 RESTRICTED  
  
IP/C/M/98  
 
8 April 2021 
(21-2961) Page: 1/10 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights   
 
 
MINUTES OF MEETING  
HELD IN THE CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD ON 10-11 MARCH 2021   
Chair: H.E. Ambassador Xolelwa Mlumbi -Peter 
The present document contains the record of the meeting of the Council for TRIPS held on 10 and 
11 March  2020. The statements made during the meeting will be circulated in an addendum to the 
present document.  
Table of Contents  
1   NOTIFICATIONS UNDER PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT  ................................ ........  2 
2   REVIEW OF NATIONAL IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION  ................................ ................  3 
3   IP MEASURES IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID -19 ................................ .............................  3 
4   REVIEW OF THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 27.3 (B) ................................ .....................  4 
5   RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND THE CONVENTION ON 
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY  ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 4 
6   PROTECTION OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE  ................................ ..... 4 
7   NON-VIOLATION AND SITUATION COMPLAINTS  ................................ .........................  4 
8   REVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT UNDER 
ARTICLE 71.1  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  6 
9   REVIEW OF THE APPLICATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE SECTION ON 
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 24.2  ................................ ......................  6 
10   FOLLOW -UP TO THE EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 2 
OF THE DECISION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 OF THE TRIPS 
AGREEMENT  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  6 
11   TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING  ................................ ..............  7 
12   PROPOSAL FOR A WAIVER FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE TRIPS 
AGREEMENT FOR THE PREVENTION, CONTAINMENT AND TREATMENT OF COVID -
19 ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 7 
13   EXTENSION OF THE TRANSITION PERIOD UNDER ARTICLE 66.1 OF THE 
TRIPS AGREEMENT FOR LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRY MEMBERS  ................................ ..... 8 
14   INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INNOVATION: MAKING MSMES 
COMPETITIVE IN GREEN TECH  ................................ ................................ .........................  9 
15   INFORMATION ON RELEVANT DEVELOPMENTS ELSEWHERE IN THE WTO  .................  9 
16   OBSERVER STATUS FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL 
ORGANIZATIONS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........  10 
17   OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 10 
18   ELECTION OF THE CHAIRPERSON  ................................ ................................ ............  10 
  IP/C/M/9 8 
 
