Thu-Lang Tran Wasescha came to Switzerland from Vietnam. She read law at the University of Geneva, trained at a Swiss trademark office and subsequently joined the staff of the World Intellectual Property Office. From 1976 to 1986 she was Principal Legal Officer in the Industrial Property Division of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
From 1986 to 2000 she was Senior Legal Adviser and Director of the Department of International Affairs of the Swiss Intellectual Property Institute, Ministry of Justice, where she dealt with international aspects of intellectual property including technical cooperation. She represented Switzerland in IP/TRIPS negotiations and discussions in various fora, e.g. GATT/WTO, WIPO, WHO, FAO, CBD and EFTA. She was deputy head of the Swiss TRIPS negotiating team in the Uruguay Round and responsible for the implementation of the TRIPS provisions in Swiss domestic law. Ms Wasescha joined the Intellectual Property Division of the World Trade Organization in 2000, and served as Secretary to the Special Session of the Council for TRIPS. She was heavily involved in technical cooperation projects with developing countries. Her position after retirement was legal advisor to the IPI.