RESTRICTED  
  
IP/C/M/109  
 
25 March  2024 
(24-2532) Page: 1/13 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights    
 
MINUTES OF MEETING  
HELD IN THE CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD ON 30 -31 OCTOBER 2023  AND 13 FEBRUARY 2024  
Chair: H.E. Ambassador Mrs. Pimchanok  PITFIELD  
The present document contains the record of the meeting of the Council for TRIPS held on 
30-31 October 2023  and 13 February 2024 . The statements made during the meeting will be 
circulated in an addendum to the present document.  
_______________  
 
Contents  
1   NOTIFICATIONS UNDER PROVISIONS OF TH E AGREEMENT  ................................ ........  3 
2   REVIEWS OF NATIONAL IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION  ................................ ..............  3 
3   IP AND COVID -19 ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  3 
4   REVIEW OF THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 27.3(B)  ................................ .....................  5 
5   RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND THE CONVENTION ON 
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY  ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 5 
6   PROTECTION OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE  ................................ ..... 5 
7   ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE SPECIAL COMPULSORY LICENSING SYSTEM  ........................  5 
8   NON-VIOLATION AND SITUATION COMPLAINTS  ................................ .........................  6 
9   REVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT  
UNDER ARTICLE 71.1  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 7 
10   REVIEW OF THE APPLICATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE SECTION ON 
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 24.2  ................................ ......................  8 
11   TWENTY -FIRST ANNUAL REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 2 OF THE DECISION ON THE 
IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT  ................................ ..... 8 
12   TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPACITY -BUILDING  ................................ ..............  9 
13   PARAGRAPH 8 OF THE MINISTERIAL DECISION ON THE TRIPS AGREEMENT 
ADOPTED ON 17 JUNE 2022  ................................ ................................ ...........................  10 
14   THE ROLE OF TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY IN RESILIENCE BUILDING: 
REINVIGORATING THE DISCUSSIONS IN THE WTO ON TRADE AND TRANSFER  OF 
TECHNOLOGY  ................................ ................................ ................................ .................  11 
15   INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INNOVATION: INCUBATORS AND ACCELERATORS’ 
SUPPORT OF START -UPS OPERATING IN A CROSS -BORDER ENVIRONMENT.  .................  12 
16   INFORMATION ON RELEVANT DEVELOPMENTS ELSEWHERE IN THE WTO  ...............  12 IP/C/M/109  
 
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  17   OBSERVER STATUS FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERGOV ERNMENTAL  
ORGANIZATIONS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........  12 
18   ANNUAL REPORT  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 13 
19   OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 13 
 
  IP/C/M/109  
 
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  1  NOTIFICATIONS  UNDER PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT  
1.  The Chair invited the Secretariat to update delegations on the notifications under various 
provisions of the TRIPS Agreement that had been submitted since its last  meeting in June 2023 and 
said she would then offer the floor to delegations wishing to introduce thei r notifications.   
2.  A representative of the Secretariat  took the floor.   
3.  The Chair invited delegations that had provided new or revised notifications to the Council to 
introduce those notifications. The representatives  of Ukraine ; Costa Rica ; the European Un ion; 
Chinese Taipei ; Japan ; Türkiye ; Canada  and Chile took the floor.  
4.  The Chair thanked delegations for the information provided on their notifications and welcomed 
the information provided by the Secretariat. She said that while the pace of notifications to the 
Council had increased in recent years, they were still not keeping up wi th the actual development of 
laws and regulations relating to TRIPS. She noted  that Article 63.2 of the TRIPS Agreement was  not 
a one -off requirement , but a core element of the TRIPS transparency arrangements and a central 
part of the Council's substantive  work. It obliged Members to notify any new or amended laws in the 
area of TRIPS , including those recently adopted to address the COVID -19 pandemic . This 
requirement included the notification of legislative changes made to implement the special 
compulsory licensing system to export medicines covered by Article 31 bis of the TRIPS Agreement. 
The notification of all relevant laws and regulations could assist in preparing for the potential use of 
the system, which was a matter of immediate practical concern – and would also help the Secretariat 
in its efforts to provide informed technical support to Members in this area.  
5.  She urged Members to complete any outstanding initial notifications and to keep up to date with 
notifications on subsequent amendments. The sam e applied to the Checklist of Issues on 
Enforcement which was established by the Council as an element of Members' notification 
obligations.  
6.  The Chair recalled that the e -TRIPS Submission System  was available for Members to notify their 
laws, and to make other required submissions to the Council for TRIPS through the click of a button . 
The e -TRIPS system not only facilitate d the submission of information by Members – it also permitted 
digital access, consultation, and analysis of this information through t he e-TRIPS Gateway, an 
easy-to-use interface to search and display information related to the Council for TRIPS . The 
Secretariat was available to respond to any question in that regard.  
7.  The Council took note of the notifications and the statements made.  
2  REVIEWS OF NATIONAL IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION  
8.  The Chair recalled that the Council was preparing for the review of the national implementing 
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 accession to a number of World Intellectual 
Property Organization (WIPO) treaties before commencing the review. She proposed 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.  
9.  While there were no current reviews pending, she said Members should feel free to revert to any 
matter raised in past reviews, or to make suggestions regarding further reviews. She would further 
welcome ideas on how to make best use of this agenda item.   
10.  The Council agreed  to schedule the arrangements  for the review of Samoa's national 
implementation legislation as proposed by the Chair.  
3  IP AND COVID -19 
11.  The Chair recalled that, at its formal meeting in July 2022, the Council had agreed to discuss 
the following three topics under this agenda item:  IP/C/M/109  
 