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  1  NOTIFICATIONS UNDER PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT  
1.  The Chair invited the Secretariat to report on notifications that the Council had re ceived since its 
meeting in  October  2020.  
2.  A representative of the Secretariat  said that  the Council had received the following notifications 
under Article 63.2 of the TRIPS Agreement:  
a. The Republic of Korea  had notified a revised Copyright Act, a revised enforcement decree of 
the Copyright Act, and an amended Administrative Procedures Act;  
b. Albania  had notified amendments to the Copyright and related rights Act resulting from the 
Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) and other strategic partnership documents 
with the European Union ; as well as  a decision on fees for services by the Copyright 
Directorate ; 
c. Sweden  had notified amendments and consolidated versions of the Copyright Act, the 
Patents Act, the Design Protection Act, the Act protecting Typographies for Semiconductor 
Products, the Plant Breeder's Rights Act and the Trademarks Act, enacting new levels of 
penalties for intentional serious infringements, and introducing new crime classifications ; 
d. Croatia  had notified a revised Patent Act amending the grant procedure and introducing a 
new con cept of utility model ; a revised Trademarks Act, introducing changes to the graphical 
representation of marks, clarifying the relationship between trademarks and geographical 
indications, as well as collective and guarantee marks, and assuring appropriate legal 
protection in relation to counterfeit goods in transit through the territory  European Union;   
e. Italy had notified a legal framework concerning the prohibition of ambush marketing and 
misleading advertising on the occasion of sport events or trade fair s of national or 
international relevance ; 
f. Ukraine  had notified a law introducing a two -tier system of state management of intellectual 
property, establishing the National Intellectual Property Authority (NIPA) under the Ministry 
for Development of Economy,  Trade and Agriculture ;  
g. Japan  had notified an amended Patent Act that upgraded the litigation system and  entailed 
consequential amendments to the Design Act and the Trademark Act ; and  a revised 
Copyright Act that aimed at improving protection against inter alia  pirated copies on the 
internet; and  
h. The United Kingdom  had notified over 100 pieces of legislation which include d its "EU exit" 
legislation in a number of  intellectual property areas, as well as primary and secondary 
intellectual property laws from different areas since the 1990s.  
3.  Furthermore, the United Kingdom  had also notified its contact points for IP enforcement under 
Article 69 and for technical coop eration under Article 67. Macao, China had also updated its contact 
point under Article 67. The Plurinational State of Bolivia  had made a notification under Article 31 bis 
and paragraph 1(b) of the Annex to the TRIPS Agreement, indicating its intention to u se the special 
compulsory licensing mechanism, also known as the "paragraph 6 system", as an importing Member.  
4.  He added that the "Annual Report on Notifications and Other Information Flows" (IP/C/W/676) , 
which was also listed under agenda item 1, reflected  the submission rates and trends in Members' 
notifications since 1996. He suggested that the Secretariat be given the floor to provide a more 
detailed  introduction.  
5.  The representatives of  the United Kin gdom ; Republic of Korea ; Ukraine ; and Japan  took the floor.  
6.  The Chair thanked Members for the information provided on their respective notifications. She 
invited the Secretariat to present the "Annual Report on Notifications and other Information Flows ". 
7.  A representative of the Secretariat  took the floor . IP/C/M/9 8 
 
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  8.  The Chair recalled that, notifications to the Council were not keeping up with the actual 
development of laws and regulations relating to TRIPS. Article 63.2 was not a one -off requirem ent, 
as it obliges Members to notify any new or amended laws so that the Council can exercise its 
monitoring function. The "Annual Report on Notifications and Other Information Flows" provided a 
Member -by-Member overview of their most recent notifications.  It illustrated that a number of 
Members had not notified any of their legislative changes for sometimes over ten years.    
9.  She urged Members to update their notifications by submitting any new or revised laws or 
regulations to the Council, as well as compl eting their initial notifications in case any material was 
still outstanding. This applied also to the Checklist of Issues on Enforcement which had been 
established by the Council as an element of Members' ongoing notification obligations.  All of these 
notifications could be made through the e -TRIPS Submission System. The Secretariat was available 
to answer any question in that regard.  
10.  The Council took note  of the notifications and the statements made.  
2  REVIEW OF NATIONAL IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION  
11.  The Chair recalled that the Council had been preparing for the review of the national 
implementing legislation of Samoa. As noted at the last meeting , Samoa  was in the process of 
reviewing its laws, following its  recent accession to a number of WIPO treaties.1 In light of the 
substantial revisions that were to be expected as a consequence, the Council had agreed to wait for 
the notification of the revised domestic laws of Samoa, before commencing the review.  
12.  She proposed that the Secretariat remain in contact  with Samoa on the progress of its new 
legislation and that the Council revert to the review at its next meeting.  
13.  She noted that the re were  currently no reviews pending under this item. Members should feel 
free to revert to any matter stemming from previou s reviews, or to seek further information on 
implementation of the Agreement in future. Any ideas how to make best use of this agenda item 
would be most welcome.  
14.  The Council took note  of the information provided and agreed  to schedule the arrangements for 
the review of Samoa's national implementation legislation as proposed by the Chair.  
3  IP MEASURES IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID -19 
15.  The Chair recalled that this agenda item had been discussed in the Council since its informal 
open-ended meeting on 19 June 2020 and had been on the Council's agenda at its formal meetings 
since then. In light of broad support for a continuation of these exchanges at the preceding  meetings, 
the item was on the agenda to facilitate exchange of views on measures undertaken as the pandemic 
persists.  
16.  As one basis for the Council's exchange , she referred to the compilation "COVID -19: Measures 
Regarding Trade -Related Intellectual Propert y Rights" that was available from the WTO website  and 
contain ed a non -exhaustive list of IP -related measures taken in the context of COVID -19, compiled 
by the Secretariat from official sources and verified by the Members concerned. This list was updated 
continuously, even if the rate at which new measures are brought to our attention ha d slowed 
considerably since the last meeting. She encourage d Members to inform the Secretariat of any 
measures that should be included on this list, as well as any update or information on the expiry , or 
end of application , of such measures.  She invited Members to inform the Council on their measures.  
17.  The representatives of Chile; Canada ; the European Union ; Ecuador ; South Africa ; China ; the 
Russian Federation ; and Indonesia  took the floor.  
 
