RESTRICTED  
  
IP/C/M/10 4 
8 April 2022 
(22-2883) Page: 1/11 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights   
 
  
MINUTES OF MEETING  
HELD IN THE CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD ON 9-10 MARCH 2022  
Chair: H.E. Ambassador Dagfinn Sørli  
The present document contains the record of the meeting of the Council for TRIPS held on 9 and 
10 March  2022. 
Table of Contents  
 STATEMENTS AFTER THE ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  ................................ .............  2 
 NOTIFICATIONS UNDER PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT  ................................ .... 2 
 REVIEW OF NATIONAL IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION  ................................ ............  3 
 IP MEASURES IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID -19 ................................ .........................  4 
 REVIEW OF THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 27.3(B)  ................................ .................  4 
 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND THE CONVENTION 
ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY  ................................ ................................ ............................  4 
 PROTECTION OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE  ................................ . 4 
 NON-VIOLATION AND SITUATION COMPLAINTS  ................................ .....................  5 
 REVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT UNDER 
ARTICLE 71.1  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  6 
 REVIEW OF THE APPLICATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE SECTION ON 
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 24.2  ................................ ......................  6 
 FOLLOW -UP TO THE NINETEENTH ANNUAL REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 2 
OF THE DECISION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 OF THE TRIPS 
AGREEMENT  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  7 
 TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING  ................................ ............  8 
 PROPOSAL FOR A WAIVER FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE TRIPS 
AGREEMENT FOR THE PREVENTION, CONTAINMENT AND TREATMENT OF 
COVID -19 ................................ ................................ ................................ .........................  8 
 DRAFT GENERAL COUNCIL DECLARATION ON THE TRIPS AGREEMENT 
AND PUBLIC HEALTH IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF A PANDEMIC  ................................ ...... 8 
 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, INNOVATION AND MICROFINANCE  ..............................  9 
 INFORMATION ON RELEVANT DEVELOPMENTS ELSEWHERE IN THE WTO  ...............  9 
 OBSERVER STATUS FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL 
ORGANISATIONS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........  10 
 OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 10 
 ELECTION OF THE CHAIRPERSON  ................................ ................................ ..........  10 
 IP/C/M/10 4 
 
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 STATEMENTS  AFTER THE ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA  
1.  The Chair noted that the proposed agenda ha d been circulated as document 
WTO/AIR/IP/41/Rev .1. The Secretariat ha d also circulated an annotated agenda, providing short 
background information on individual agenda items, in document JOB/IP/56 . 
2.  The Council adopted the agenda  as proposed.  
3.  The representatives of Ukraine ; the European Union ; the United States ; the United Kingdom ; 
Canada ; Australia; Norway ; New Zealand ; Japan ; Switzerland ; the Republic of Korea ; Georgia ; and 
the Russian Federation  took the floor.  
 NOTIFICATIONS  UNDER  PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT  
4.  The Chair invited  the Secretariat to update delegations  on the notifications under various 
provisions  of the TRIPS Agreement that had been submitted  since the meeting in October  2021, to 
then offer the floor to delegations wishing to introduce their notifications.  
5.  The representative of the Secretariat  said th at the Council had received the following 
notifications , under Article 63.2 of the TRIPS Agreement:  
a. Australia  had notified amendments to its Designs Act that implement ed recommendations 
from a review of its designs systems, providing more flexibility to de signers in the early 
stages of getting registered design protection ; 
b. Japan  had notified  revisions to  its Design Act, Patent Act , Trademark Act  and Copyright Act ; 
c. The Russian Federation  had notified amendments to its laws permitting compulsory licensing 
with regard to patents, industrial designs,  and layout -designs, and introducing provisions 
that allow compulsory licensing of pharmaceutical products for export ; 
d. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  had notified has notified a Law on Commercial Courts that 
establishe d rules and procedures for commercial  courts that include d claims and violations 
arising from the implementation of intellectual property laws ; 
e. The United Arab Emirates  had notified a new law  on the Regulation and Protection of 
Industrial Property Rights encompassing patent, utility model, industrial design, integrated 
circuit layout design, as well as undisclosed information ; 
f. The United States  had notified  its Trademark Modernization Act of 2 020, which provided , 
inter alia , new procedures to challenge Federal applications and registrations with bogus or 
inaccurate claims of use ; 
g. Trinidad and Tobago  had notified  a consolidated version of its Trade Mark  Act, which 
modernized numerous aspects of the trademark regime , including definitions, well -known 
marks, registry organization and border enforcement protection against counterfeit 
trademark goods ; 
h. The United Kingdo m had notified a Trade Mark and Internat ional Mark Amendment 
Regulation 2021, addressing questions of retained E uropean Law pertaining to trademarks ; 
and two Orders amending the 2016 Copyright and Performances Order extending further 
protections to certain countries' nationals in order to implem ent recent free trade 
agreements  signed by the United Kingdom  and in response to countries recently joining the 
WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty ; 
i. Switzerland  had notified amendments and regulations related to: patents and the Federal 
Patent Court ; drugs and medical devices ; Protection of Trademarks and Indications of 
Source ; protection of designations of origin and geographical indications for agricultural 
products ; use of Swiss indications for foodstuffs; copyright and related rights ; design s 
protection ; as well as on the protection of the coats of arms of Switzerland, the Swiss Red IP/C/M/10 4 
 
