RESTRICTED  
  
IP/C/M/94  
 
14 February 2020  
(20-1203) Page: 1/9 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights   
 
MINUTES OF MEETING  
HELD IN THE CENTRE W ILLIAM RAPPARD ON 6 FEBRUARY  2020 
Chair: H.E. Ambassador Lundeg Purevsuren  
The present document contains the record of the meeting of the Council for TRIPS held on 
6 February  2020. The statements made during the meeting will be circulated in an addendum to the 
present document.  
Table of Contents  
1   NOTIFICATIONS UN DER PROVISIONS OF TH E AGREEMENT  ................................ ........  3 
2   REVIEW OF NATION AL IMPLEMENTING LEGI SLATION  ................................ ................  4 
3   REVIEW OF THE PR OVISIONS OF ARTICLE 27.3(B)  ................................ .....................  4 
4   RELATIONSHIP BET WEEN THE TRIPS AGR EEMENT AND THE CONVE NTION ON 
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY  ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 4 
5   PROTECTION OF TR ADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE  ................................ ..... 4 
6   NON-VIOLATION AN D SITUATION COMPLAIN TS ................................ .........................  5 
7   REVIEW OF THE IM PLEMENTATION OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT UNDE R 
ARTICLE 71.1  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  5 
8   REVIEW OF THE AP PLICAT ION OF THE PROVISION S OF THE SECTION ON 
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICAT IONS UNDER ARTICLE 2 4.2 ................................ ......................  6 
9   SEVENTEENTH ANNU AL REVIEW UNDER PARA GRAPH 2 OF THE DECISION ON  
THE IMPLEMENTATION O F ARTICLE 66.2 OF TH E TRIPS AGREEMENT  ..............................  6 
10   TECHNICAL COOPE RATION AND CAPACITY -BUILDING  ................................ ..............  6 
11   DRAFT CODEX ALI MENTARIUS STANDARD - DEFINITION OF 'CROS S 
PROMOTION  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  7 
12   INTELLECTUAL PR OPERTY AND INNOVATIO N: ................................ ..........................  7 
12.1   Summary of the 2019 Theme "Public -private Collaborations in Innovation"  ..........  7 
12.2   2020 Theme "Making MSMES Competitive" – February 2020 Subtheme 
"Making MSMES Competitive Through Trademarks" ................................ .........................  7 
13   INTELLECTUAL PR OPERTY AND THE PUBLI C INTEREST: THE WTO TRIPS 
AGREEMENT AND THE CO PYRIGHT THREE -STEP T EST ................................ ......................  7 
14   INFORMATION ON RELEVANT DEVELOPMENT S ELSEWHERE IN THE W TO .................  7 
14.1   TRIPS Amendment  ................................ ................................ ................................ . 8 
14.2   IPR-Related Issues in Trade Policy Reviews and the Director -General's 
Monitoring Reports  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..........  8 
15   OBSERVER STATUS  FOR INTERNATIONAL I NTERGOVERNMENTAL 
ORGANIZATIONS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  8 
16   OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 8 IP/C/M/94  
 