1 Samoa has acceded to the WIPO Madrid Agreement and Protocol in 2018, and to the Patent Cooperation 
Treaty, the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement, and the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement in 2019.  IP/C/M/9 8 
 
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  18.  The Chair  proposed that, in view of the continued interest on this agenda item, the Council 
agree to revert to the item at its next meeting, so that the exchanges can once again take place, 
including on the basis of the updated Secretariat d ocument of COVID -19 related IP measures.  
19.  The Council took note  of the statements made and agreed to revert  to this item at its next 
meeting.   
4  REVIEW OF THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 27.3(B)  
5  RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND THE CONVENTION ON 
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY  
6  PROTECTION OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE  
20.  The Chair  said that the next three agenda items concern ed the Review of the Provisions of 
Article  27.3(b), the Relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on Biological 
Diversity and the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Folklore . Following past practice, she 
proposed that these three items  be addressed together.  
21.  She recalled that one tool for the review under item 3 was the information provided by Members 
in response to a list of questions on Article 27.3(b). The "Annual Report on Notifications and other 
Information Flows" that had been int roduced, under agenda item one, illustrated that responses to 
this checklist had been rather sparse recently. She was pleased to announce that, since the 
October  2020 meeting, the Council ha d received responses from the delegation of the 
Kingdom  of Saudi A rabia. She encourage d delegations to submit responses to this Checklist or 
update their previous responses , as well as notify any relevant changes in legislation. She invited 
the delegation of Saudi Arabia to introduce their responses.  
22.  The representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  took the floor.  
23.  The Chair recalled that two long -standing procedural issues under these items had also been 
discussed extensively on the record, at every regular meeting of the Council for many years:  
a. the suggestion for the S ecretariat to update the three factual notes on the Council's 
discussions on the TRIPS and CBD and related items; these notes were initially prepared 
in 2002 and last updated in 2006; and  
b. second, the request to invite the CBD Secretariat to brief the Counc il on the 
Nagoya  Protocol to the CBD, initially proposed in October 2010.  
24.  Members' positions on these issues were well known and already extensively recorded in the 
Council's minutes. She encouraged delegations to focus on suggesting solutions, when addressing 
these procedural questions.  
25.  The representatives of South  Africa ; India; Chile; Brazil ; China ; Ecuador ; Indonesia ; Nigeria ; 
Kenya ; Plurinational State of Bolivia;  Bangladesh ; the United  States  of America ; Japan ; Canada ; and 
Australia  took the flo or. 
26.  The Chair  suggested that the Council ask that the incoming  Chair should  hold consultations with 
a view to resolv ing the outstanding procedural issues.  
27.  The Council took note  of the statements made and agreed  to request the incoming chair  to hold 
consultations to resolve the outstanding procedural issues.  
7  NON-VIOLATION AND SITUATION COMPLAINTS  
28.  The Chair  recalled that, on 10 December 2019, the General Council had directed the 
TRIPS  Council to continue its examination of the scope and modalities  for non -violation and situation 
complaints (NVSCs) and to make recommendations to  the 12th Ministerial Conference  (MC12) . It was 
also agreed that, in the meantime, Members would not initiate such complaints under the IP/C/M/9 8 
 
