RESTRICTED
PREPARATORY COMMITTEE PC/IPL/7
FOR THE 25November 1994
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
(94-2536)
SUB-COMMITTEE ONINSTITUTIONAL ,
PROCEDURAL AND LEGAL MATTERS
INFORMAL CONTACT GROUP ONTRIPS
Report bytheChairman asapproved bytheSub-Committee on18November
1. Thisreport ofthework oftheInformal Contact Group onTRIPS, established bytheSub-
Committee atitsmeeting of4July1994, isbeing submitted totheSub-Committee ontheresponsibility
oftheChairman oftheContact Group, Mr.K.Kesavapany (Singapore).
2. TheContact Group held three meetings, on19July1994, on23September 1994 and
25October 1994. TheContact Group wasopen toanymember ofthePreparatory Committee.
64delegations indicated aninterest inattending theContact Group andparticipated initswork. At
themeeting oftheContact Group on25October 1994, theInternational Bureau oftheWorld Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO) wasrepresented inanobserver capacity.
3. Thisreport isconfined totheContact Group 'swork onTRIPS matters. TheContact Group
wasasked bytheSub-Committee toalsolookatpreparatory workinconnection withTRIMs notification
procedures. Aseparate report relating tothismatter willbesubmitted induecourse.1
4. Twomainissues,interrelatedwitheachother,werethefocusofdiscussionintheContactGroup:
cooperation between theWTO andtheWIPO, andnotification procedures. Theparagraphs thatfollow
present theoutcome ofthework oftheContact Group onthese points. Abriefrecord ofthework
which tookplace ateachofthese meetings canbefound inAnnex 1ofthisreport.
Cooperation between theWTO andtheWIPO
5. TheContact Group agreed thattheWTO should seekclose, cooperative andmutually supportive
relations withtheWIPO, inaccordance withtherelevant provisions oftheTRIPS Agreement (Preamble,
Article 63.2andArticle 68). Thedetailed attention given tothisissue intheContact Group inthe
context ofthepreparatory work fortheWTO isatangible expression oftheimportance attached to
this.AtitsOctober meeting, theContact Group wasinformed bytherepresentative oftheInternational
Bureau ofWIPO ofaResolution oftheWIPO General Assembly of3October 1994onrelations with
theWTO.2TheContact Group welcomed theexpression inthisResolution ofthedesire ofWIPO
alsotoestablish amutually supportive relationship between theWIPO andtheWTO.
1Tobecirculated asPC/IPL/8.
2Fortextofstatement ,seeAnnex 2.Seealsocommuni cationfromtheDirectorGener alofWIPOreproduced indocument
PC/IPL/W/11.PC/IPL/7
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6. TheContact Group established andinitiated astaged programme ofpreparatory work onthe
question ofthedevelopment ofappropriate arrangements forcooperation between theWTO andthe
WIPO:
(i) Thefirststage wastoestablish basic information onthepossible areas ofcooperation andon
relevant WIPO practices. Tothisend,theSecretariat prepared, attherequest oftheContact
Group, documents referring torelevant TRIPS andother WTO provisions andcontaining a
checklist ofpossible areas ofcooperation. These documents alsoinclude adescription ofhow
notification systems inregard tonational legislation andcertain other matters arehandled in
theWIPO context; thisdescription wasprepared withtheaidofinformal assistance fromthe
International Bureau oftheWIPO, forwhich theContact Group isgrateful. These documents
willbecirculated asAddenda 1and2tothisdocument. Inaddition, atitsOctober meeting,
theContact Group benefited fromadditional information provided bytherepresentative ofthe
International Bureau ofWIPO inresponse toquestions frommembers oftheContact Group;
arecord ofthequestions putandresponses given iscontained inAnnex 3.
(ii) TheContact Group hasinitiated asecond stage ofthiswork programme, which consists of
aclarification ofwhat Members oftheWTO might wishtoachieve oncertain issues, such
asthenotification ofnational legislation, andofwhatforms ofcooperation theTRIPS Council
might seekwiththeWIPO. Thiswork isstillatapreliminary stageandwillhavetobecarried
forward bytheTRIPS Council.
