RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE IP/C/W/1
7March 1995
ORGANIZATION(95-0495)
Council forTrade-Related Aspects ofIntellectual Property Rights
RELEVANT ACTIVITIES OFTHE WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANIZATION
Note bytheSecretariat
Thisnoteprovides factual information ontheactivities underway intheWorld Customs
Organization(formerlytheCustomsCooperationCouncil)concerningrevisionoftheModelforNational
Legislation togivetheCustoms Powers toImplement Trademark andCopyright Legislation which
wasapproved bytheCustoms Cooperation Council in1988. TheWTO Secretariat hasbeenfollowing
thiswork inanobserver capacity.
After theconclusion oftheUruguay Round, thePermanent Technical Committee andthe
Enforcement Committee oftheWCO considered whether the1988Model Legislation should beupdated
totakeintoaccount, interalia,theborder enforcement provisions oftheTRIPs Agreement. Based
onrecommendations fromthese twoCommittees, theWCO Council decided atitsannual meeting in
June1994 thatsuchwork should beinitiated.
InSeptember 1994, aJoint Working Group ofthePermanent Technical Committee andthe
Enforcement Committee mettoexamine adraft revised Model prepared bytheWCO Secretariat.
Thedraftwasdiscussed indetail andrevised asaresult.
InJanuary 1995, thereport oftheJoint Working Group wasexamined bytheEnforcement
Committee oftheWCO andsome further amendments agreed. Theresulting textisthedraftModel
Legislation which isannexed tothisnote(available inEnglish andFrench only).
Thenextstage isthatthedraftwillbeexamined bythePermanent Technical Committee of
theWCO inMay1995. Itisscheduled that,afterapproval bythatCommittee, thedraft willbe
submitted forfinalapproval totheCouncil oftheWorld Customs Organization atitsannual session
inJune1995.