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  TRIPS  Agreement.2 The issue had been discussed at each formal meeting of the Council, as well as 
at informal consultations. She had  held the most recent informa l consultations with a small group of 
the most active Members on 10 February  2021.  
29.  At that meeting, she had reiterated a suggestion  she had  already made at the Council meeting 
in July 2020  and had shared her impression that a number of common understandin gs regarding 
TRIPS non -violation could in fact be harvested from the past discussions among delegations. While 
it was clear that delegations disagree d about the merits of applying NVSCs to the TRIPS Agreement, 
there seem ed to be a number of statements abou t the general nature of the remedy, the conditions 
for invoking NVSCs, and some elements of the scope of their application that both sides seem ed to 
subscribe to and cite as arguments in their favour . Identifying such areas or elements of agreement 
regardi ng the nature of non -violation and situation complaints generally might help enable 
delegations to focus their engagement on the areas of disagreement. If the TRIPS Council w as able 
to provide such information to MC12, this could enable ministers to determine more detailed 
modalities or other guidance for discussions , and thus narrow the focus of the Council's work.  
30.  In the consultations, she had  suggested two ways how the Counci l could go about identifying 
areas of agreement on non -violation and situation complaints:  
a. Delegations could be invited to identify areas or elements of agreement , which could be 
collected by the Secretariat, and which could form the starting point of the  Council's 
considerations. The Council  could agree on a timeframe for submission of those to the 
Secretariat ; or 
b. The Chair  could identify elements of agreement, on the basis of the records of the 
TRIPS  Council meetings , and present a list for the considera tion of delegations . 
31.  From the reactions , her impression was that of most delegations present in the consultations 
could in principle support such an approach of identifying areas of agreement. Some delegations had 
indicated support for the second option , namely that a list of areas of agreement could be prepared 
by the Chair, based on the records of the Council's meetings.  
32.  Given that MC12  had now been scheduled to take place in the week of 28 November 2021 , in 
Geneva, there were only eight months - and two  Council meetings  - left before the Council is due to 
report again on this issue. It was therefore important that discussions begin soon to focus on concrete 
suggestions for the Council's recommendation for the Ministerial.  
33.  She invite d delegations to consider her suggestion that the Chair be invited to identify elements 
of agreement regarding TRIPS NVSCs , on the basis of the records of the TRIPS Council meetings and 
Members' submissions , and to present such a list for the consideration of Members.  She emphasize d 
that such an exercise would have no impact on Member's positions on this issue, nor would it 
presume any particular form of recommendation of the Council to MC12. Such a list of elements of 
agreement might, however, produce a new  basis for discussion and thus allow the Council to 
illuminate Members' differences in a more concrete and precise manner.   
34.  As her chairmanship wa s concluding, she would not wish to presume the intentions of the 
incoming chair. However, as this was one of the most protracted issues on the Council's agenda, and 
in light of the limited time available until MC12, she thought  it would be beneficial for her successor 
to be able to start operating straight away by pursuing such a concrete course of action that has 
already been supported by Members in the Council. She encourage d Members to support her 
successor in finding ways out of the deadlock that ha d stalled progress on  this item for the last two 
decades.  
35.  The representatives of Nigeria ; South Africa ; Chile; India; Bangladesh ; Brazil ; Indonesia ; the 
European Union ; Ecuador ; Cameroon ; Switzerland ; China ; Canada ; Australia ; and the 
United  States  of America  took the floor.  
 
