WORLD TRADE IP/C/8
6November 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-4704)
Council forTrade-Related Aspects
ofIntellectual Property Rights
REPORT (1996) OFTHE COUNCIL FOR TRIPS
I General
1. Since theperiod covered byitslastreport1,theCouncil forTRIPS hasheldsixformal meetings,
on11December 1995andon22February, 9May, 22-25 July,18September and5November 1996.
Theminutes ofthese meetings aretobefound indocuments IP/C/M/5-10.2Thisreport covers this
period, butalsocontains references tothework donebytheCouncil forTRIPS in1995.
2. Thefirsttwoofthemeetings referred toabove were chaired byMr.Stuart Harbinson
(Hong Kong). Theremainder were chaired byAmbassador Wade Armstrong (New Zealand).
3. Meetings oftheCouncil wereopentoallWTO Members. Inaddition, government observers
toWTO bodies wereinvited. WIPO wasinvited toallmeetings, inaccordance withtherecommendation
ofthePreparatory Committee asconfirmed bytheGeneral Council. Pursuant totheinterim procedure
onobserverstatusforintergovernmentalorganizationsevolvedundertheauspicesoftheGeneralCouncil,
theFAO, theIMF, theOECD, UNCTAD, theUnited Nations, UPOV (International Union forthe
Protection ofNewVarieties ofPlants), theWorld Bank andtheWCO were invited tomeetings of
theCouncil.
II Implementation
(i) Notifications andNotification Procedures
(a) Article 63.2
4. Atitsmeeting inNovember 1995, theCouncil adopted thefollowing decisions togiveeffect
totheobligation tonotify implementing legislation under Article 63.2: Procedures forNotification
of,andPossible Establishment ofaCommon Register of,National Laws andRegulations under
Article 63.2(document IP/C/2); Format forListing of"Other Laws andRegulations" tobeNotified
under Article 63.2(document IP/C/4); andChecklist ofIssues onEnforcement (document IP/C/5).
5. These procedures require that,asofthetimethataMember isobliged tostartapplying a
provision oftheTRIPS Agreement, thecorresponding lawsandregulations shallbenotified without
delay. Averysubstantial volume oflegislation hasbeennotified under these procedures. Asofthe
dateofthisreport, 30Members havenotified some oralloftheirimplementing legislation. Most
1Document WT/GC/W/25, Section VI
2Document IP/C/M/10 tobeissuedIP/C/8
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ofthematerial tobenotified byMembers whose legislation, intheareaofcopyright andrelated rights,
wasthesubject ofreview attheCouncil 'sJulymeeting (seeparagraph 14below) hasbeennotified;
threeothercountries havenotified some oftheirlegislation while indicating thatthisiswithout prejudice
totheirtransition period under theprovisions ofArticle 65;and11Members havenotified legislation
relating totheimplementation ofArticle 70.8and,insome cases, Article 70.9oftheTRIPS Agreement.
These notifications arecirculated intheIP/N/1/COUNTRY/- series ofdocuments.
6. AtitsNovember 1995meeting, theCouncil alsoagreed thatMembers would provide responses
toachecklist ofissues onenforcement (IP/C/5). Inrecognition ofthefactthatpreparation ofthe
responses would taketime, theprocedures require them tobesubmitted "assoonaspossible" after
thetimethataMember isobliged tostartapplying theprovisions oftheTRIPS Agreement on
enforcement. Eight Members havenotified responses. These responses havebeencirculated inthe
IP/N/6/COUNTRY/- series ofdocuments. AttheJuly1996 meeting oftheCouncil, theChairman
urged theMembers concerned toprovide theirresponses soonandinanycasebefore theendof1996.