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  Cross, and the Names and Emblems of the United Nations Organization and other 
Intergovernmental Organizations ; and  
j. Brazil  had notified amendments to its Industrial  Property Act, its Plant Variety Protection 
Law, and seve ral other laws and regulations in order to promote the ease of doing business.  
6.  The Chair invited delegations that had provided new or revised notifications to the Council to 
introduce those notificat ions. The  representatives  of Australia ; Brazil ; Trinidad and Tobago ; Japan ; 
Switzerland ; the United States ; the United Kingdom ; the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ; and the Russian 
Federation  took the floor.  
7.  The Chair invited the Secretariat to introduce the "Annual Report on Notifications and other 
information flows"  (document IP/C/W/687/Rev.1 ).  
8.  The representative from the Secretariat  took the floor.  
9.   The Chair thanked delegations for the information provided on their notifications and we lcomed 
the information provided by the Secretariat. He noted  that notifications to the Council were not 
keeping up with the actual development of laws and  regulations relating to TRIPS and emphasized 
that Article 63.2 of the TRIPS Agreement was not a one -off requirement . It was a core element of 
the TRIPS transparency arrangements, and a central part of the Council's substantive work. The 
"Annual Report on Notifications and Other Information Flows" (document IP/C/W/687/Rev.1 ), which  
had been introduced by the Secretariat  provide d a Member -by-Member overview of each Members' 
most recent notifications and a number of Members ha d not notified any of their legislative changes 
for, sometimes , over ten years.  
10.  He urged Members to keep up -to-date their notifications by submitting any new or revised laws 
or regulations to the Council, as well as completing their initial notifications in case a ny material was 
still outstanding.  The same applie d to the Checklist of Issues on Enforcement which had been 
established by the Council as an element of Members' notification obligations . In this regard, he 
commended Switzerland for the submission of updates to its responses.  However, most of the 
responses by other Members had not been updated for the last  20 years.  Detailed information on 
individual Members was available from the Annexes of the Annual Notification Report.  
11.  The Chair recalled that all these notifications c ould be made through the e-TRIPS Submission 
System.  The Secretariat was available to respond to any question in that regard.  
12.  The Council took note of the notifications and the statements made.  
 REVIEW  OF NATIONAL IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION  
13.  The Chair recalled that the Council was preparing for the review of the national implement ing 
legislation of Samoa.  As had been  agreed at the end of last year, the Council would  wait for the 
notification of Samoa's revised legislation following their 2018 accession to a number of World 
Intellectual Property Organization  (WIPO ) treaties,1 before commencing the review. He propose d 
that the Secretariat remain in contact with Samoa on the progress of its new legislation ; and that 
the Council revert to the arrangements for Samoa's review at its next meeting. While there were no 
current reviews pending , he said  Members should feel free to revert to any matter raised in past 
reviews, or to make suggestions regarding further reviews. He would further welcome ideas on how 
to make best use of this agenda item.  
14.  The Council took note  of the inf ormation provided and agreed  to schedule  the arrangements for 
the review of Samoa's national implementation legislation as proposed by the Chair.  
 