2 See document WT/L/ 1080. IP/C/M/9 8 
 
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  36.  The Council took note  of the statements made  and agreed  to request the incoming Chair to 
consult on the way forward and the approach to MC12.  
8  REVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT UNDER ARTICLE 71.1  
37.  The Chair recalled that Article 71.1 required the TRIPS Council to conduct a review once every 
two years. However, as the Council had not completed its initial review in 1999, no subsequent 
review had been initiated since then. Periodic reviews could represent a us eful opportunity for 
Members to share information and experiences in implementing the TRIPS Agreement.  
38.  The Council agreed  to revert  to the matter at its next meeting.  
9  REVIEW OF THE APPLICATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE SECTION ON 
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS UN DER ARTICLE 24.2  
39.  The Chair said that Article 24.2 of the TRIPS Agreement required the Council to keep under 
review the application of the provisions on geographical indications  (GIs). The principal tool used for 
the review was the Checklist of Questions.3 She recalled that, of the 164 WTO  Members, fewer than 
50 had responded to the Checklist. Many of the earlier responses were also likely to be outdated. 
This did not adequately reflect the fact that GI protection had been an active area of legal and policy  
development at domestic level and in free trade agreements (FTAs).  The "Annual Report on 
Notifications and Other Information Flows" provided a Member -by-Member overview of Members' 
notifications in this area. She invited delegations to check whether their  responses to the GI checklist 
might merit updating.  
40.  She encouraged delegations to provide responses to the Checklist or to update earlier 
responses. The e -TRIPS Submission System provided an easy and convenient online tool to provide 
responses to the Checklist. In line with the Council's recommendation of March 2010, she also invited 
Members to share information regarding GI chapters in their bilateral agreements.  
41.  The Council agreed to revert  to the matter at its next meeting.  
10  FOLLOW -UP TO THE EIGHTEEN TH ANNUAL REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 2 OF THE 
DECISION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT  
42.  The Chair recalled that, at the Council's meeting in October 2000, the Eighteenth Annual Review 
under Paragraph 2 of the Decision on the Impleme ntation of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement 
had been on the agenda. At that meeting, delegations had briefly presented the updated reports 
submitted by developed country Members under Article 66.2. Since that meeting, the Council had 
received a further submission of an updated report from the delegation of New Zealand. At that 
meeting, the Council agreed that it would revert to the item at this meeting to permit continued 
consideration of the submitted material.  
43.  In July 2020, the LDC Group had circulate d a submission entitled "Proposed New Template for 
Annual Reporting under Article 66.2 of the Agreement on Trade -related Intellectual Property 
Rights".4 
44.  In order to give LDCs more time to absorb the information provided by developed countries in 
their rep orts, and to ensure that these reports were available in the official languages of the WTO, 
the Secretariat had organized a Workshop on the Implementation of the Article 66.2 of the 
TRIPS Agreement. Due to the sanitary situation, the Workshop had been held  in virtual format on 
2, 4 and 5 March 2021. Some of the capital -based delegates who participated in the Workshop would 
take part in the discussions under this agenda item. She invited the Secretariat to report on the 
Workshop.  
45.  A representative of the Secretariat  took the floor.  
 