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  16.1   Work Programme on Electronic Commerce  ................................ ............................  8 
16.2   Dates of Next Meeting  ................................ ................................ ............................  9 
17   ELECTION OF THE  CHAIRPERSON  ................................ ................................ ..............  9 
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  1  NOTIFICATIONS UNDER PROVISIONS OF THE AG REEMENT  
1.  The Chair invited the Secretariat to report on notifications that the Council had re ceived since its 
meeting in  October  2019.  
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 Kyrgyz Republic  had notified Law No. 45 related to the property rights to a computer 
program or database created under a government contract; Law No. 50, e nacting the Kyrgyz 
Republic's accession to the Marrakech Treaty for the Blind and the Visually Impaired; and a 
Law ratifying the Amendment to the TRIPS Agreement;  
b. The European Union  had notified amendments, and a consolidated version of the 2017 
Regulation  on the European Union trademark; the 2017 Regulation on cross -border 
portability of online content services in the internal market; amendments to the Directive 
implementing the European Union's obligation under the Marrakech Treat for the Blind and 
Visual ly Impaired; the 2019 Directive amending the rules on copyright relating to certain 
online transmissions of broadcasting organizations; the 2019 Directive on Copyright in the 
Digital Single Market; and, a 2019 Regulation amending rules on supplementary pro tection 
certificates for medicinal products.  
c. The Russian Federation  had notified an amendment to the Civil Code and other laws, which 
set out the protection system for Geographical Indications;  
d. Brazil  had notified two resolutions pertaining to patent requi rements in relation to prior art 
searches carried out by Patent offices of other countries, international or regional 
organizations;   
e. The Republic of Korea  had notified an amendment and a consolidated version of the Patent 
Act, introducing inter alia a pa tent filing system for foreign languages ; an Enforcement 
Decree relating to the Patents Act ; and a consolidated version of the Trademarks Act ; 
f. Chinese Taipei  had notified a consolidated version of its Enforcement Rules of the Patent Act ; 
g. Ukraine  had notified a Law updating its system for protection of Geographical Indications 
and Appellations of Origin; a law amending its rules on protection of rights in topographies 
of Semiconductor Products; and  a law amending the Customs' rules on treatment of 
counterfei t and pirated goods ;  
h. The Czech Republic  has notified a consolidated version of its Trademarks Act, 
accommodating substantial changes to the Trademark registration process, including the 
introduction of certification marks, the abolition of a requirement for graphical 
representation, and introdu ces new trademark types, such as multimedia, positional and 
hologram marks ; 
i. Hong Kong, China  had notified an Ordinance and Patent Rules introducing the legal 
framework for setting up a new "original grant " patent system and refining the pre -existing 
short-term patent system ; 
j. Canada  had notified a consolidated version of its Patent Rules, which included  changes 
following the implementation of the Patent Law Treaty ; 
k. China  had notified its new "Anti -Unfair Com petition Law" , which further improve d trade 
secret protection; and a consolidated version of its Trademark Law following its fourth 
revision, which aims to strengthen trademark protection and curb bad faith trademark 
registrations.  
3.  He added that, u nder Art icle 69 , the Kyrgyz Republic , the Republic of Korea , Vanuatu  and India 
had provided information on contact points for the exchange of information and cooperation on trade 
in infringing goods . He noted that, so far 67 Members and 5 international organizatio ns, that are IP/C/M/94  
 
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  observers, had requested log -in credentials for the e -TRIPS system, and virtually all the submissions 
of laws under Article 63.2 and of contact points under Article 69 had been made using the e -TRIPS 
Submission System. The Secretariat, particu larly the e-TRIPS team, was ready to assist delegations 
to further increase use of the system, also for the submission of reports on technical assistance 
under Article. 67 and on incentives for technology transfer under Article 66.2.  
4.  The Chair invited delegations that had notified new or revised legislative measure s, or submitted 
updates  to their contact points , to introduce their notifications. He also invited other delegations to 
comment on them.  
5.  The representatives of  the European Union ; the Republic of Korea ; Ukraine ; Canada ; China ; the 
Russian Federation ; Brazil ; Hong Kong, China ; Chinese Taipei ; the United Kingdom ; and , 
Kingdom  of Saudi  Arabia  took the floor.  
6.  The Chair  noted  that notifications to the Council were not keeping up with the actual development 
of laws and regulations relating to TRIPS. He emphasized that Article 63.2 was not a one -off 
requirement. It obliged Members to notify any new or amended laws , so that the Counci l was in a 
position to exercise its monitoring function . He urged Members to keep their notifications updated 
by submitting any new or revised laws or regulations to the Council, as well as completing 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. He invited Members to submit their notifications through the e-TRIPS 
Notific ation System and to contact the Secretariat for any further questions.  
7.  The Council took note  of the notifications and the statements made.  
2  REVIEW  OF NATIONAL IMPLEME NTING LEGISLATION  
8.  The Chair  recalled that the Council was preparing for the review of the n ational implementing 
legislation of Samoa. As noted at the  October 2019 meeting , Samoa was in the process of revising 
their laws once again, as it had just acceded to four WIPO treaties. Considering  the substantial 
revisions that were to be expected, the Council had agreed  to wait for the notification of the revised 
domestic laws of Samoa, before commencing the review. He propose d that the Secretariat remain 
in contact with Samoa on the progress of i ts new legislation , and that the Council revert to the 
arrangements for Samoa's review at its next meeting.   
9.  He noted that there were currently no reviews pending under this item. Members should, 
however, revert to any matter raised in past reviews, or mak e suggestions regarding further reviews. 
Any ideas how to make best use of this agenda item would be most welcome.  
10.  The Council  took note  of the information provided  and agreed  to proceed with the arrangements 
for the review of Samoa's national implementati on legislation as proposed by the Chair . 
3  REVIEW OF THE PROVIS IONS OF ARTICLE 27.3 (B) 
4  RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN  THE TRIPS AGREEMENT  AND THE CONVENTION ON 
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY  
5  PROTECTION OF TRADIT IONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE  
11.  The Chair  proposed  that, following past practice, agenda items 3, 4 and 5 be addressed together.  
He 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). Last year the Council had rece ived the responses 
by Ukraine and Mexico. These had been the first responses after 15 years. He encouraged delegations 
to submit responses to this Checklist or update their previous responses; as well as notify any 
relevant changes in legislation.  IP/C/M/94  
 