7. Thenational treatment andMFN obligations ofArticles 3,4and5oftheTRIPS Agreement
became applicable toallMembers from1January 1996. Sofar,nonotifications havebeenreceived
under Article 63.2relating specifically totheimplementation ofthese provisions, except insofaras
suchnotifications haveformed partofthecomprehensive notifications bydeveloped country Members
oftheirgeneral implementing legislation. TheCouncil hasconsidered whether theremaybetechnical
difficulties withmeeting thisnotification requirement. AttheCouncil 'sJulymeeting, aproposal was
made forasimplified procedure inthisconnection andtheCouncil agreed thatthematter betaken
upininformalconsultations.Followingtheseinformalconsultations,theCouncilagreedatitsSeptember
meeting thattheMembers concerned hadarange ofoptions astohowtomeet these notification
requirements inawaybestsuited totheirnational circumstances. Three options were identified in
particular:
- notifying thespecific provisions oflawsandregulations thatimplement theobligations
setoutinArticles 3,4and5;
- notifying allintellectual property lawsandregulations; or
- making ageneral statement thatnationals ofother WTO Members enjoy non-
discriminatory treatment, together withalistofanyexceptions tothatprinciple.
TheCouncil invited theSecretariat toprepare apaper which would recognize these three options and
contain adraftformat forthelastoption. Thispaper willbeconsidered bytheCouncil atitsmeeting
scheduled for11-15 November 1996.
(b) Articles 1.3and3.1
8. Articles 1.3and3.1oftheTRIPS Agreement, relating tothedefinition ofbeneficiary persons
under theAgreement andtonational treatment, allow certain exceptions tothenormal rulesonthese
matters, provided thatnotifications aremade totheCouncil forTRIPS. 24Members havesubmitted
notifications under these provisions. These notifications arecontained intheIP/N/2/COUNTRY/-
series ofdocuments.
(c) Article 4(d)
9. Article 4(d)oftheTRIPS Agreement requires aMember seeking tojustify anexception to
theMFN ruleonthebasisofaninternational agreement relating totheprotection ofintellectual property
which hadentered intoforcepriortotheentryintoforceoftheWTO Agreement tonotify thatagreementIP/C/8
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totheCouncil forTRIPS. Atthemeeting oftheCouncil inNovember 1995, theChairman drew the
attention ofMembers totheneedtomake notifications under Article 4(d)by1January 1996ifMembers
wished tohavelegalcover fromthatdateforanyexceptions toMFN treatment thattheyseektojustify
byreference totheprovisions ofArticle 4(d). Todate, 28Members havemade notifications under
thisprovision. These notifications arecontained intheIP/N/4/COUNTRY/- series ofdocuments.
10. Indiscussions attheCouncil 'smeetings ofFebruary, MayandJuly1996, some Members
expressed concern about some ofthenotifications made, inparticular thattheabsence ofsufficient
guidelines forsuchnotifications meant thatthenotifications didnotalways enable theother Members
tounderstand thespecific element ofdiscrimination thatwasbeing sought tobejustified. Asagreed
attheCouncil 'sFebruary meeting, theChairman heldinformal consultations onthismatter. Tofacilitate
these consultations, hecirculated aninformal background notebytheSecretariat. Itwasgenerally
feltintheCouncil thatitwould bevaluable tocontinue work onthedevelopment ofcriteria thatcould
assist individual Members inmaking orreviewing theirnotifications, butthatsuchcriteria could not
addtoordiminish therights andobligations ofWTO Members under theprovisions ofArticle 4(d).
Further consultations onthismatter willbeheld.
(d) Article 69
11. Article 69oftheTRIPS Agreement requires Members toestablish andnotify contact points
forthepurposes ofcooperating witheachother withaviewtoeliminating international tradeingoods
infringing intellectual property rights. Procedures forsuchnotifications wereagreed bytheCouncil
inSeptember 1995. Todate,67Members havenotified contact points. Themostrecent compilation
ofthese iscontained indocument IP/N/3/Rev.2.