3 Documents IP/C/13 and IP/C/13 /Add.1 . 
4 Document IP/C/W/664.  IP/C/M/9 8 
 
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  46.  The representatives of the United States of America ; Australia , the United Kingdom ; 
Switzerland ; Canada ; Japan ; the European Union ; Norway ; China;  Bangladesh , on behalf of the LDC 
Group ; and Mozambique  took the floor.  
47.  The Council took note of the statements made . 
11  TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING  
48.  The Chair  recalled that, at its meeting in October 2020, the Council had conducted its annual 
review of technical cooperation, on the basis of reports submitted by developed country Members, 
and a number of Observer International Organizations. Since some information had been made 
availa ble shortly before the meeting, it had been agreed that Members would have a further 
opportunity to make comments at this present meeting. She invited the Secretariat to provide a brief 
update on the TRIPS gateway page on the WTO website.  
49.  The representativ e of the Secretariat  took the floor.  
50.  The representatives of Chile and Bangladesh  took the floor.  
51.  The Council took note  of the statements made . 
12  PROPOSAL FOR A WAIVER FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT 
FOR THE PREVENTION, CONTAINMENT AND TREATMENT OF COVID -19 
52.  The Chair  recalled that the "Proposal for A Waiver from Certain Provisions of The 
TRIPS  Agreement for the Prevention, Containment and Treatment of Covid -19" had been circulated 
by India and South Africa on 2 October 2020.5 It had sin ce been co -sponsored by the delegations of 
Kenya, Eswatini, Mozambique, Pakistan, the Plurinational State of  Bolivia, the 
Bolivarian  Republic  of Venezuela, Mongolia, Zimbabwe, Egypt and, most recently, by the 
African  Group and the LDC Group.  
53.  At its previous meeting in February 2021, the Council had agreed to once again provide  a "Status 
Report on the consideration by the TRIPS Council of the waiver proposal " to the General Council 
meeting of 1 -2 March 2021. That Status Report had provided a fa ctual overview of the waiver 
discussions in the Council and highlighted Members' common goal of providing timely and secure 
access to high -quality, safe, efficacious and affordable vaccines and medicines for all. It had reported 
that Members had exchanged views, asked questions, sought clarifications and provided replies, 
clarifications, and information, including through new documents, but had not been able to reach 
consensus, including on whether it was appropriate to move to text -based negotiations. Dele gations 
had indicated a need for further discussions on the waiver request and views exchanged by 
delegations. The report had concluded that "[t]he TRIPS Council will therefore continue its 
consideration of the waiver request and report back to the General  Council as stipulated in 
Article  IX:3 of the Marrakesh Agreement."  
54.  The co -sponsors had signalled their openness to discuss the scope and duration of the waiver, 
as well as other questions delegations might have, in the context of text -based negotiations. Other 
delegations had emphasised a need for more discussions and were not ready to move towards 
text-based discussions. Members had also recognized the challenge arising from limited 
manufacturing capacity of vaccines and the inability of existing manufact urers to meet global 
demand. Members needed to engage in a candid and good -faith and evidence -based discussion on 
what was required to scale  up global production in these unprecedented times of a public health 
crisis. She encouraged Members to engage in a result -oriented process that would contribute to an 
effective solution to boosting productive capacity for products that were essential to deal with 
COVID -19 across the world. Swift action was required urgently to help scale up COVID -19 vaccine 
production and distribution. The Council needed  to shift gears and move towards a solution -oriented 
discussion. The world was in desperate need for solutions. She urged delegations  to work together 
and engage with this purpose in mind.  
 