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  a. IP-related domestic measures taken by Members in the context of the COVID -19 
pandemic. The Chair referred to the compilation "COVID -19: Measures Regarding 
Trade -Related Intellectual Property Rights " available on the WTO website which contain s 
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 . The 
Secretariat was updating the document with information received from Members, and s he 
encouraged Members to inform the Secretariat of measures that should be included on 
the list, as well as any update or information on the expiry – or end of application – of 
such measures.  
b. Communications under paragraph 5 of the Decision on the TRIPS Ag reement 
(document  WT/L/1141 ). Under this provision Members are required to "communicate to 
the Council for TRIPS any measure related to the implementation of the Decision, including 
the granting of an authorization " as soon as possible after the adoption of th e measure. It 
had been agreed that, to the extent that such communications were not already covered 
by notifications of laws and regulations under item 1, the Council would provide an update 
on them under this agenda item. In this regard, she noted that no  communications under 
paragraph 5 of the Ministerial Decision had been received to date.  
c. Members' proposals under paragraph 24 of the Declaration on the WTO Response to the 
COVID -19 Pandemic and Preparedness for Future Pandemics (document WT/L/1142 ). 
Under th is provision the Council was mandated to continue or initiate work to analyse 
lessons learned and challenges experienced during the COVID -19 pandemic , including on 
the basis of proposals by Members . In this regard, the United Kingdom ha d circulated a 
submi ssion entitled "Intellectual Property, Voluntary Licensing and Technology Transfer " 
(document IP/C/W/704/Rev.1 ). The Council had heard a first introduction to that paper at 
an informal meeting of the Council on 9 October.  
12.  The representatives of th e United Kingdom ; Australia ; Chile; Japan ; Switzerland ; Peru; 
Indonesia ; South Africa, on behalf of the African Group ; Uruguay ; Singapore ; Nigeria ; India; the 
European Union ; Colombia ; Thailand ; the United States  of America  and Brazil  took the floor.  
13.  The Council took note  of the statements made and agreed  to revert to this item at its next 
meeting.  
14.  At a resumed meeting of the Council on 13 February 2024, the Council agreed  to re-open this 
agenda item.  
15.   The Chair recalled that, subsequ ent to her consultations held on 22 -23 January 2024, she had 
circulated a draft report on the Council's work under paragraphs 23 -24 of the Ministerial Declaration 
on Pandemic Preparedness in document JOB/IP/74 , with an invitation to Members to provide written 
comments by 29 January 2024.  
16.  Following discussions at an informal meeting immediately preceding the formal resumption of 
this meeting, that draft report had been amended as follows:  
a. The last sentence of paragraph 4 was to read "In this regard, many Membe rs expressed 
interest in deepening the discussion on this matter, including on voluntary licensing, 
technology transfer, the operation of the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), geographical 
limitations of voluntary licences, and the operation of Article 31(f) of  the 
TRIPS  Agreement. ", and 
b. Paragraph 5 was to read "The Council for TRIPS will continue its work as directed by the 
Declaration, to review and build on all the lessons learned and the challenges experienced 
during the COVID -19 pandemic, to build effective solutions in case of future pandemics, 
in an expeditious manner. " 
17.  The Chair proposed that the Council adopt the draft report in JOB/IP/74 , with these 
amendments, as its report under this item to the General Council.  
18.  The Council so agreed . IP/C/M/109  
 