(e) Notifications Under Other Provisions oftheAgreement
12. Anumber ofnotification provisions oftheBerne andtheRome Conventions areincorporated
byreference intotheTRIPS Agreement butwithout being explicitly referred toinit.Atitsmeeting
inFebruary 1996, theCouncil invited eachMember wishing tomake suchnotifications tomake them
totheCouncil forTRIPS, eveniftheMember inquestion hadalready made anotification under the
Berne ortheRome Convention inregard tothesame issue, anddrew theattention ofMembers tothe
discussion relating tothetiming ofsuch notifications inparagraphs 16through 21of
document IP/C/W/15, aSecretariat background noteonthesubject. Todate,oneMember hasmade
anotification under thisprocedure. Notifications ofthiskind arebeing circulated inthe
IP/N/5/COUNTRY/- series ofdocuments.
(ii) Monitoring theOperation oftheAgreement
(a) Review ofNational Laws andRegulations
13. Atitsmeeting inNovember 1995, theCouncil adopted a"Schedule fortheConsideration of
National Implementing Legislation in1996/1997" (IP/C/3). Thisprovided forlegislation inthearea
ofcopyright andrelated rights tobereviewed bytheCouncil inJuly1996. Following informal
consultations, theCouncil agreed atitsMay1996meeting onprocedures fortheCouncil 'sreview of
legislation inthisarea. These procedures provided forwritten questions andreplies priortothereview
meeting, withfollow-up questions andreplies during thecourse ofthemeeting.
14. AttheCouncil 'smeeting of22-25 July1996, thelegislation intheareaofcopyright andrelated
rights of29Members wasreviewed. Anumber ofthese Members indicated thattheystillhadsteps
totaketocomply fully withtheirTRIPS obligations inthisarea. Therecord oftheintroductory
statements made bydelegations, thequestions puttothemandtheresponses given isbeing circulatedIP/C/8
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intheIP/Q/COUNTRY/- series ofdocuments. Atsubsequent meetings oftheCouncil, anopportunity
willbegiven tofollow-up points emerging fromthereview session which delegations consider have
notbeen adequately addressed. Inthisconnection, itwasrecognized thatthereview ofnational
implementing legislation implied quiteaheavy workload andthatitwasimportant toallow anadequate
opportunity, consistent withtheprovisions ofArticle 63oftheAgreement, forafollow-up toall
Members, inparticular todeveloping country Members thathadconstraints ontheirresources affecting
theirability toanalyse anddigest some ofthematerial.
15. Theprocedures adopted bytheCouncil forthereview provided thatthereview would apply
tothecopyright andrelated rights legislation ofMembers obliged tocomply withtheTRIPS Agreement
under Article 65.1andofanyother Members notstillavailing themselves inrespect ofthisareaof
legislation ofanylonger transition period towhich theymaybeentitled. During thecourse ofthe
review, questions wereputtoanumber ofMembers which didnotconsider thattheyfellintoeither
ofthese categories andwhich didnotprovide answers intheCouncil 'smeeting.
16. Inaccordance withthe"Schedule forConsideration ofNational Implementing Legislation in
1996/1997" (IP/C/3), theCouncil willreview legislation intheareas oftrademarks, geographical
indications andindustrial designs atitsmeeting scheduled for11-15 November 1996. Legislation in
theareas ofpatents, layout-designs ofintegrated circuits, undisclosed information andthecontrol of
anti-competitive practices incontractual licences isscheduled forreview inthefirsthalfof1997, and
thatintheareaofenforcement inthesecond halfof1997.
(b) Implementation ofArticle 70.8and70.9
17. Atitsmeetings inFebruary, May, JulyandSeptember 1996, theCouncil considered the
implementation ofArticle 70.8andtherelated provisions ofArticle 70.9. Atthesemeetings theCouncil
tooknoteofstatementsbysomeMembersoftheirconcernthatnotallMemberstowhichtheseprovisions
applied weregiving effect tothemor,intheevent thattheyhaddoneso,hadnotnotified therelevant
legislation under Article 63.2. AttheCouncil 'smeetings ofMayandJuly1996, some Members
informed theCouncil thattheywere engaged indispute settlement proceedings onthismatter with
twoother Members (IP/D/2 andIP/D/5).