5 Document IP/C/W/669  IP/C/M/9 8 
 
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  55.  At the General Council meeting of 1 March 2021, t he Director -General  had said we need to do 
things differently. She had said "it cannot be business as usual. We have to change our approach 
from debate and rounds of questions to delivering results ". She noted that she was not 
sensational izing when she reminded delegations that it was a literally a life and death issue. People 
were dying at that very moment. She urged delegations to demonstrate their commitment to the 
overarching goals of universal and equitable access to COVID -19 medical products, not only in words, 
but through action. She wanted to remind Members of the heightened public interest and concern in 
this regard , that the world was watching, and that the Council should not fail.  
56.  There were a number of declarations and letters from civil society regarding the WTO's role in 
the COVID -19 pandemic, which ha d been made available on the WTO COVID -19 website under the 
section "Business/Society response ".6 The previous day, she had  received a letter from 'Global 
Nurses United' , which w ould also be made available on that COVID -19 webpage.   
57.   She encourage d delegations to also address two issues in their interventions:  
a. First, the  practical question on how the Council should organize the consideration of this 
matter going forward . The next regular meeting of the TRIPS Council was scheduled for 
8-9 June 2021. She encourage d delegations  to share their views on how to consider the 
matter in the meantime, so that the Secretariat and the Chair can make any appropriate 
arrangements  so that the Council can move swiftly to a balanced outcome and a landing 
zone on this urgent  matter. The Secretariat ha d identified dates  for possible additional 
meetings, which the incoming  chair could  use, depending on delegations' views ; and  
b. Secondly,  wheth er and how to capture a number of shared understandings with respect to 
TRIPS flexibilities that ha d been highlighted. While Members  were still discussing the 
waiver request, Members might wish to capture and communicate such shared 
understandings on the r ole of IP in the context of a pandemic, which could provide valuable 
elements for the broader understanding of the TRIPS Agreement ; and m ight also provide 
positive guidance to prepare for future pandemics.  
58.  The representatives of India; Maldives ; Zimbabwe ; Qatar ; Pakistan ; Egypt;  Nepal ; Bangladesh ; 
Vanuatu ; Cuba; South Africa ; Brazil;  Ukraine ; China ; Nigeria ; Mozambique ; Jamaica ; Tanzania, on 
behalf of the African Group ; Chile; El Salvador ; Cameroon , on behalf of the ACP Group ; Colombia ; 
New Zealan d; Mongolia ; Namibia ; Canada ; the United Kingdom ; Switzerland ; Japan ; the 
European  Union ; Chinese Taipei ; Indonesia ; Singapore ; Australia ; the United States of America ; and 
the World  Health Organization  took the floor . 
59.  The Council took note of the statements made  and agreed to revert  to the matter at its next 
meeting . 
13  EXTENSION OF THE TRANSITION PERIOD UNDER ARTICLE 66.1 OF THE TRIPS 
AGREEMENT FOR LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRY MEMBERS  
60.  The Chair  recalled that the  transition period for least-developed country Members had been 
extended twice; most recently, by the TRIPS Council decision of 11 June 20137, and was currently 
set to expire on 1 July 2021, which was in less than four months' time. Regarding extensions of this 
period, the seco nd sentence of Article 66.1 of the TRIPS Agreement provided that "The Council for 
TRIPS shall, upon duly motivated request by a least developed country Member, accord extensions 
of this period."   
61.  The LDC Group had circulated its request for an extension o n 1 October 2020.8 Since then, she 
had held small -group consultations on this issue on 22  December 2020 and on 10 February 2021. 
From these consultations, her impression was that delegations were in principle favourable to 
extending the transition period for LDCs. As regards the specific modalities of such extension, some 
delegations expressed full support for the extension as requested, some expressed a preference for 
 
6 https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/covid19_e/covid19_business_e.htm   
7 Document IP/C/64.  
8 Document IP/C/W /668.  IP/C/M/9 8 
 