(iii) Thethird stage ofthework programme oncooperation withWIPO consists ofconsidering
howtheconsultations between thetwoOrganizations might bestbeorganized. Certain ideas
havebeenputforward, including bytheInternational Bureau ofWIPO (seeAnnex 2),but
itisclearly tooearly tocome toadecision onthismatter.
(iv) Thefourth stage inthework oncooperation withWIPO, which hasyettobeinitiated, will
involve theholding andconclusion ofconsultations withWIPO aimed attheestablishment of
appropriate arrangements forcooperation, asenvisaged inArticle 68oftheTRIPS Agreement.
7. TheContactGrouprecommendsthatthisreportofitsconsiderationofthequestionofcooperation
withWIPO, together withthedocuments referred to,betransmitted totheTRIPS Council bytheSub-
Committee forfurther action. Inmaking thisrecommendation, attention isdrawn tothefactthat
Article 68oftheTRIPS Agreement gives theTRIPS Council oneyearfromitsfirstmeeting inwhich
toseektheestablishment ofappropriate arrangements forcooperation withthebodies ofWIPO. The
work undertaken intheContact Group willfacilitate theTRIPS Council inthistask, butitisclear
thatagreat dealmore thought andattention willhavetobegiven tothismatter before appropriate
cooperative arrangements arefinally established.
8. Once theconsultations willhavebeensuccessfully concluded, thecooperative arrangements
between thetwoOrganizations willnodoubt needtobeformalized through anexchange ofletters or
some similar mechanism andwilllikely entail thegranting toWIPO, onareciprocal basis, ofobserver
status inrelevant WTO bodies. TheContact Group recommends thattheSub-Committee recommend
totheTRIPS Council that,during 1995, pending theconclusion ofthesearrangements, WIPO beinvited
toattend meetings oftheTRIPS Council inanobserver capacity, ontheunderstanding thattheWTO
would haveasimilar opportunity toattend WIPO meetings. TheSub-Committee might alsoaskthe
TRIPS Council toconsider whether WIPO should beinvited tomeetings oftheGeneral Council when
matters ofdirect relevance toitareunder discussion.PC/IPL/7
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Notification procedures
9. Thequestion ofexamination ofanypreparatory work required onnotification procedures is
closely related tothequestion ofcooperation withWIPO, since Article 63.2oftheTRIPS Agreement
callsforconsultations withWIPO onthepossible establishment ofa"common register" ofnational
lawsandregulations andmany oftheother notification obligations intheTRIPS Agreement derive
fromprovisions ofWIPO Conventions incorporated byreference. TheSecretariat notes, tobecirculated
asAddenda 1and2ofthisdocument, andtheadditional information provided bytherepresentative
oftheInternational Bureau ofWIPO inresponse toquestions attheOctober meeting oftheContact
Group (recorded inAnnex 3ofthisreport) provide basic factual material concerning thisquestion.