(c) Implementation ofArticle 70.2
18. AttheCouncil 'sFebruary meeting, statements were made concerning compliance with
Article 70.2inregard tothepatent termandinrespect ofrights insound recordings. Dispute settlement
proceedings initiated inconnection withthese matters havebeennotified totheTRIPS Council in
documentsIP/D/1,3and4.On3October1996,theCouncilwasinformedofamutuallyagreedsolution
reached between theparties onthefirstofthese issues (document IP/D/3/Add.1). Inthisnotification,
which wasmade totheCouncil forTRIPS foritsinformation andwithout prejudice totherights and
obligations ofother Members, theparties involved expressed theirunderstanding thatArticle 70.2in
conjunction withArticle 33requires developed country parties toprovide apatent termofnotless
than20years fromthefiling dateforpatents thatwereinforce on1January 1996, orthatresult from
applications pending onthatdate. Thenotification alsoindicates thattheaffected party hastaken the
necessary stepstoconfirm thatallaffected patents willenjoy atermthatisthelonger of15years from
thedateofgrant or20years from thedateoffiling.
(iii) Revocation ofPatents
19. AttheCouncil 'sJulyandSeptember meetings, anumber ofMembers stated theirviews on
thegrounds thatcould justify therevocation ofapatent. TheCouncil tooknoteofthestatements.IP/C/8
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(iv) Technical Cooperation
20. Inaccordance withadecision taken bytheCouncil inNovember 1995, theChairman made
available fortheFebruary 1996 meeting oftheCouncil aninformal discussion noteoutlining and
structuring theissues which hadbeenraised intheCouncil 'svarious discussions onthesubject of
technical cooperation andidentifying possible options forcarrying forward theCouncil 'swork inthis
area(subsequently distributed asIP/C/W/21). Asaresult oftheensuing discussion, theCouncil agreed
onthefollowing:
- thattheCouncil would seektheannual updating bydeveloped country Members of
information ontheir technical cooperation activities pursuant toArticle 67ofthe
Agreement, andthatin1996 theupdating would besought intimefortheCouncil 's
meeting scheduled forSeptember 1996;
- thattheCouncil 'sSeptember 1996 meeting would haveaspecial, butnotexclusive,
focus ontheissue oftechnical cooperation;
- thattheSecretariat would prepare ananalytical summary oftheinformation ontechnical
cooperation activities already presented and,onthisbasis, consideration would begiven
towhether Members would beinvited touseacommon listofbasic headings in
presenting anoverview oftheirtechnical cooperation activities;
- thattheSecretariat would beinvited topresent asuggestion foraspecific pilotproject
foraworkshop, tobeheldinthemargins oftheCouncil meeting, thatwould permit
amore in-depth, thematic discussion ofaparticular aspect oftechnical cooperation.
21. AtitsMaymeeting, theCouncil considered aproposal forapilotproject foranin-depth
discussion ofaspecific aspect oftechnical cooperation. TheCouncil agreed thattheSecretariat should
goahead, hopefully incooperation withtheInternational Bureau oftheWIPO, toorganize aworkshop
onborder enforcement, tobeheld immediately before orafter theCouncil 'smeeting of
18September 1996. Theworkshop, organized jointly bytheWTO Secretariat andtheInternational
Bureau ofWIPO, washeldontheafternoon of17September 1996.
22. AttheCouncil 'sJulymeeting, itwasagreed thatdeveloped country Members, insubmitting
updated information ontheirtechnical cooperation activities priortotheCouncil 'sSeptember meeting,
would notify acontact pointorcontact points which could beaddressed byadeveloping country Member
seeking technical cooperation. Thecontact pointcould bethesameastheonethatthedeveloped country
Member inquestion hadnotified under Article 69oftheAgreement, oritcould bedifferent, depending
onthestructure oftheMembers 'administrations.