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/10 4 
 
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 IP MEASURES IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID -19 
15.  The Chair recalled that this agenda item ha d been discussed in the Coun cil since its informal 
open-ended meeting in June 2020 and  had remained on the Council's agenda at its formal meetings 
since then.  The purpose of this item was to facilitate exchange of views on measures undertaken as 
the pandemic continued . 
16.  He referred to the compilation "COVID -19: Measures Regarding Trade -Related Intellectual 
Property Rights"  – available  from the WTO website  – which  contained 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.2 This list was updated continuously, even if the rate at 
which new measures are brought  to the attention of the Secretariat was slowing down. He thanked  
those Members that ha d informed the Secretariat of measures that should be included in this list, 
as well as any update or information on the expiry – or end of application – of such measures  and 
encourage d others to do the same.  
17.  The Chair recalled  that in earlier meetings of t he Council , and at the General Council, a number 
of Members had asked the Secretariat  to provide and compile data on the number of voluntary 
license agreements regarding COVID -19 vaccine production over time, and on the projected and 
observed volume of vac cine dose production under these  agreements. At the Council's October  2021 
meeting, the Secretariat had presented an updated  set of data from different sources under this 
agenda item. The Chair invited the  Secretariat to provide a further  update on the data compilation .  
18.  The Secretariat  took the floor.  
19.  The representatives of  South Africa ; the United States ; and China  and took the floor.  
20.  The Chair thanked the Secretariat  and the Members for their statements . In view of the 
continued intere st on this agenda item, he proposed that the Council revert to the item at its next 
meeting, so that exchanges could  once again take place, including on the basis of the updated 
Secretariat document of COVID -19-related IP measures.  
21.  The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert  to this item at its next 
meeting.  
 REVIEW OF THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 27.3(B)  
 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND THE CONVENTION ON 
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY  
 PROTECTION OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKL ORE 
22.  The Chair said that the next three agenda items concerned 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, he 
proposed that these three items be addressed together.  
23.  The Chair recalled that one tool for the review under agenda item 3 was the information 
provided by Members in response to a list of questions on Article 27.3(b)  of the TR IPS Agreement . 
The "Annual Report on Notifications and other Information Flows" that had been introduced  by the 
Secretariat earlier  illustrated that responses had been rather sparse recently. So far, only 
28 Members had responded to the list of questions on Article 27.3(b), with the Kingdom of 
Saudi  Arabia being the most recent Member to submit responses.  He invited delegations to take a 
look at Table A.9 of the Annual Report, which provide d a Member -by-Member  overview of Members' 
submissions in this area, and to determine whether were yet to submit initial responses , or whether 
earlier responses  needed updating . He noted that the e -TRIPS Submission System provide d an easy 
and convenient online tool for draftin g and submitting responses.  
 
2 WTO | COVID -19: Measures regarding trade -related intellectual property rights  IP/C/M/10 4 
 
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  24.  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. 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.  
25.  Following suggestion s made  in small -group consultations held  with delegations on 4 and 
8 March , the Chair said he did not detect any movement in delegations ' views in this regard . 
Considering that  Members' positions on these issues were well known and already extensively 
recorded in the Council's minutes , he encouraged delegations to focus on solutions when addressing 
these procedural questions.  To resolve the outstanding procedural  issues mentioned by a number of 
delegations, the Chair  suggest ed that the Council ask the incoming Chair to hold consultations on 
this matter . 
26.  The representatives of India; China ; Bangladesh ; Nigeria ; Indonesia ; Brazil ; Tanzania,  on behalf 
of the African Group ; South Africa ; Japan ; the United States ; Canada ; Chile and Australia  took the 
floor. 
27.  The Council took note  of the  statements made  and agreed  to request the incoming Chair to hold 
consultations on this matter.  
 NON-VIOLATION AND SITUATION COMPLAINTS  
28.  The Chair recalled that , at its session of 10 December 2019, the General Council had directed 
the TRIPS Council to continue the examination of the scope and modalities for non -violation and 
situation complaints, and to make recommendations to the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) . It 
had also been agreed that, in the meantime, Members w ould not initiate such complaints under the 
TRIPS Agreement.3 In the run -up to the original date of MC12 the Council had agreed on 5 November 
2021 to recommend to the 12th Ministerial Conference to extend the moratorium once again until 
the next Ministerial Conference, that is to MC13.  
29.  Against this background, and given that the Council had already agreed on its recommendation 
to MC12 which was now scheduled June 2022, the Chair invited delegations to share how to the 
Council's work on this item should be organized . 
30.  The Chair said that, at recent meetings, and at the small group consultations that had been 
held in preparation for th e present  meeting, he  had noted that a few delegations had signalled 
openness to return to substantive discussions in this area. He recalled that one year ago , at the 
meeting that had taken place in March 2021 , his predecessor had made a s uggest ion on how  
Members could identify ar eas of agreement in the non -violation discussions. She had suggested that 
identifying such areas, or elements, of agreement regarding the general nature of non -violation and 
situation complaints might help enable delegations to focus their engagement on th e areas of 
disagreement – and thus make at least some progress in framing the questions for ministers.  While 
there had been no appetite to take this approach when he had held follow -up consultations in 2021, 
he wondered whether delegations were now more at  ease to consider this or any other approach 
that might help identify common ground.  
31.  The Chair invited  Members to share their views and  also, ideally,  concrete practical guidance on 
how to best approach this item going forward . 
32.  The representatives of Brazil ; India; Tanzania , on behalf of the African Group ; Bangladesh ; 
Chile; Canada ; Nigeria ; Indonesia ; the United States ; South Africa ; Switzerland ; and Australia  took 
the floor.  
 