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  19.  The Chair thanked all delegations and indicated that this report would be circulated as a formal 
Council for TRIPS  document and forwarded to the General Council.1 
20.  The Council took note and agree d to revert to the 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  
21.  The Chair proposed to address these three agenda items together. She recalled that one tool 
for the review under item 4 was the information provided by Members in response to list s of 
questions on Article 27.3(b). She said that the latest Annual Report on Notificat ions and other 
Information Flows circulated by the Secretariat2 illustrated that responses to that checklist had been 
rather sparse recently . So far , only 28 Members had responded to the lists of questions on 
Article  27.3(b) , with Saudi Arabia being the m ost recent Member to respond in 2021 . The Chair thus 
encouraged Members to submit responses to these checklists, and to update their previous 
submissions if they were out of date . The e -TRIPS Submission System provided an easy and 
convenient tool for draft ing and submitting responses.  
22.  The Chair noted that two long -standing procedural issues had been discussed extensively on 
the record at every regular meeting of the Council for almost ten years. The first was the suggestion 
for the Secretariat to update thr ee 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. The second 
was the request to invite the CBD Secretariat to brief the Council on the Nagoya Protocol  to the CBD, 
initially proposed in October 2010.  
23.  The Chair noted that delegations ' positions on these issues were well -known and had already 
been extensively recorded in the Council 's minutes . She therefore suggested that delegations focus 
their interventi ons on suggestions on how to resolve the differences and on how make progress on 
substantive issues.  
24.  The representatives of  Brazil ; India; Bangladesh ; Japan ; Peru; Indonesia ; Nigeria ; Thailand ; 
South Africa, on behalf of the African Group ; South Africa ; the United States of America ; the United 
Kingdom ; and China  took the floor.   
25.  The Council took note  of the statements made and agreed  to revert to these matters  at its next 
meeting.  
7  ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE SPECIAL COMPULSORY LICENSING SYSTEM  
26.  The Chair recalled that paragraph 7 of the Annex to the amended TRIPS Agreement and 
paragraph 8 of the 2003 Waiver Decision required the Council to review the functioning of the System 
annually, with a view to ensuring its effective operation. They also required the  Council to report 
annually on the System's operation to the General Council. In the case of the Waiver Decision, this 
review was also deemed to fulfil the requirements of Article IX:4 of the WTO Agreement.  
27.  The Chair updated Members on the status of accept ances of the TRIPS Protocol. The current 
period for accepting it ran until 31 December 2023. 137 Members had accepted the amended 
TRIPS  Agreement. 27 Members were yet to accept the Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement. 
She encouraged those Members to comp lete their domestic procedures and deposit their instrument 
of acceptance with the WTO Director -General as soon as possible.  
28.  When the TRIPS Amendment had entered into force in January 2017, Members had noted that 
it would be useful to consider how to make this new procurement tool work effectively in practice. 
The Chair therefore encouraged Members to engage in a constructive discussion which could also 
 
