by the TRIPS Agreement and IPR protection generally. In tandem with the Innovation Fair, the United States co-sponsored a TRIPS Council agenda item on IPR awareness. Under this agenda item, the United States and other WTO countries shared information on how to raise awareness regarding the factors that promote innovation and those that hinder innovation. This information-sharing exercise was built on the premise that one country's experiences may provide useful guidance for another country's innovation objectives.

In June 2014, the United States and Taiwan co-sponsored a TRIPS Council agenda item on IPR and innovation focused on innovation incubators. This discussion in the TRIPS Council stressed the importance of incubators, including their work with respect to IPR, as part of the enabling environment for innovation. WTO countries exchanged best practices and success stories regarding their national experiences with facilities and groups such as incubators and accelerators, which provide critical support to start-ups and other new innovative entities to assist in the early stages of development.

In February 2014, the United States sponsored a TRIPS Council agenda item on university technology partnerships. Discussions focused on the extent to which universities around the world are engines for innovation and technology transfer. Numerous WTO Members   10