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  12.  He noted  that t wo longstanding procedural issues under these items h ad been discussed 
extensively on the record, at every regular meeting of the Council for several  years:  
a. first, the suggestion for the Secretariat 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 Council on the Nagoya Protocol 
to the CBD, initially proposed in October 2010.  
13.  Positions on these issues were well -known and already extensively recorded in the Council 
minutes. In addressing these procedural questions, he encourage d delegations  to focus on 
suggestions as to how to resolve them.  
14.  The representatives of Brazil ; India; Bangladesh ; Nigeria ; China ; Indonesia ; Kenya ; 
South  Africa ; Ukraine ; the United States of America ; Switzerland ; Japan ; Canada ; and Plurinational 
State of Bolivia  took the floor.  
15.  The C ouncil took note of the statements made and agree d to revert to the matters at its next 
meeting.  
6  NON-VIOLATION AND SI TUATION COMPLAINTS  
16.  The Chair recalled that  the initial mandate to examine the scope and modalities for non -violation 
and situation complaints, contained in Article 64.3 of the TRIPS Agreement, had required 
recommendations to be submitted in 1999. On 10 December 2019, the General Council had direct ed 
the TRIPS Council to continue its work 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 TRIPS Agreement.1  
17.  He informed delegations that he had held two sets of informal consultations with a small group 
of the most active Members, on 17 and 31 January 2020. He had asked Members to explore how 
work could advance on this issue before the next meeting of the TRIPS Council, which was scheduled 
for 14 -15 May 2020. However, there had not been further progress , even  in an informal setting. 
He highlighted that MC12 was only 4 months away. It was, therefore, important that discussions 
soon begin to focus on concrete suggestions for the Council's reco mmendation for the Ministerial.  As 
his chairmanship was concluding, he hoped that the incoming chair w ould be able to take up his or 
her duties very soon after nomination by the General Council, so as to allow for timely and focused 
work, and he encourage d delegations  to support his successor during the challenging period ahead.    
18.  The representatives of South Africa , on behalf of the African Group ; Bangladesh ; Egypt ; 
Indonesia ; Nigeria ; Chinese Taipei ; India; China ; Chile; the United States of America ; the 
Russian  Federation ; Switzerland ; Japan ; Canada ; Norway ; the Republic of Korea ; and the 
Plurinational State of Bolivia  took the floor.  
19.  The Council so  took note  of the statements made  and agreed  to revert to the matters at its next 
meeting .  
7  REVIEW OF THE IMPLEM ENTATION OF THE TRIP S AGREEMENT UNDER AR TICLE 71.1  
20.  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 subseq uent 
review had been initiated since then. Periodic reviews could represent a useful opportunity for 
Members to share information and experiences in implementing the TRIPS Agreement.  
21.  The Council agreed  to revert  to the matter at its next meeting.  
 
