.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/IP/9  
14 April 2004 
 (04-1669) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects  
of Intellectual Property Rights Special Session  
 
 
 
EIGHTH SPECIAL SESSION OF  THE COUNCIL FOR TRIPS 
 
Report by the Chairman, Ambassador Manzoor Ahmad,
 
to the Trade Negotiations Committee  
 
  
I. STATUS OF WORK 
1. The Special Session of the Council for TRIPS he ld its eighth meeting on 7 April 2004 on the 
basis of the agenda set out in WTO/AIR/2272.  The ag enda items were:  election of the Chairperson;  
negotiation of the establishment of a multilateral system of notification and registration of 
geographical indications for wines and spirits;  orga nization of work;  and other business.  The Special 
Session met in formal and informal mode. 
2. The Special Session confirmed Ambassador Manzoor Ahmad (Pakistan) as Chairman. 
3. One new communication, co-sponsored by Arge ntina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, 
El Salvador, New Zealand and the United States, was presented (T N/IP/W/9, entitled "Joint Proposal 
for a Multilateral System of Notification and Regist ration of Geographical Indications for Wines and 
Spirits – Questions and Answers").   
4. Various issues regarding the establishment of  the multilateral system were discussed, 
including the legal effects of registrations,  partic ipation in the system,  and the administrative and 
other burdens of such a system, especially on developing and least-developed countries.   
II. OUTSTANDING ISSUES 
5. Positions remain essentially unchanged, including in regard to the two key issues of the legal 
effects of registrations and partic ipation in the multilateral system. 
III. FUTURE WORK 
6. With regard to the organization of work, it was agreed that a formal meeting would be held 
back to back with the regular session of the TR IPS Council, scheduled on 15-17 June 2004.  The 
Special Session is also scheduled to meet in mid- May, it being left open and for further consultations 
as to whether this would be in formal or informal mode, or a combination of the two. 
 
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