23. TheCouncil 'sSeptember meeting hadaspecial focus ontheissue oftechnical cooperation.
Forthatmeeting, ninedeveloped country Members supplied updated information ontheirtechnical
cooperation activities andinformation wasalso supplied bytheWTO Secretariat andsix
intergovernmental organizations. Thecontact points notified bydeveloped country Members arebeing
compiled inasingle document (IP/N/7). Inaddition toreviewing thisinformation, theCouncil assessed
theexperience withtheworkshop onborder enforcement, organized jointly bytheWTO Secretariat
andtheInternational Bureau ofWIPO on17September. Anumber ofdelegations saidthattheissue
oftechnical cooperation should bebrought totheattention ofMinisters atSingapore. TheCouncil
hasagreed tocontinue itsdiscussion ontechnical cooperation atitsmeeting scheduled for
11-15 November 1996, when itisexpected thatfurther information ontechnical cooperation activities
willbeavailable from other developed country Members.IP/C/8
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(v) Cooperation withWIPO
24. Article 68oftheTRIPS Agreement provides thattheCouncil shall, inconsultation withWIPO,
seektoestablish, within oneyearofitsfirstmeeting appropriate arrangements forcooperation with
thebodies ofthatOrganization. AtitsDecember 1995 meeting, theCouncil forTRIPS approved a
draftagreement drawn upasaresult ofconsultations between theChairman oftheCouncil forTRIPS,
assisted bytheWTO Secretariat, andtheChairman oftheWIPO Coordination Committee, assisted
bytheInternational Bureau ofWIPO. Thedraftagreement wasapproved bytheGeneral Council at
itsmeeting of13and15December 1995. Following approval bythecompetent bodies ofWIPO and
thesignature bytheDirector 's-General ofthetwoOrganizations, theAgreement between theWorld
Intellectual Property Organization andtheWorld Trade Organization (IP/C/6) entered intoforce on
1January 1996. TheAgreement provides forcooperation inthefollowing threeareas: thenotification
of,access toandtranslation ofnational lawsandregulations; theimplementation ofArticle 6terof
theParis Convention (relating tonational emblems) forthepurposes oftheTRIPS Agreement; and
legal-technical assistance andtechnical cooperation.
25. AtitsDecember 1995 meeting, theCouncil adopted adecision ontheimplementation ofthe
obligationsundertheTRIPSAgreementstemmingfromtheincorporationoftheprovisionsofArticle6ter
oftheParis Convention 1967(IP/C/7). Thisdecision hasasitspurpose giving legaleffect under the
TRIPS Agreement totheprocedures relating totheadministration ofTRIPS obligations regarding
Article 6teroftheParis Convention thatareincorporated intheAgreement between WIPO andthe
WTO.
III Built-in Agenda
(i) Article 24.1
26. Under Article 24.1, Members agree toenterintonegotiations aimed atincreasing theprotection
ofindividualgeographicalindicationsunderArticle23.Notime-frameisspecifiedforsuchnegotiations.
AttheJulymeeting oftheCouncil, some Members addressed Article 24.1, butnospecific suggestions
havebeenmade asyetintheCouncil withregard tosuchnegotiations.
(ii) Article 24.2
27. Article24.2requirestheCouncilforTRIPStokeepunderreviewtheapplicationoftheprovisions
oftheSection oftheAgreement ongeographical indications, andstates thatthefirstsuchreview shall
takeplace within twoyears oftheentry intoforce oftheWTO Agreement. AttheCouncil 'sMay
andJulymeetings, theChairman raised thequestions ofwhen andhowthisreview should beundertaken.
Asmentioned inparagraph 16above, theCouncil willreview legislation intheareas oftrademarks,
geographical indications andindustrial designs atitsmeeting scheduled for11-15 November 1996.