1 See document IP/C/99  dated 13 February 2024.  
2 Document IP/C/W/696  dated 2 March  2023.  IP/C/M/109  
 
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  build on earlier reviews, as recorded for instance in the Council's Annual Review Report of 2016 
(circula ted in document IP/C/76 ), as well as the Secretariat's 2016 Report on Technical Cooperation 
Activities (circulated in document IP/C/W/618 ). 
29.  No statements  were made.  
30.  The Chair turned to the Council's report to the General Council. A draft report had been prepared 
by the Secretariat (circulated in document JOB/IP/68 ). It was modelled on previous years' reports 
and contained factual information on the implementation and use of the System. Under the section 
on the Amendment to the TRIPS Agreement, it also incl uded a list of Members who were yet to 
accept the Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement. As with past reports, an extract from the 
Council's minutes on this agenda item would be attached to the report in Annex 1 and Appendix 1.  
31.  The Council also had to deci de whether to extend the period for acceptance of the Protocol 
which currently ran until the end of 2023. Since there were 27 Members that had yet to accept the 
Protocol, the Chair suggested that the Council once again extend the period for acceptance for 
another two years – until 31 December 2025. A draft decision for the General Council was included 
in Annex 2 of the Draft Report.  
32.  The Council agreed  to adopt the draft report and to attach the record of the discussion to it  and 
to submit, for the General C ouncil's adoption, a decision to extend until 31 December 2025 the 
period for the acceptance by Members of the Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement . 
8  NON-VIOLATION AND SITUATION COMPLAINTS  
33.  The Chair recalled that the examination of scope and modalities for  non-violation and situation 
complaints (NVSCs) under TRIPS was in line with the initial mandate in Article 64.3 of the 
TRIPS  Agreement, which had required recommendations to be submitted to the Ministerial 
Conference in 1999.   
34.  She recalled that , at the 12 th Ministerial Conference, Ministers had adopted a Decision on TRIPS 
non-violation complaints (document WT/L/1137 ), which directed the Council  for TRIPS  to continue 
its examination of the scope and modalities for non -violation and situation complaints, and to make 
recommendations to the 13th Ministerial Conference. The Decision also  provided that, in the 
meantime, Members would not initiate such complaints under the TRIPS Agreement.   
35.  She noted that, at the last meeting in June, and in in her consultations on this matter before 
that, she had explored delegations' appetite to return to  substantive discussions on this issue . Her 
suggestion had been to look at Members' previous interventions and submissions under this agenda 
item, and to compile Members' views on the operation of NVSCs generally – and with respect to the 
TRIPS Agreement – in a neutral and factual manner, and without prejudice to Members' positions. 
Such a compilation could highlight common elements in Members' views, and thus allow the 
discussion to focus more on the areas of disagreement.  
36.  She said that, unfortunately, th ere had not been much appetite for this suggestion on the part 
of delegations, and the Council now found itself in the last regular meeting before the Ministerial 
Conference without any substantive progress in the discussion on the scope and modalities for  
NVSCs under TRIPS. She recalled that this was not the first time that the Council found itself in this 
situation and in the past, Members had regularly chosen to extend the moratorium on NVSCs from 
one ministerial conference to the next. Judging from some  of the interventions at the last meeting 
in June it seemed that a number of Members were suggesting continuing  this tradition also for MC13, 
recommending once again to ministers to extend the moratorium until MC14.  
37.  She said that, i f this were indeed the case, and Members were ready to agree on the usual 
recommendation, it would be her suggestion to complete this task as soon as possible – ideally 
already at the present meeting. The Secretariat was ready to draw up the text of the draft 
recommendation mode lled on previous such decisions, so that it could be adopted still before the 
meeting closes. She said that Dr Ngozi,  Director -General  of the Word Trade Organization,  would be 
very happy if at least one of the Council's ministerial mandates could be comple ted already now, 
well ahead of MC13.  IP/C/M/109  
 