3 See document WT/L/ 1080. IP/C/M/10 4 
 
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  33.  The Chair thanked the delegations for sharing their v iews, which would  help the incoming Chair 
and the Secretariat to organize the Council's work going forward , and suggested that the Council 
request the incoming Chair to hold consultations in this regard.  
34.  The Council  took note  of the statements made and agreed to revert this matter at its next 
meeting , and to request the incoming C hair to hold consultations on this matter.   
 REVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT UNDER ARTICLE 71.1  
35.  The Chair recalled that Article 71.1 of the TRIPS Agreement  required the Council to conduct a 
review of the implementation of the Agreement once every two years. As the initial review in 1999 
had not been completed, no other review ha d subsequently been initiated.  
36.  During the  consultations  preceding this meeting , he had  pointed out  to delegations that this 
item ha s long been dormant on the Council's agenda , while similar general review mandates in other 
WTO agreements regularly serve d as an opportunity to pursue in -depth discussions of particular 
aspects o f implementation, as agreed by Members , often taking place in dedicated thematic sessions.  
37.  He said  that the recent intensive discussions on the role of IP in the pandemic response, and 
on the practical application of TRIPS flexibilities in different WTO Members,  had shown  delegations ' 
keen interest in discuss ing these and other aspects of TRIPS implementation . Equally intensive 
engagement on national IP systems  could be observed  in the context of Trade Policy Reviews, where 
Members had discussed detailed questions of individual approaches to implementation. Other 
aspects of implementation , such as enforcement , had also been requested as ad hoc  agenda items 
in the TRIPS Council in the past. He said that all of this seem ed to indicate considera ble interest in 
such discussions among delegations.  
38.  Considering  that the review mandated in Article 71.1 of the TRIPS Agreement seem ed to have 
been intended as a forum for exactly this type of discussion, the Chair wished  to explore whether 
delegations wou ld be willing to consider resuming this review , which was, in fact, mandated by the 
text of the treaty. This would give a more structured and inclusive home to these and similar 
discussions on the Council's agenda and could establish a more permanent discu ssion culture around 
examples and experiences from implementing the Agreement.  
39.  The Chair suggested  that other practices in the house , such as the  reviews of the  Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures  (SPS) or Technical Barriers to Trade  (TBT) Agreements,  could be taken as 
examples . Resuming the review of the TRIPS Agreement under this item could mean for Members 
to identify, and agree on, selected topics relevant to  TRIPS implementation , which could then be 
discussed in dedicated sessions over a two -year period as foreseen in Article 71.1 . 
40.  The Chair said that, if Members could consider  re-establishing the review function under this 
mandate, a possible first step would be a discussion in this regard under this agenda item. This could 
then be foll owed by consultations on the exact process and possible topics for such a review cycle 
before the next meeting in June. If Members were able to find a suitable approach and format in 
such consultations, resuming the review function could then be considered  at the Council's next 
meeting  in June 2022. 
41.  He said that, after h aving chaired TRIPS Council discussions for one year , it was his personal 
view that such regular discussions of concrete aspects of TRIPS implementation would be extremely 
useful to delegati ons. In his view, they would not only illustrate Members ' understanding of the 
scope on individual TRIPS obligations but  would also share concrete technical approaches to their 
implementation in different domestic legal system and economies.  
42.  The Council  agreed to revert  to the matter at its next meeting.  
 REVIEW  OF THE APPLICATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE SECTION ON 
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 24.2  
43.  The Chair recalled that Article 24.2 of the TRIPS Agreement require d the Council to keep under 
review the application of the TRIPS provisions  on geographical indications. The principal tool used 
for the review was the Checklist of Questions in document s IP/C/13  and IP/C/13/ Add.1 . Since the IP/C/M/10 4 
 