1 See document WT/L/ 1080. IP/C/M/94  
 
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  8  REVIEW OF  THE APPLICATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF TH E SECTION ON 
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICAT IONS UNDER ARTICLE 2 4.2 
22.  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 (IP/C/13 and Add.1). Unfortunately , fewer than 50 
Members, out of the 164, had responded to the Checklist  so far . Many of the earlier responses were 
also likely to be outdated  and they  did not reflect that GI protection was an active area of legal and 
policy development in some countries, as well as in several  FTAs.  
23.  He encouraged delegations to respond to the Checklist, or to updat e their initial responses. The 
e-TRIPS  Submission System provided an easy and convenient online tool to provide responses to 
the Checklist and to check the date of delegations’ most recent submission in that regard. I n line 
with the Council's recommendation of March 2010, he invited Members to share information on 
bilateral agreements related to the protection of GIs they are party to.  
24.  The Council agreed  to revert  to the matter at its next meeting.  
9  SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL R EVIEW UNDER PARAGRAP H 2 OF THE DECISION ON THE 
IMPLEMENTATION OF AR TICLE 66.2 OF THE TR IPS AGREEMENT  
25.  The Chair recalled that, at its meeting in October 2019, the Council had had on its agenda the 
17th Annual Review under Paragraph 2 of the Decision on the Implementation of Article 66.2 of the 
TRIPS Agr eement. At that meeting, delegations had briefly presented the updated reports submitted 
by developed country Members under Article 66.2. Since that meeting New Zealand had submitted 
its updated report. All updated reports had been  circulated under IP/C/W/656 and addenda. At that 
meeting, the Council had also agreed that it would revert to the item at th e present  meeting to 
permit continued consideration of the submitted material.  
26.  In order  to give LDC Members more time to absorb the information provided by developed 
countries in their reports, and to ensure that these reports were available in the official languages 
of the WTO, the Article 66.2 Workshop had once again taken place  back-to-back with th e TRIPS 
Council meeting. This had allowed s ome of the capital -based delegates who had participated in the 
Workshop , to participate in the meeting and take part in the discussions under this agenda item.  
27.  The LDC Group has circulated a Room docume nt entitled, "Proposed New Template of annual 
Reporting on Technology Transfer to LDCs". This room document RD/IP/37 was available on line on  
documents for meetings, and as a paper copy at the back of the meeting r oom. He noted that the 
English and French t exts were both contained in the same document.  He invited the Secretariat to 
report on th e Workshop.  
28.  A representative of the Secretariat  took the floor.  
29.  The Chair  invited delegations to comment on the materials submitted for the last meeting, as 
well as to share their experiences from the Article 66.2 Workshop held in the past two days.  
30.  The representatives of Chad, on behalf of the LDC Group ; Bangladesh ; the United Kingdom ; 
Switzerland ; the United States  of America ; Canada ; the European Union ; Japan ; Norway ; Vanuatu ; 
Australia ; and the African Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO ) took the floor.  
31.  The Council took note of the statements made.  
10  TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPA CITY -BUILDING  
32.  The Chair  recalled that , at the October 2019 meeting,  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 Internatio nal Organizations. Considering that  some information was made 
available only shortly before the meeting, the Council had  agreed that Members would have a further 
opportunity to make comments at th e present meeting. The International Union for the Protectio n 
of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) had submitted its report before the meeting, to  be circulated as 
document IP/C/W/654/Add.6.  IP/C/M/94  
 
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  33.  The representatives of Chad, on behalf of the LDC Group ; and Bangladesh  took the floor.  
34.  The Council took note  of the statements made . 
11  DRAFT CODEX ALIMENTA RIUS STANDARD - DEFI NITION OF 'CROSS PRO MOTION  
35.   The Chair  indicated that this item  had been put on the agenda at the request of Mexico. A 
communication concerning had been circulated in document IP/C/W/660. He i nvited Mexico to 
introduce the item.  
36.  The representative of Mexico  took the floor.  
37.  The representative s of Brazil ; India; and Turkey  took the floor.  
38.  The Council took note of the statements made . 
12  INTELLECTUAL PROPERT Y AND INNOVATION :  
12.1  Summary of the 2019 Theme "Public -private Collaborations in Innovation"  
12.2   2020 Theme "Making MSMES Competitive" – February 2020 Subtheme "Making 
MSMES Competitive Through Trademarks"  
39.  The Chair said that the item had been put on the agenda at the request of Australia; Canada, 
Chile; The European Union; Japan; Singapore; Switzerland; the Republic of Korea; the Separate 
Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu; and the United States. The item covered 
two aspects of the broader topic of IP and innovation:  (i) "Public -private collaborations in 
Innovation", a topic that the Council had discussed at its meetings in 2019. A relevant communication 
had been circulated as document IP/C/W/661 ; and the proposed "2020 Theme: Making MSMEs 
Competitive". The specific focus at this m eeting was on "Making MSMEs competitive through 
Trademarks". A relevant communication ha d been circulated as document IP/C/W/662.  
40.  The representatives of the United States of America ; Canada ; Australia ; Switzerland ; 
Chinese  Taipei ; Japan ; Chile; Singapore ; the Republic of Korea ; the United Kingdom ; China ; Brazil ; 
India; and Peru took the floor.  
41.  The Council took note of the statements made.  
13  INTELLECTUAL PROPERT Y AND THE PUBLIC INT EREST: THE WTO TRIPS AGREEM ENT 
AND THE COPYRIGHT TH REE-STEP TEST  
42.  The Chair said that the item had been put on the agenda at the request of South Africa. A 
communication had been circulated in document IP/C/W/663. He invited South Africa to introduce 
the item.  
43.  The representative of South Africa  took the floor.  
44.  The representa tives of India; Chinese Taipei ; Indonesia ; China ; the United States of America ; 
Switzerland ; and South Africa  took the floor . 
45.  The Council took note of the statements mad e. 
14  INFORMATION ON RELEV ANT DEVELOPMENTS ELS EWHERE IN THE WTO  
46.  The Chair  said that the agenda item was for Members' information only and did not require 
discussion. The purpose was simply to keep Members posted of developments in other WTO bodies 
which have a TRIPS or intellectual property angle.  IP/C/M/94  
 
