Council forTRIPS
DRAFT ANNUAL REPORT TOTHE GENERAL COUNCIL
PleasefindattachedtherevisedDraftAnnualReporttotheGeneralCouncil(IP/C/W/16/Rev.1),
which hasbeenupdated inthelightofthediscussions thattookplace atthemeeting oftheCouncil
on21November 1995. Asagreed bytheCouncil atthatmeeting, Members areinvited tosubmit their
comments onit,ifany,by30November 1995(Mr.Geuze, tel.7395418). After thecomments have
beentaken intoaccount, theReport willbesubmitted totheGeneral Council.
95-3745RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE IP/C/W/16/Rev.1
24November 1995
ORGANIZATION(95-3745)
Council forTrade-Related Aspects ofIntellectual Property Rights
DRAFT ANNUAL REPORT TOTHE GENERAL COUNCIL
Revision
I General
1. Thisreport issubmitted pursuant tothedecision taken bytheGeneral Council atitsmeeting
on15November 1995, which requires thesectoral councils toreport inNovember eachyeartothe
General Council ontheactivities oftheCouncil. Theperiod covered inthisReport isJanuary-November
1995.
2. TheCouncil forTRIPS heldfourformal meetings, on9March, 24May, 21September and
21November 1995. Theminutes ofthese meetings aretobefound indocuments IP/C/M/1-41.
3. MeetingsoftheCouncilwereopentoallWTOMembers.Inaddition,thenon-votingparticipants
andgovernment observers toWTO bodies wereinvited asagreed bytheGeneral Council atitsmeeting
of31January 1995. Pursuant totheinterim procedure onobserver status forintergovernmental
organizations evolved under theauspices oftheGeneral Council, theIMF, theUNCTAD, theUnited
Nations andtheWorld Bank wereinvited toallthree meetings, theFAO, theOECD, andtheWCO
tothesecond andthirdmeetings, andtheInternational Union fortheProtection ofNewVarieties of
Plants (UPOV) tothethirdmeeting. WIPO wasinvited toallthree meetings, inaccordance withthe
recommendation oftheContact Group under thePreparatory Committee, asconfirmed bytheGeneral
Council.
4. Atitsmeeting inMay, theCouncil adopted itsRules ofProcedure withtheexception ofRule33,
which itadopted atitsmeeting inSeptember (documents IP/C/W/2, IP/C/M/2, paragraphs 5and6
andIP/C/M/3, paragraphs 2and3).These Rules ofProcedure weresubmitted totheGeneral Council
forapproval (document IP/C/1).
II Notification procedures
(a) Article 63.2
5. TheCouncil has,ateachofitsmeetings thisyear, discussed procedures forgiving effect to
theobligation tonotify implementing legislation under Article 63.2withaview ofputting them in
place bythebeginning of1996when thebulkofobligations enter intoforce forsome Members. The
Council hasalsodiscussed itsschedule fortheconsideration ofnational implementing legislation in
1996 and1997. Atitsmeeting inNovember, theCouncil adopted thefollowing fourdecisions on
these matters:
1Document IP/C/M/4 tobeissued.IP/C/W/16/Rev.1
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- Procedures forNotification of,andPossible Establishment ofaCommon Register of,
National Laws andRegulations under Article 63.2(document IP/C/2);
- Schedule forConsideration ofNational Implementing Legislation in1996/1997
(document IP/C/3);
- Format forListing of"Other Laws andRegulations" tobeNotified under Article 63.2
(document IP/C/4); and
- Checklist ofIssues onEnforcement (document IP/C/5).
6. BytheendofNovember, theCouncil hadreceived 13notifications under Article 63.2, ofwhich
ninerelated toArticle 70.8oftheTRIPS Agreement discussed below. These notifications arecirculated
intheIP/N/1 series ofdocuments.
(b) Articles 1.3and3.1
7. Articles 1.3and3.1oftheTRIPS Agreement, relating tothedefinition ofbeneficiary persons
under theAgreement andtonational treatment, allow certain exceptions tothenormal rulesonthese
matters, provided thatnotifications aremade totheCouncil forTRIPS. Atitsmeeting inMay, the
Council drewtheattention ofMembers tothedesirability ofconsidering whether theywished tomake
notifications under theprovisions ofArticles 1.3and3.1by1July1995, while recognizing thatit
would remain open forMembers tomake notifications atalaterstage iftheysowished (document
IP/C/M/2, paragraphs 11and12).BytheendofNovember, theCouncil hadreceived 21notifications
relating tothese Articles. These notifications arecirculated intheIP/N/2 series ofdocuments.
(c) Article 69
8. Article 69oftheTRIPS Agreement requires Members toestablish andnotify contact points
forthepurposes ofcooperating witheachother withaviewtoeliminating international tradeingoods
infringing intellectual property rights. Atitsmeeting inSeptember, theCouncil decided onprocedures
forthenotification ofcontact points under thisArticle, thatnotifications should bemade by1January
1996andthatanysubsequent changes totheinformation should benotified promptly. TheSecretariat
willcompile theinformation intoasingle document fordistribution toMembers. Thisdocument will
bekeptuptodatethrough addenda andcorrigenda andperiodic revisions (document IP/C/M/3,
paragraphs 27and28).