Itwasnoted thatthesubstantive obligations under theAgreement towhich notifications relate will
not,generally, have tobemetuntil 1996 attheearliest. However, onesubstantive obligation,
Article 70.8, which comes intoforce asofthedateofentry intoforce oftheWTO Agreement was
referred toandthere wasacceptance that,under Article 63.2, national lawsandregulations should
benotified asofthetimethatthecorresponding substantive obligation applies. Nonetheless, theContact
Group considered thatitwould beunwise torushintoanattempt todraw upnotification procedures
fornational legislation simply because oneprovision applies attheoutset. TheContact Group
recommends thattherecord ofitswork onnotification procedures, including therelevant documents,
should beremitted totheTRIPS Council bytheSub-Committee, ontheunderstanding thatnational
lawsandregulations implementing provisions thatenterintoforceattheoutset willbenotified promptly
totheTRIPS Council.PC/IPL/7
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ANNEX 1
RECORD OFWORK ATMEETINGS OFCONTACT GROUP
Meeting of19July1994
Toaiditinitswork, theContact Group hadaninformal note, prepared bytheSecretariat,
listingthenotificationobligationsintheTRIPSAgreement.ThediscussionintheContactGroupfocused
onthese notification obligations, particularly thatinArticle 63.2onthenotification ofnational laws
andregulations. Inconnection withthisprovision, theneedtoenterearlyonintodialogue withWIPO
onthequestion ofthepossible establishment ofacommon register containing suchlawsandregulations
waswidely stressed. Many participants alsospoke ofthedesirability oftheContact Group considering
intheFallother areas ofpossible co-operation between theWTO andtheWIPO asabasis forthe
initiation ofconsultations withtheWIPO. Tofacilitate theContact Group 'sconsideration ofthese
matters intheFall,theSecretariat wasrequested toprepare, onthebasisofthediscussions intheContact
Group andinconsultation withinterested delegations, andinthelightofinformal contacts withthe
WIPO Secretariat, achecklist ofpossible areas ofco-operation between theWIPO andtheWTO,
specifying anyrelevant WTO provisions. Inthecontext ofthispaper, theSecretariat wasasked to
provide information ontheexisting WIPO register ofnational legislation, including suchmatters as
thenature oftheobligation tonotify inWIPO, thecoverage oftheWIPO notification system inrelation
totheTRIPS Agreement, thetiming anddistribution ofnotifications under it,andthelanguages in
which notifications aremade andcirculated. TheContact Group agreed tomeetagain intheFallto
pursue itswork, withtheaidbothofthenotealready distributed bytheSecretariat onnotification
obligations andthepaper thattheSecretariat hadbeenasked toprepare.
Meeting of23September 1994
Strong support wasoncemoreexpressed forestablishing closeandmutually supportive relations
withWIPO, andtherewaswidespread satisfaction withthefruitful initial contacts which theChairman
andtheSecretariat hadhadwiththeDirector General oftheWIPO, Dr.Bogsch, andhisstaff. A
preliminary discussion tookplace onthebasisoftheresulting papers thattheSecretariat hadprepared.
Itwasagreed thattheWIPO should beinvited toberepresented asanobserver atthenextmeeting
oftheContact Group, itbeing understood thatthiswould notruleoutthepossibility oftheContact
Group alsomeeting without thepresence ofobservers ifitsowished.
TheContactGroupalsohadapreliminarydiscussionofsomeideasonhowconsultationsbetween
thetwoOrganizations might beorganized which Dr.Bogsch hadshared withtheChairman during
theinformal contacts, namely thepossible establishment ofaninformal jointconsultative group open
toanyMember ofeither ofthetwoOrganizations andjointly serviced bythetwoSecretariats. The
Contact Group wasgenerally oftheview thattheissue ofjoint consultations between thetwo
Organizations should belooked atcarefully andaconclusion drawn attheappropriate time.
Meeting of25October 1994
TheContact Group tookstock ofrecent developments concerning thequestion ofcooperation
between theWTO andtheWIPO, inparticular those atthemeeting oftheWIPO Governing Bodies
of26September to4October 1994. Inthisregard, therepresentative oftheInternational Bureau of
WIPO made thestatement tobefound atAnnex 2ofthisdocument. TheContact Group alsotook
upthequestion ofnotification procedures and,inparticular, putanumber ofquestions tothe
representative oftheInternational Bureau ofWIPO onrelevant WIPO practices. Arecord ofthese
questions andtheresponses given isinAnnex 3ofthisreport. Finally, theContact Group consideredPC/IPL/7
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theelements thatshould appear initsreport totheSub-Committee andsetinmotion aprocess forits
preparation.PC/IPL/7
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ANNEX 2
STATEMENT BYREPRESENTATIVE OFTHE INTERNATIONAL BUREAU
OFWIPO ATCONTACT GROUP MEETING OF25OCTOBER 1994
Ishould like,inthename oftheWorld Intellectual Property Organization, tothank you,
Mr.Chairman, fortheinvitation toparticipate intoday'smeeting oftheGATT-WTO Informal Contact
Group onTRIPS. Weshould likealsotothank thecontracting parties ofGATT which areMembers
oftheGroup foragreeing toWIPO 'sparticipation inthediscussions.