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  Council's October 2021 meeting, Switzerland has submitted updated responses which ha d been 
circulated in document IP/C/R/GI/CHE/1 . 
44.  The Chair invited Switzerland to introduce their submission.  
45.  The representative of Switzerland  took the floor.  
46.  The Chair thanked Switzerland for providing detailed and comprehensively updated answers to 
the list of questions on geographical indications.  
47.   He said it was u nfortunate  that only 52 out of 164  Members  had responded to the Checklist  so 
far; and that many of these responses were likely to be outdated. In his view, this d id not adequately 
reflect the fact that GI protection was an active area of legal and pol icy development at the domestic 
level and in FTAs. T he "Annual Report on Notifications and Other Information Flows" circulated  earlier  
by the Secretariat provide d a Member -by-Member overview of notifications in this area. He invited 
delegations to take a l ook at Table A.9 to determine whether  they should submit initial responses to 
the GI checklist or whether  their previous responses might merit updating . He noted that the e -TRIPS 
Submission System provide d an easy and convenient online tool for drafting and submitting 
responses to the Checklist . 
48.  In line with the Council's recommendation made in March 2010, the Chair  also invite d Members 
to share information regarding GI chapters in their bilateral agreement s. 
49.  The representatives of the European Union ; and Sri Lanka  took the floor.  
50.  The Council took note  of the  information provided  and agreed  to revert to the matter at its next 
meeting.  
 FOLLOW -UP TO THE NINETEENTH ANNUAL REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 2 OF THE 
DECISION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT  
51.  The Chair recalled that the Council  had conducted the Nineteenth Annual Review under 
Paragraph  2 of the Decision on the Implementation of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement  at its 
meeti ng in October 2021 . At that meeting delegations from developed country Members had briefly 
presented the updated reports they had submitted under Article 66.2 , and the Council  had agreed 
that it would revert to the item at th e present  meeting to permit con tinued consideration of the 
submitted material.  He also recalled that, i n July 2020, the LDC Group had circulated a new 
submission entitled "Proposed New Template for Annual Reporting under Article 66.2 of the 
Agreement on Trade -related Intellectual Proper ty Rights" in document IP/C/W/664 . 
52.  In order to give LDCs more time to absorb the information provided by developed countr y 
Members  in their reports, and to ensure that these reports were available in the official languages 
of the WTO, the Secretariat  had once again organized a "Workshop on t he 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, 3 and 4 March 2022. The Chair indicated that some capital -based delegates who  
had participated in that Workshop  were present at the  meeting.  
53.  The Chair asked the Secretariat to report on this Workshop.  
54.  A representative of the Secretariat  took the floor.  
55.  The representatives of Sierra Leone ; Chad, on behalf of the LDC Group ; Bangladesh ; Togo; 
Nepal ; Tanzania  on behalf of the African Group; Norway ; the European Union ; the United Kingdom , 
South Africa ; Japan ; Switzerland ; the United States ; Canada ; and Australia took the floor . 
56.  The Council took note  of the  statements made and agreed to revert  to the matter at i ts next 
meeting.  IP/C/M/10 4 
 