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  extending the period for a limited number of years, and others had additional questions on how the 
request for a transition period for graduated LDCs related to Article  66.1. 
62.  She reminded delegations of the limited time remaining before the current transition period 
expired and urged them to focus their interventions on any specific outstandi ng questions they might 
have, and to consider making concrete suggestions on possible outcomes, with a view to adopting a 
decision on extension at the next TRIPS Council meeting in June 2021.  
63.  The representative s of Chad, on behalf of the LDC Group ; Bangladesh , on behalf of the LDC 
Group ; the United Kingdom ; South Africa ; Chile; Tanzania , on behalf of the African Group ; Turkey ; 
China ; India; Australia ; Switzerland ; the United States of America ; Egypt ; the European Union ; 
Chinese Taipei ; Tunisia ; Japan ; Indonesia ; Nepal ; and the Holy See  took the floor.  
64.  The Chair proposed that the  Council request  the incoming Chair to hold consultations on this 
matter, with a view to working towards a concrete outcome for the June meeting.  
65.  The Council took note  of the statements made and agreed to revert  to the matter at its next 
meeting.  
14  INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INNOVATION: MAKING MSMES COMPETITIVE IN 
GREEN TECH  
66.  The Chair said that this item  had been put on the agenda at the request of Australia; Canada, 
Chile; the European Union; Japan; Singapore; Switzerland; the Separate Customs Territory of 
Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu; the United Kingdom, and the United States. A communication 
with th e same title had been circulated.9  
67.  The representatives of  Switzerland ; the United States of America ; Australia ; Singapore ; 
the United Kingdom ; Japan ; the European Union ; Chad, on behalf of the LDC Group ; Canada ; India; 
Norway ; Brazil ; Ecuador ; and China  took the floor.  
68.  The Council took note of the statements made.  
15  INFORMATION ON RELEVANT DEVELOPMENTS ELSEWHERE IN THE WTO  
69.  The Chair  said that the delegation of The Gambia  had deposited its instrument of acceptance on 
20 October 2020. Also, on 1  January 2021, the United Kingdom had confirmed its continued 
acceptance of the protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement. Chad ha d completed its domestic 
acceptance procedures . Upon deposit  of the original instrument, Chad w ould be added to the list of 
Members having accepted the amendment. This mean t that, to date, 132 Members ha d accepted 
the TRIPS amendment. Under the General Council Decision of 10 December 2019 ,10 the period for 
acceptan ce of the Protocol had been  extended until 31 December 2021. She encourage d the 
remaining 32 Members who are yet to accept the Amendment to do so expeditiously.  
70.  She invited the Secretariat to provide the regular briefing on IP -related issues considered in the 
context of individual Members' trade policy reviews,  and in the Director -General's Monitoring Report.  
71.  The representative of the Secretariat  took the floor.  
72.  The Council took note  of the information provided . 
 
9 Document IP/C/W/675.  
10 Document WT/L/1081.  IP/C/M/9 8 
 
- 10 - 
 
  16  OBSERVER STATUS FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERGOVER NMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS  
73.  The Chair  said that the updated list of pending requests for observer status in the TRIPS Council 
by intergovernmental organizations11 was available and that the information provided by the relevant 
intergovern mental organizations was posted on the Members' website.12  
74.  The Chair  recalled that , at its meeting in November 2012 , the Council  had agreed to grant 
ad hoc observer status on a meeting -to-meeting basis to the European Free Trade Association 
(EFTA). Since then, the invitation ha d been renewed at each meeting. She suggest ed that EFTA be 
invited to attend the next formal meeting on an ad hoc basis.  
75.  The Council agreed  to invite EFTA to attend the next meeting on an ad hoc  basis. 
17  OTHER BUSINESS  
76.  No statements were made under this agenda item.  
18  ELECTION OF THE CHAIRPERSON  
77.  The Chair said that the Council's rules of procedure provided that "[t]he election shall take place 
at the first meeting of the year and shall take effect at the end of the meeting", and that "[t]he 
Chairperson […] shall hold office until the end of the first meeting of the following year".13 
78.  At its meeting on 4 March 2021, the General Council  had noted consensus on the Chairpersons 
for regular and negotiating WTO bodies. On the basis of the understanding reached by the 
General  Council, she proposed that the Council for TRIPS elect H.E. Mr. Dagfinn SØRLI, 
Ambassador  of Norway, as its Chairperso n for the coming year.  
79.  The Council so agreed . 
80.  The Chair thanked delegations for their trust and cooperation during her term as 
TRIPS  Chairperson. She  hoped that Members  would also would  support the efforts of  her successor, 
in addressing the three urgent i tems on the Council's agenda : (i) the conclusion of discussions on 
the extension of the LDC transition period ; (ii) the continuing discussions on the TRIPS waiver 
request ; and (iii) the preparation of any recommendations on TRIPS non -violation for MC12 . She 
wished delegations  and the incoming  Chair much success in this endeavour.  
__________  
 
11 Document IP/C/W/52/Rev.14  
12 https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/xtrips_e/igo_observer_e.htm  
13 Rule 12 of the Rules of Procedure for Meetings of the Council for TRIPS in IP/C/1.  