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  38.  She said that the alternative would be to suspend this agenda item to give Members more time 
to agree on the way forward, and resume the meeting at a time when Members are ready to take a 
decision in this regard.  
39.  The representatives of Nigeria ; Mozambique, on behalf of the ACP Group ; the United Kingdom; 
the United States of America ; Thailand ; Peru; Argentina ; Indonesia ; Japan ; China ; Norway ; South 
Africa, on behalf of the African Group ; Switzerland ; Canada ; Chile; India; Korea, Republic of ; the 
European Union ; and Bangladesh .  
40.  The Chair said that Members were not yet in a position to agree on a recommendation at the 
present meeting  and suggest ed the agenda item be suspended, with a view to resum ing the meeting 
at a time when Members would be  in a position to take a decision.  In the meantime, she urged 
delegations to include this topic in their bilateral talks and contacts.  
41.  The Council  took note  of the statements made  and agreed  to suspend the agenda item.  
42.  At a resum ed meeting of the Council on 13 February 2024, the Chair recalled the suspension of 
this agenda item and inquired whether there had been any movement in positions, so that  Members 
might now be ready to adopt the draft recommendation that she had circulated  for Members' 
consideration  in document JOB/IP/72 . She said that, at her latest round of consultations, there had 
been some Members who had not yet been ready to take a decision.  
43.  The representatives of Brazil ; Switzerland ; and Colombia  took the floor.  
44.  The Chair said that, since Members were once again not on a position to take a decision , it was 
her suggestion to keep this agenda item suspended until a time when Members were ready to agree.  
45.  The Council  took note  of the statements made  and agreed  to suspend the agenda item.3 
9  REVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT UNDER ARTICLE 71.1  
46.  The Chair recalled that, under Article 71.1, the Council was required to conduct a review of the 
implementation of the agreement once every two  years. However, as the initial review in 1999 had 
not been completed, no other review has subsequently been initiated.  
47.  She reported that, since assuming the Chair of the Council in March 2023, she had consulted 
with Members on how best to comply with thi s mandate, as she believed that revitalizing this review 
would improve the functioning of the Council.  
48.  Taking inspiration from the review practices in other WTO bodies – such as SPS or TBT – she 
had suggested that Members could agree on a few well -defined areas or themes and  share their 
domestic experiences in these fields in dedicated thematic sessions over a period of two years, after 
which the Council could circulate a factual report. This might pr ovide an opportunity for Members to 
learn and better understand parts of the Agreement without aiming for a particular outcome, and 
could help strengthen the deliberative function of the Council.  
49.  Judging from the Council's recent "Thematic Session on Exte rnal Stakeholder Input " on the 
extension discussion, she believed that the same format could also be useful to exchange on 
Members' experiences – or to collect information on the implementation of a particular part of th e 
TRIPS Agreement.  
50.  She said she had  clarified that this review was not intended to re -open the substance of the 
TRIPS Agreement, but rather to establish a long -term process to share experiences on how different 
parts of the Agreement had been implemented domestically or regionally. She note d, for clarity, 
that this did not affect Members' rights to make proposals to amend the Agreement, if they so wished 
– as had been pointed out by one Member. But it was clear that the mandated regular review of the 
 
3 At the 13 th Ministerial Conference held on 26 Februa ry to 2 March 2024 in Abu Dhabi, based on the 
text of the draft recommendation in JOB/IP/72 , minsters adopted the Ministerial Decision on 
TRIPS  non-violation and situation complaints, circulated in document WT/MIN(24)/39  and WT/L/1194 .    IP/C/M/109  
 
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  implementation of the Agreement under Art icle 71.1 did not imply or require any intention or 
commitment by Members to amend the agreement.  
51.  She said that, from her consultations in May  2023, and from Members' interventions at the June  
2023 meeting, it was her impression that most Members were rea dy to consider restarting the review 
in more concrete terms. A number of delegations indicated their willingness to consider possible 
areas, on which the review could focus in the first two -year round. It was also mentioned that the 
review should avoid lin kages to other issues, take into account sensitivities, and not begin ambitious 
or controversial discussions that might  complicate debates on existing agenda items. As regarded 
timing, she said she had mentioned at the last meeting that Members could consi der starting the 
review cycle next year after MC13.  
52.  She said that, given the focus on other TRIPS -related work, she had not held further 
consultations on the review since our last meeting, but that she believed the Council should not lose 
sight of this is sue and plan to return to it after the Ministerial Conference.  
53.  The Council agreed  to revert to the matter  at its next meeting.  
10  REVIEW OF THE APPLICATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE SECTION ON 
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 24.2  
54.  The Chair recalled that Article 24.2 of the TRIPS Agreement required the Council to keep under 
review the application of the TRIPS provisions on geographical indications  (GIs). The principal tool 
used for the review was the Checklist of Questions (document IP/C/13  and Add.1 ). She said that, of 
the 164 WTO Members, only 52 had responded to the Checklist and most of the responses were 
likely to be out of date, because they were submitted well over 10 years ago. This was despite the 
fact that protection of GIs was an active area of legal and policy development in a number of 
countries, as well as in a number of FTAs.  
55.  She encouraged delegations to consider submitting responses, or updating initial responses, so 
that important developments were duly reflected in Members' contr ibutions. The e -TRIPS Submission 
System was available as an easy and convenient tool to prepare and submit these responses and 
updates.  
56.  The Chair suggested that Members, in line with the Council's recommendation made in 
March  2010, also share information on bilateral agreements related to the protection of GIs which 
they were party to. She stated that this was an area of considerable activity with direct bearing on 
the issue, and the sharing of updated information would be very helpful in promoting transpa rency, 
and to inform the Secretariat's technical assistance.  
57.  The Council agreed  to revert to the matter at its next meeting.  
11  TWENTY -FIRST ANNUAL REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 2 OF THE DECISION ON THE 
IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT  
58.  The Chair turned to the Council's 21st annual review of developed country Members' reports on 
their implementation of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement. Under a Council decision of 
February  2003, developed country Members are to submit annual reports on actions  taken or 
planned in pursuance of their commitments under Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement. New detailed 
reports are required every third year, and updates in the intervening years.  
59.  She recalled that in June 2023, the Council had requested developed cou ntry Members to submit 
further updates to their seventh set of new detailed reports in time for the present meeting, and the 
Secretariat had since circulated a reminder.4 She also noted that the LDC Group had submitted a 
proposal of a template for the sub mission of reports on commitments of developed countries under 
Article  66.2. 
60.  She noted that the Council had received new reports from Canada, Switzerland, Australia, 
Norway, Japan, the United States  of America , the United Kingdom, and the European Union. This 
 