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 TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING  
57.  The Chair recalled that in  October  2021, 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. He said that , as some information had only been made 
available a short time before the meeting, the Council had agreed that  Members would have a further 
opportunity to make comments at the  present  meeting.  
58.  The representatives of Bangladesh ; and the World Intellectual Property Organization  (WIPO ) 
took the floor.  
59.  The Council took note  of the  statements made . 
 PROPOSAL FOR A WAIVER FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF T HE TRIPS AGREEMENT 
FOR THE PREVENTION, CONTAINMENT AND TREATMENT OF COVID -19 
 DRAFT GENERAL COUNCIL DECLARATION ON THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND PUBLIC 
HEALTH IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF A PANDEMIC  
60.  Noting that most delegations had made one single statement under thes e two agenda items in 
the past, the Chair suggested that these items be once again taken up together.  
61.  He recalled  that the  "Proposal for A Waiver from Certain Provisions of The TRIPS Agreement for 
the Prevention, Containment and Treatment of C OVID -19" had been originally submitted by India 
and South Africa ; and circulated as  document IP/C/W/669  in October 2020. A revised proposal had 
been circulated by the co -sponsors in document IP/C/W/669/Rev.1  on 21 May  2021, which is now 
co-sponsored  by 65 delegations .4   
62.  He further recalled that i n June 2021, the European Union had submitted a communication on 
"Urgent Trade Policy Responses to the COVID -19 Crisis: Intellectual Property" , circulated in 
document  IP/C/W/680 , which had been  followed by a "Draft General Council Declaration on the 
TRIPS Agreement and Public Health in the Circumstances of a Pandemic" , circulated in 
document  IP/C/W/681 . 
63.  The Chair recalled that at the last formal meeting on 22 February 2022, 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 23 -24 February 2022. That Status Report had provided 
a factual overview of the waiver discussions in this Council and had highlighted Members' common 
goal of providing timely and secure access to high -quality, safe, efficacious and affordable vaccines 
and medicines for all.  
64.  It 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.  
In addition, the TRIPS Council will also continue in the same manner its consideration of the 
other related proposals by Members."  
65.  The Chair recalled  that at the Council's meeting in February  2022, DDG Gonz ález and a number 
of delegations involved  had also briefly shared information on the high -level consultations concerning 
these items at ministerial and senior officials' level. A number of other Members had also emphasized 
the need for transparency and inclusiveness in any process that was intended t o lead to a consensus -
based outcome.  The Chair encouraged delegations to provide as much information as possible on 
their contacts and activities in this regard.  
 
4 India, South Africa, Kenya, Eswatini, Mozambique, Pakistan, the Plurinational State of  Bolivia, the 
Bolivarian Republic of  Venezuela, Mongolia, Zimbabwe, Egypt, the African Group, the LDC Group, the Maldives, 
Fiji, Namibia, Vanuatu, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia and Argentina.   IP/C/M/10 4 
 
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  66.  The representatives of  South Africa ; the European Union ; the Maldives ; Egypt ; Bangladesh ; 
Indonesia; Malaysia ; Tanzania , on behalf of the African Group ; Chile; Colombia ; India; the 
Plurinational State of Bolivia ; China ; Brazil ; Pakistan ; Hong Kong, China ; Sri Lanka ; Australia ; 
Nigeria ; the United Kingdom ; Norway ; Nepal ; Switzerland ; Chad, on behalf of the LDC Group ; Japan ; 
Singapore ; Russian Federation ; Turkey ; Namibia ; the United States ; Peru; and the Bolivarian 
Republic of Venezuela  took the floor.  
67.  The Chair thanked the representatives for their interventions and said that in light of the 
discussion, it was his impression that  Member s' views on th e substance remain ed relatively 
unchanged. While he had h eard a n umber  of del egation s welcoming the efforts of the 
Director - General , he had also heard some strongly expressed concerns regarding tr ansparency and 
inclusiveness . Overall, he sensed expectations and hope s among delegations that the current high -
level process m ight result in framing a platform on which the M ember ship at large may be able to 
build a consensus -based solution.  
68.  Regarding the  procedural way forward, noting the requests from delegations, the Chair 
proposed to keep these two agenda items open in order to be able to reconvene the Council at short 
notice.  
69.   Finally, the Chair urged delegations to remain fully engaged with a sense o f urgency and with 
the objective to find a path forward towards a consensus -based outcome. Transparency and 
inclusiveness were central pillars of the WTO's modus operandi . All efforts should be made to keep 
the entire membership as much as possible informe d and involved in the deliberation on items on 
the Council's agenda.  
70.  The Council took note  of the statement s made  and agreed  to keep the agenda it ems open  with 
a view to resuming the meeting at short notice as appropriate in light of developments . 
 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY , INNOVATION  AND MICROFINANCE  
71.  The Chair said this item ha d been put on the agenda at the request of Australia ; Canada; Chile; 
the European Un ion; Japan; Singapore; Switzerland; The Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, 
Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu; the United Kingdom; and the United States of America . A 
communication with the same title ha d been received from the co -sponsors and circulated as 
docum ent IP/C/W/686 . 
72.  The representatives of Canada ; the United States ; the European Union ; Japan ; Singapore ; the 
United Kingdom ; Chinese Taipei ; Australia ; Switzerland ; Chile; Chad on behalf of the LDC Group ; 
Brazil ; Hong Kong, China ; China ; and WIPO  took the floor.  
73.  The Council took note  of the  statements made under this item.  
 INFORMATION  ON RELEVANT DEVELOPMENTS ELSEWHERE IN THE WTO  
74.  The Chair recalled that the purpose of this information agenda item was to keep Members posted 
of developments in the WTO, which had a TRIPS or intellectual property angle.  
75.  Regarding dispute settlement, t he Chair noted  that one request for consultations ha d been 
formally submitted since the last meeting. By means of a communication dated 18 February 2022, 
the European Union ha d requested consultat ions with China regarding the Enforcement of 
Intellectual Property Rights . This request has been circulated on 22 February 2022 in 
document  IP/D/43 .5 
76.  Regarding developments relating to the TRIPS amendment , the Chair said the delegation of 
Ecuador ha d deposited its instrument of acceptance with the Director -General on 9 March 2022 . 
With this most recent addition, 134 Members had now accepted the TRIPS amendment. In order to 
encourage  the remaining 30 Members to expedite action in good time before the c urrent deadline 
for acceptance , the Director -General and he himself had sent reminder letters to the Ambassadors 
of these 30 delegations.  The attachments to these letters provide d details on the benefits of the 
 