Asallpresent heretoday areaware, WIPO places much emphasis onthepolicy ofgoodrelations
andclose cooperation withGATT. Thatpolicy hasbecome evenmore important withtheconclusion
oftheTRIPS Agreement. Weshould liketousethisoccasion toassure you,Mr.Chairman, the
contracting parties ofGATT andthefuture members ofthefuture WTO, thatWIPO 'spolicy willremain
unchanged, alsoinrespect ofthefuture WTO.
Ishould liketoinform themeeting ofanimportant decision, intheformofaResolution, taken
bytheGeneral Assembly ofWIPO earlier thismonth, on3October 1994. Ifyouwillpermit me,
Ishould liketoquote thatdecision inextenso .
"1. Having noted thatthepreamble oftheAgreement onTrade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights states thattheMembers oftheWorld Trade Organization desire
toestablish amutually supportive relationship between theWorld Trade Organization andthe
World Intellectual Property Organization, theWIPO General Assembly hereby alsoexpresses
thedesire toestablish amutually supportive relationship between theWorld Intellectual Property
Organization andtheWorld Trade Organization.
"2. Inaccordance withitsdesire toestablish amutually supportive relationship between
theWorld Intellectual Property Organization andtheWorld Trade Organization, theWIPO
General Assembly decides toestablish anadhocworking group opentoallMember States
ofWIPO:
(i) toadvise andcooperate withtheDirector General ofWIPO inhiscontacts
withthecompetent organs ofGATT/WTO;
(ii) todiscuss matters concerning possible cooperation between WIPO andWTO;
(iii) toconsider theestablishment ofanadhocinformal WIPO/GATT-WTO
Consultation Group onallmatters concerning possible cooperation between WIPO and
WTO.
"3. TheWIPO General Assembly decides thattheInternational Bureau should beatthe
disposal ofanyStatethatexpressly asksforadvice onquestions ofcompatibility ofitsexisting
orplannednationalintellectualpropertylegislationnotonlywithtreatiesadministeredbyWIPO,
butalsowithother international norms andtrends, including theAgreement onTrade-Related
Aspects ofIntellectual Property Rights, andthattheInternational Bureau should prepare studies
ontheimplications ofthesaidAgreement onthetreaties administered byWIPO."
TheGeneral Assembly alsonoted that,aswasthepractice inWIPO, anysuchadvice orstudies
would notconstitute anofficial interpretation ofanyinternational agreement.PC/IPL/7
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Theappropriate form andsubstance ofthecooperation between WIPO andthefuture WTO
hastobecarefully examined andagreed tobythetwosides. ItistheviewoftheInternational Bureau
ofWIPO thatsuchexamination could bestbecarried outinajointbodycomprised ofMember States
ofWIPO and,initially, GATT contracting parties, withMember States ofWTO joining when that
Organization hasbeencreated. Such ajointbody, which isforeseen intheResolution oftheWIPO
General Assembly, could examine thevarious information issues raised intheGATT Secretariat papers
dated 6and15September 1994and19July1994. Inaddition, andequally important, thatjointbody
could alsolookintotheestablishment ofappropriate arrangements forcooperation between theTRIPS
Council andWIPO asprovided forinArticle 68oftheTRIPS Agreement.PC/IPL/7
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ANNEX 3
QUESTIONS PUTTOAND REPLIES BYTHE REPRESENTATIVE OFWIPO
Could youdescribe thesystem forthenotification oflegislation within theframework ofWIPO?
Thesystem forthenotification oflegislation within theframework ofWIPO isdescribed very
accurately intheGATT Secretariat noteof6September 1994, notably inthetables onpages 3-5.