(d) Article 4(d)
9. Article 4(d)oftheTRIPS Agreement requires aMember seeking tojustify anexception to
them.f.n. ruleonthebasisofaninternational agreement relating totheprotection ofintellectual property
which hadentered intoforcepriortotheentryintoforceoftheWTO Agreement tonotify thatagreement
totheCouncil forTRIPS. TheCouncil discussed, atitsmeetings thisyear, what action, ifany,is
required bytheCouncil togiveeffect tothisprovision. Atthemeeting oftheCouncil inNovember,
theChairman drew theattention ofMembers totheneedtomake notifications under Article 4(d)by
1January 1996 ifMembers wished tohavelegal cover from thatdateforanyexceptions tom.f.n.
treatment thattheyseektojustify byreference totheprovisions ofArticle 4(d).IP/C/W/16/Rev.1
Page3
III Implementation ofcertain provisions oftheTRIPS Agreement
(a) Article 70.8
10. Pursuant toanagreement reached intheframework ofthePreparatory Committee (document
PC/IPL/7, paragraph 9),theCouncil, atitsmeeting inMarch, urged Members towhom Article 70.8
applies tonotify therelevant legislation priortothenextmeeting oftheTRIPS Council. TheCouncil
consideredtheimplementationofArticle70.8atitslatermeetings.BytheendofNovember,theCouncil
hadreceived 9notifications relating toArticle 70.8(document series IP/N/1).
(b) Article 65.5
11. Article 65.5oftheTRIPS Agreement provides thataMember availing itself ofatransitional
period under paragraphs 1,2,3or4ofArticle 65shallensure thatanychanges initslaws, regulations
andpractice made during thatperiod donotresult inalesser degree ofconsistency withtheprovisions
oftheAgreement. TheCouncil hasdiscussed thequestion ofhowitshould carry outitsmonitoring
function, inthesense ofArticle 68,withrespect tothestandstill obligation ofArticle 65.5, andin
particular what information might besought from Members tofacilitate suchmonitoring. Such
discussions didnotleadtoaconsensus. TheCouncil decided, atitsmeeting inNovember, toleave
thematter asitstood, while noting thatitremained openfortheCouncil torevert toitatanytime
iftheCouncil should sowish.
IV Technical cooperation
12. Atitsmeeting inMay, theCouncil invited eachdeveloped country Member toprovide a
description ofitstechnical andfinancial cooperation programmes intheareaofintellectual property
relevanttotheimplementationoftheTRIPSAgreement.Second,itinvitedeachoftheintergovernmental
organizations observers totheCouncil forTRIPS andalsoUPOV todothesame. Third, itrequested
theWTO Secretariat toprovide information onitstechnical cooperation activities andalsomake
suggestions about what might bethefuture policy inthisarea(document IP/C/M/2, paragraphs 53
and54).Inresponse tothese requests, information wasprovided by12developed country Members
(documents IP/C/W/12 andAddenda 1to6),seven intergovernmental organizations (documents
IP/C/W/10 andAddenda 1to6)andtheWTO Secretariat (document IP/C/W/11). Atitsmeeting in
September, theCouncil initiated anin-depth consideration oftheissue oftechnical cooperation, in
particular inthecontext ofArticle 67oftheTRIPS Agreement, which provides thatdeveloped country
Members shallprovide, inorder tofacilitate theimplementation oftheAgreement, onrequest and
onmutually agreed terms andconditions, technical andfinancial cooperation infavour ofdeveloping
andleast-developed country Members. Atitsmeeting inNovember, theCouncil agreed thatthe
Chairman, withthehelpoftheSecretariat, should prepare forthefirstmeeting oftheCouncil in1996
ashortinformal discussion noteoutlining andstructuring theissues andidentifying thepossible options
forcarrying forward theCouncil 'swork inthisarea.
V Arrangements forcooperation withWIPO
13. Article 68oftheTRIPS Agreement provides thattheCouncil shall, inconsultation withWIPO,
seektoestablish, within oneyearofitsfirstmeeting appropriate arrangements forcooperation with
thebodies ofthatOrganization. Atitsmeeting inMay, theCouncil authorized itsChairman, with
theassistance oftheSecretariat, toenter intoinformal contacts withWIPO andtoinform themofthe
stateofthinking intheCouncil, inparticular withregard tothetypes ofcooperation itmight suggest
(document IP/C/M/2, paragraphs 59and63).TheChairman oftheCouncil, accompanied byanofficial
oftheSecretariat, mettheDirector General ofWIPO on22June.IP/C/W/16/Rev.1
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14. Asagreed bytheCouncil atitsmeeting inSeptember, theChairman oftheCouncil sentaletter,
dated 22September, totheDirector General ofWIPO. Theletteremphasized oncemoretheimportance
attached bytheCouncil tothedevelopment ofcooperative andmutually supportive relations withWIPO.