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  14.1  TRIPS Amendment  
47.  The Chair noted that Burundi had deposited its instrument of acceptance on 12 December 2019. 
To date, 129 Members had accepted the TRIPS amendment. He encouraged the remaining 
35 Members to expedite action in good time before the current deadline for acceptance. Un der the 
General Council Decision of 10 December 2019 (WT/L/1081) the period for acceptance of the Protocol 
had been extended until 31 December 2021.  
14.2  IPR-Related Issues in Trade Polic y Reviews  and the Director -General's Monitoring 
Reports  
48.  The Chair  invited  the Secretariat to report on IP-related issues that ha d been considered in the 
context of individual Members' trade policy reviews.  
49.  A representative of the  Secretariat  took the floor.  
50.  The Council took note  of the information provided . 
15  OBSERVER STATUS FOR INTERNATI ONAL INTERGOVER NMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS  
51.  The Chair  said that the updated list of pending requests for observer status in the TRIPS Council 
by intergovernmental organizations was contained in document IP/C/W/52/Rev.14. The information 
provid ed by the relevant intergovernmental organizations  was available on the Members' website.2  
52.  He recalled that the latest international organization that was granted permanent observer 
status was the Cooperation Council of the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), in November 2018. He 
invited Members and Observers to share their views or developments under this item.  
53.  The representatives of  India; Bangladesh ; Indonesia ; the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ; 
China ; and the United States of America  and took the floor.  
54.  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, th e invitation ha d been renewed at each meeting. He suggest ed that EFTA again 
be invited to attend the Council's next formal meeting on an ad hoc basis.  
55.  The Council took note  of the statements made and agreed  to invite EFTA to attend the next 
meeting on an ad hoc  basis 
16  OTHER BUSINESS  
56.  The Chair  invited delegations to make statements under this agenda item.  
57.  The representative of Japan  took the floor.  
16.1  Work Programme on Electronic Commerce   
58.  The Chair recalled that , the General Council Decision adopted on 10 December 2019 
(WT/L/1079) instructed the General C ouncil to reinvigorate the Work Programme on Electronic 
Commerce, based on the existing Mandate, and report to MC12. The original mandate instructed the 
General Council to review the work on the basis of reports from the relevant WTO bodies.  
59.  In the TRIPS C ouncil, there had been no discussion on e-commerce  since the meeting in June 
2018. At the informal consultations in January 2020, no delegation had indicated any intention to 
propose e-commerce  discussions in the TRIPS Council, at this time. He would there fore remind 
delegations of the mandate under the original Ministerial Decision on e-commerce  and invite them 
to share any thoughts on how to pursue this mandate. If he was requested to provide an update on 
 
2 Available at https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/xtrips_e/igo_observer_e.htm .  IP/C/M/94  
 
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  the TRIPS Council's work, he would  report this sta te of play to the General Council during its review 
of the Work Programme.  
16.2  Dates of Next Meeting  
60.  The Chair  invited the Secretariat to brief delegations on the schedule of meetings for 2020  
61.  A representative of the Secretariat  took the floor.  
62.  The representa tive of Bangladesh  took the floor.  
63.  The Council took note  of the statements made.  
17  ELECTION OF THE CHAI RPERSON  
64.  The Chair  indicated 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".  
65.  The General Council's meeting to agree on the slate of chairpersons for WTO bodies was 
scheduled to take place on 3 -4 March 2020. The TRIPS Council would, therefore, not be able to elect 
its Chair at the present meeting.  
66.  The Chair suggested that, to avoid having an additional meeting of the TRIPS Council in March 
just for the purpose of formalizing the election of the Chair, the Council follow its earlier practice in 
similar situations, and proceed as follows: (i) the TRIPS  Council would formally elect its new Chair 
at the beginning of its meeting scheduled for 14 -15 May 2020; and (ii) in the meantime, as soon as 
the General Council agrees on the slate of chairpersons, the TRIPS Council Chair -designate would 
take up his or h er role as the Chair, including holding any consultations in preparation of the Council's 
May meeting, pending his or her formal election at that meeting.  
67.   The Council so agreed . 
68.  The Chair  thanked delegations for their trust and cooperation during his term as TRIPS Chair. 
He encouraged delegations to continue support ing the efforts of his successor , particularly,  in 
preparation of any recommendations on TRIPS non -violation for the Ministerial Conference in June.  
 
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