5 Also circulated with document symbol WT/DS611/1.  IP/C/M/10 4 
 
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  amendment and explain ed the steps necessary to deposit an instrument of acceptance.  Under the 
General Council Decision of 23 November 2021 ( document WT/L/1122 ) the period for acceptance of 
the Protocol had been  extended until 31 December 2023. He encouraged  Members that were yet to 
accept the Amendment to do so expeditio usly. 
77.  The representative of Ecuador  took the floor.  
78.  The Chair 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.  
79.  The representative of the Secretariat  took the floor.  
80.  The Council took note  of the information provided  and the statement s made.  
 OBSERVER STATUS  FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS  
81.  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 ; and that the  
information provided by the relevant intergovernmental organizations concerned was available on 
the Members' we bsite. 6    
82.  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, this invitation ha d been renewed at each meeting. The Chair suggested to invite 
again the EFTA to attend the Council's next formal meeting on an ad hoc  basis.  
83.  The Council so agreed . 
 OTHER BUSINESS  
84.  The Chair noted that the date for the next Council meeting, 8 -9 June 2022 , was  very close to 
the envisaged dates for MC12, which was planned for the week of 13 June 2022.  
85.  Considering that the Council ha d already adopted its recommendation on non -violation and 
situation complaints, it c ould be expected that the focus of the Council's  attention between now and 
MC12 w ould be on the discussions regarding the TRIPS waiver and the related EU proposal.  
86.  He proposed to consider moving the date for the next regular Council meeting to after the 
Ministerial Conference , so that Council meeting s before MC12 c ould focus entirely on the areas most 
relevant to MC12.  
87.  While t he Chair emphasized that he was not suggesting that this decision was taken place, but 
that it might be useful if delegation s that had a view on this question could share it now. This would 
enable the Secretariat and the incoming Chair to make a decision in this regard once the exact dates 
for MC12 are confirmed.  
88.  The Council  so agreed . 
 ELECTION OF THE CHAIRPERSON  
89.  The Chair turned to the last agenda item, namely "election of the Ch airperson".  
90.  He noted that t he 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".  While agenda items 12 
and 13 remain ed open, the meeting was therefore not formally closed. Nevertheless, it would be  
 
6 https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/xtrips_e/igo_observer_e.htm   IP/C/M/10 4 
 
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  appropriate that the new chair takes over the gavel and presides over  subsequent resumptions of 
the meetin g under these items.  
91.   At its meeting on 23 -24 February 2022, 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 , he proposed that the Council for TRIPS elect H.E. Dr. Lansana GBERIE, 
Ambassador of Sierra Leone, as its chairperson  for the coming year.  
92.  The Council so agreed .  
93.  The representatives of Sierra Leone ; Chad, on behalf of the LDC Group ; Bangladesh ; 
Switzerland ; the European Union ; and Tanzania , on behalf of the African Group ; took the floor.  
94.  The Chair thanked delegations for their trust and cooperation during his term as TRIPS Council 
Chair during the  past year , and expressed his hope that they would also support the efforts of his 
successor in addressing the items on the Council's agenda. He wished delegations and the new Chair 
much success in th at endeavour.  
95.  The meeting  was adjourned , with items 12  and 13 rema ining open. 
 
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