Second, thecommunication informed WIPO thattheelements indocument IP/C/W/6 relating to
cooperation withWIPO (relating tothenotification oflawsandregulations) constituted aproposal
fromtheCouncil toWIPO forcooperation inthisarea,without prejudice tothepossible needforthe
further refining oflanguage ordetails. Third, theideas putforward inparagraphs 18-21 ofdocument
PC/IPL/7/Add.2 (relating toprocedures forthenotification ofnational emblems) constituted aproposal
fromtheCouncil, subject oncemore tothisbeing without prejudice tothepossible needforthefurther
refining oflanguage ordetails. Fourth, thecommunication stressed thevalue attached bytheCouncil
tothedevelopment cooperation activities ofWIPO inassisting developing countries tomeet their
obligations under theTRIPS Agreement, andexpressed thehopeoftheCouncil thatWIPO would be
abletoenhance these activities inthefuture. Italsoexpressed thedesire oftheCouncil thatthe
International Bureau ofWIPO andtheWTO Secretariat would enhance cooperation intheirtechnical
cooperationactivitiesrelatingtotheTRIPSAgreementsoastomaximizetheusefulnessoftheseactivities
andtoensure theircomplementary nature. Furthermore, theletter stated thattheChairman ofthe
Council, withtheassistance oftheSecretariat, stood ready tomeettherepresentatives chosen byWIPO
withaviewtodrawing upthetextofanagreement between thetwoOrganizations, withthehopethat
itcould besubmitted totheCouncil andtheappropriate bodyofWIPO sothatitcould come intoforce
preferably before theendofthisyear(document IP/C/M/3, paragraphs 57-59).
15. TheChairman oftheCouncil forTRIPS, assisted bytheWTO Secretariat, heldintensive
consultations withtheChairman oftheWIPO Coordination Committee, assisted bytheInternational
Bureau ofWIPO, inthelastdaysofOctober andthefirstthreeweeks ofNovember. These consultations
resultedinadraftagreementbetweenthetwoOrganizations(documentIP/C/W/17),whichwassubmitted
totheCouncil atitsmeeting inNovember. Inintroducing thedraftagreement, theChairman ofthe
Council noted thateachorganization would needtotakecertain autonomous decisions inresponse to
theagreement. First, theInternational Bureau ofWIPO hadinformed himthatitwould propose to
theAssemblies oftheParis andBerne Unions decisions recognizing thatrequirements under theParis
andBerne Conventions tocommunicate national lawstotheInternational Bureau maybefulfilled by
communication ofsuchlawsthrough theSecretariat oftheWTO. Second, toaccompany Article 3
ofthedraftagreement concerning theimplementation ofArticle 6teroftheParis Convention forthe
purposes oftheTRIPS Agreement, hepresented adraftdecision oftheTRIPS Council, which would
recognize thatthecommunication ofemblems andofobjections thereto among WTO Members through
theInternational Bureau would beconsidered ascommunications forthepurposes oftheTRIPS
Agreement (document IP/C/W/18). Third, inrelation toparagraph 3ofArticle 3ofthedraftagreement,
which concerns provision ofinformation totheWTO Secretariat about communications ofemblems,
theInternational Bureau hadinformed himthatitwould propose totheParis Union Assembly that
itshould abandon itspresent practice bywhich ittreats asconfidential anyobjection lodged against
anemblem.
16. Atitsmeeting inNovember, theCouncil haditsfirstexamination ofthedraft agreement.
Itwillrevert tothismatter andalsotothedraftdecision onArticle 6teratitsnextmeeting, which
islikely totakeplace on11December.IP/C/W/16/Rev.1
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VI Other matters
(a) Assistance oftheCouncil inthecontext ofdispute settlement
17. Atitsmeeting inMay, theCouncil decided todrawtheattention ofMembers tothedesirability
ofensuring thatthenominations theymade ofpotential panellists tobeplaced onthecentral roster
include persons withexperience ofintellectual property matters viewed from atrade orcommercial
perspective (document IP/M/2, paragraphs 55and56).
(b) Draft model legislation oftheWorld Customs Organization
18. Atitsmeeting inMay, theCouncil discussed thedraftmodel legislation being drawn upby
theWCOwithaviewtoassistingcountriesingivingeffecttotheirTRIPSborderenforcementobligations
(document IP/C/W/1). TheCouncil, first,welcomed theinterest andtheactivity oftheWCO inregard
tothecustoms enforcement ofintellectual property rights andalsoitsconcern totakeintoaccount the
provisions oftheTRIPS Agreement; second, expressed theimportance thatitattached toamutually
supportive relationship between theWTO andtheWCO inthisregard; and,third, tooknoteofthe
draftmodel legislation being developed bytheWCO. TheCouncil alsonoted thatitwasnotthejob
oftheCouncil forTRIPS oftheWTO toapprove ordisapprove suchatext,which didnotconstitute
anofficial interpretation oftheTRIPS Agreement, thisbeing ataskthatonlytheWTO could undertake
(document IP/C/M/2, paragraphs 66and67).