TheCouncil atitsSeptember meeting received some proposals inconnection withthereview under
Article 24.2. Itagreed totakeupwork onthismatter byincluding ontheagenda oftheNovember
meeting anitem"Review oftheApplication oftheProvisions oftheSection onGeographical Indications
under Article 24.2" which willbeaddressed afterandtaking intoaccount thereview oflegislation
intheareas referred toabove, itbeing understood thatthiswould permit theconsideration ofthe
proposals putforward inSeptember together withanyother inputs from delegations.
(iii) Article 23.4
28. Article 23.4 calls ontheCouncil forTRIPS toundertake negotiations concerning the
establishment ofamultilateral system ofnotification andregistration ofgeographical indications forIP/C/8
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wines eligible forprotection bythose Members participating inthesystem, butdoesnotspecify atime-
frame forsuchnegotiations. AttheJulyandSeptember meetings oftheCouncil, some delegations
addressed thequestion ofhowandwhen these negotiations might beinitiated.
(iv) Article 27.3(b)
29. Article 27.3(b) states thattheprovisions ofthissubparagraph shallbereviewed fouryears after
thedateofentry intoforce oftheWTO Agreement. AttheCouncil 'smeeting inJuly,some delegations
addressed thequestion ofwhen thiswork should beinitiated.
(v) Article 64.3
30. Article 64.3requires theCouncil forTRIPS toexamine, during thefiveyears from thedate
ofentry intoforce oftheWTO Agreement, thescope andmodalities forthecomplaints provided for
under subparagraphs 1(b)and1(c)ofArticle XXIII ofGATT 1994 made pursuant totheTRIPS
Agreement, andtosubmit itsrecommendations totheMinisterial Conference forapproval. No
suggestions regarding thisaspect oftheCouncil 'swork were made during thecourse of1996.
(vi) Article 71.1
31. Article 71.1requires theCouncil forTRIPS toreview theimplementation oftheTRIPS
Agreement aftertheexpiration ofthetransitional period referred toinparagraph 2ofArticle 65,namely
after1January 2000.
IV. Issues, Problems andRecommendations tobeBrought totheAttention ofMinisters
32. Members reaffirm theimportance offullimplementation oftheTRIPS Agreement within the
applicable transition periods andthateachMember willtakethesteps which itconsiders appropriate
sothattheprovisions oftheAgreement willbeapplied.
33. Members alsoreaffirm theimportance ofthenecessary provision oftechnical andfinancial
cooperation bydeveloped country Members infavour ofdeveloping country andleast-developed country
Members, inaccordance withArticle 67oftheTRIPS Agreement, inorder tofacilitate implementation
oftheAgreement.
34. Members further reaffirm theircommitment totheTRIPS built-in agenda agreed during the
Uruguay Round, including anytime-frames specified intherelevant provisions, andtocarrying out
asandwhen appropriate analytical work andinformation exchange soastoallow Members abetter
prior understanding oftheissues involved without prejudice tothetiming orscope ofthereviews or
negotiations envisaged inthatbuilt-in agenda. Inregard togeographical indications, theCouncil has
agreed thatareview oftheapplication oftheprovisions ofthesection ongeographical indications as
provided forinArticle 24.2would taketheformoutlined inparagraph 27above, which permits inputs
fromdelegations ontheissueofscope, andtheCouncil willinitiate in1997preliminary work onissues
relevant tothenegotiations specified inArticle 23.4 oftheTRIPS Agreement concerning the
establishment ofamultilateral system ofnotification andregistration ofgeographical indications for
wines. Issues relevant toanotification andregistration system forspirits willbepartofthispreliminary
work. Alloftheabove work would beconducted without prejudice totherights andobligations of
Members under theTRIPS Agreement andinparticular under thespecific provisions oftheTRIPS
built-in agenda.