Under theParis andtheBerne Conventions, Member States haveanobligation tocommunicate tothe
International Bureau allnewlawsandofficial textsconcerning theprotection ofindustrial property
orcopyright. These Conventions donotspecify howthereporting should bedoneandhowthelegal
textsshould becommunicated. TheInternational Bureau hastwocollections oflaws, oneinthearea
ofindustrial property andtheotherintheareaofcopyright andrelated rights. These collections include
allthetextsintheoriginal language received fromMember States and,where applicable, intranslated
versions asprovided byMember States -usually inEnglish butsometimes inFrench aswell. Inorder
tokeepthecollections up-to-date, theInternational Bureau requests Member States approximately every
other yeartosendanynewly-adopted pieces oflegislation. Atthesametime, itinforms Member States
which oftheirlawsform partofthecollections, asking them tocommunicate anyomissions. Some
ofthelegal texts received arepublished, usually onlytheactual lawsandnotalsoimplementing
regulations, inWIPO 'speriodicals Industrial Property andCopyright ,intheEnglish andFrench
languages (these journals willshortly bemerged intoasingle one). However, itshould beemphasized
thatonlythemostimportant textsarepublished inthese journals. Onsome occasions, when alaw
hasbeenchanged andamended frequently, consolidated versions arepublished afteracertain number
ofyears, inorder toimprove transparency; thisis,however, always subject totheapproval -orwith
thehelp-oftheMember State concerned. There isnoformal notification oflaws, butthejournals
Industrial Property andCopyright aresenttoallMember States andmembers ofthepublic.
Does theWIPO system cover non-Members?
IftheInternational Bureau receives thelawofanon-Member State, thatlawisputintherelevant
collection, mainly because anysuchcountry isaprospective Member ofWIPO. However, ithasnot
beenthepractice topublish suchlaws.
Does theInternational Bureau relypurely onnotifications from official sources ordoesittake
positive action tomake surethattheinformation inthecollections iscomplete?
Thecollections include mainly, butnotexclusively, textsreceived from official government
sources, usually thepatent andtrademark office ofthecountry concerned oritscopyright authorities.
Sometimes textsarereceived fromother sources, forexample translated versions oflawswhich have
notbeenpublished inEnglish bytheInternational Bureau andwhose textinthecollection wasreceived
fromthegovernment onlyintheoriginal language. IncasetheInternational Bureau, however, decides
topublish suchatranslation, thegovernment inquestion isalways asked tocheck thetranslation.
Which categories ofintellectual property arecovered bythetwocollections?
Themain categories which arecovered bythecollection ofindustrial property legislation are
patents, trademarks, industrial designs, layout-designs ofintegrated circuits, unfair competition and
geographical indications. Theother collection contains legislation inthefield ofcopyright and
neighbouring rights. Legislation ontheprotection ofundisclosed information ortrade secrets isnotPC/IPL/7
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systematically collected, because thiscategory ofintellectual property under theTRIPS Agreement
isveryoften notaddressed inspecific intellectual property legislation inWIPO Member States.
What arethecriteria fordeciding which lawsshould betranslated andpublished?
Themain criterion fordeciding whether topublish alawornotistheinterest ofthereader.
Consequently, thelawsofallcountries which haveveryimportant intellectual property activity interms
of,forexample, filings arepublished. Inaddition, nowadays, alsotextsarepublished coming from
countries which enactintellectual property lawsforthefirsttime. Thepractical limitations which require
selectivity lieinthetimeneeded fortranslation; moreover, theperiodicals would beextremely bulky
ifeverything received were tobepublished.
Does theInternational Bureau foresee, forthefuture, topublish alsocaselaw?
TheInternational Bureau hasnever published caselaworevensystematically collected court
decisions anddoesnotintend tochange that. Onecannever besurethat,evenforagiven country
where court decisions areusually published, suchacollection would becomplete. So,theresult could
bemore misleading thananything else. Besides, therearegoodcollections ofcourt decisions insome
private institutes, liketheMax-Planck Institute inMunich, which havebeencollecting court decisions
formany years. There would notseemtobeagoodreason toduplicate theircollection. Nevertheless,
itshould bementioned thattheInternational Bureau doeshaveaspecial publication entitled "Intellectual
Property inAsiaandthePacific", inwhich summaries ofsome courtdecisions arepublished. However,
therelevant information isverypartial andconcerns onlyoneregion oftheworld.
Under what legal basis doMember States report their lawsconcerning theprotection oflayout-
designs toWIPO?
Laws onlayout-designs aresenttotheInternational Bureau mainly onavoluntary basis. For
onecentury, receiving andpublishing lawshasbeenatradition intheInternational Bureau, thelegal
basis ofwhich hasnever beenquestioned. Such alegalbasis exists forindustrial property, atleast
those parts ofindustrial property which arecovered bytheParis Convention, andforcopyright as
covered bytheBerne Convention. Forneighbouring rights, asforlayout-designs, nocomparable legal
basis exists.
Apart from communications from countries, doestheInternational Bureau taketheinitiative
torequest acountry tosendaparticular lawithascome across butwhich isnotcontained in
oneofitscollections?
IftheInternationalBureaushouldlearnaboutanewlawissuedbyacertaincountry,beitthrough
anofficial gazette orinascientific orlegal journal andithappens nottohavethetext,itwould
immediately askthatcountry tosenditacopy.
What guarantee isthere thatthelegislation contained inthecollections oftheInternational Bureau
isthelegislation which iseffectively applied bythecountry inquestion?
There isnoguarantee intheWIPO system thatthecollections contain thelatest legislation
inforce. TheInternational Bureau hastorelyontheinformation provided bytheMember States.
Itis,however, theexperience oftheInternational Bureau that,although countries sometimes haveto
bereminded anditoccasionally takes some timeuntiltheycommunicate theirlaws, theygenerally
consider ittobeintheirinterest thattheirlawscurrently inforce areknown totheworld andarequite
cooperative.PC/IPL/7
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Could youexpand alittleontheother notification requirements referred tointheGATT Secretariat
noteof15September 1994?
PartIIofthenoteof15Septembercoverstwoquitedifferenttypesofnotifications:oneconcerns
notifications under Article 6teroftheParis Convention, andtheother alltheother notifications. As
farasArticle 6teroftheParis Convention isconcerned, which deals withtheprotection ofemblems,
names, abbreviations, hallmarks, etc.,ofStates aswellasthose ofintergovernmental organizations,
detailed explanations inwriting havebeenprovided totheGATT Secretariat asreproduced inAnnex 3
tothenoteof15September. Asfarastheother notifications areconcerned, adistinction hastobe
made between theBerne Convention ontheonehandandtheRome Convention ontheother, because
thedepositary ofthese Conventions isnotthesame. Thedepositary oftheBerne Convention isthe
Director General oftheWIPO whereas thedepositary oftheRome Convention istheSecretary-General
oftheUnited Nations inNewYork. Asfarasthenotifications provided forintheBerne Convention
areconcerned, whenever theDirector General ofWIPO receives suchanotification fromaStateparty
totheConvention orotherStateentitled tomake thenotification, itiscommunicated tothegovernments
ofallStates party totheConvention bytheDirector General ofWIPO andalsopublished intheWIPO
periodical Copyright .Inaddition, theInternational Bureau publishes areference tosuchnotifications
inaninformation document thatisupdated every sixmonths andwhich isatthedisposal ofanybody;
thisdocument contains listsofStates party tothevarious treaties administered byWIPO. Asfaras
theRome Convention isconcerned, whenever theInternational Bureau receives from theSecretary-
General oftheUnited Nations, information thatanotification hasbeenmade under theprovisions of
thatConvention, thenotification ispublished intheWIPO periodical Copyright andareference to
itisincluded inthedocument containing listsofStates parties totreaties administered byWIPO.