4 WTO/AIR/IP/49  of 22 June 2023.  IP/C/M/109  
 
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  documentation was being circulated under the new dedicated document series with the symbol 
IP/C/R/TTI/[Member]/  - where  "R" stands for "Reports " and "TTI" stands for "Technology Transfer 
Incentives ". 
61.  She said that paragraph 2 of the Council's Decision on the Implementation of Article  66.2 states 
that the annual review should provide Members with an opportunity to pose questions in relation to 
the information submitted and request additional information; discuss the effectiveness of the 
incentives provided in promoting and encouraging technology transfer to least developed country 
Members in order to enable them to create a sound and viable technological base; and consider any 
points relating to the operation of the r eporting procedure established by the Decision.  
62.  Some of the information by developed country Members had been received only very recently, 
and most of it was, so far, available only in its original language. She therefore intended for Members 
to have an op portunity to make further comments at the next meeting of the Council. This would 
give Members a chance to study the information recently circulated and any additional information 
subsequently received.  
63.  The Chair announced that the Secretariat was once again planning to hold the Article 66.2 
Workshop in early 2024, back -to-back with the first Council for TRIPS meeting of the year. This 
would allow LDCs sufficient time to absorb the information provided by develope d countries in their 
reports and provide  an opportunity to discuss any other proposal s. She indicated that the Workshop 
would comprise two days of workshop sessions, and a reporting and review segment within the first 
Council for TRIPS meeting of 202 4. 
64.  The representatives of Japan ; the United States of America ; the European Union ; Australia ; 
Switzerland ; Norway ; the United Kingdom ; Canada ; and Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC Group  
took the floor.  
65.  The Council took note  of the statements made and agreed to r evert to the matter at its next 
meeting.  
12  TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPACITY -BUILDING  
66.  The Chair recalled that in June 2023, the Council had agreed to hold the annual review of 
technical cooperation at the present meeting.  
67.  Developed country Members had been requested to update information on their technical and 
financial cooperation activities relevant to the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement. Other 
Members who also made available technical cooperation were encouraged to share information on 
these activit ies. The Secretariat had issued an Airgram on 22 June 2023, reminding developed 
country Members of this request. Intergovernmental organizations observers to the Council and the 
WTO Secretariat had also been invited to provide information.  
68.  The Council had received information from the following developed country Members: 
Switzerland, Norway, Canada, and the United States  of America , Australia, Japan, the 
United  Kingdom, the European Union and New Zealand. These reports are being circulated under 
the new ded icated document series with the symbol IP/C/R/TC/[Mem ber]/ – where "R" stands for 
"Reports " and "TC" stands for "Technical Cooperation ". 
69.  Intergovernmental organizations had also submitted updated information: the Gulf Cooperation 
Council (GCC), the World Intellectual Prope rty Organization (WIPO), the United Nations Conference 
on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Customs Organization (WCO), and the World 
Health Organization (WHO). Their reports were being circulated in the same document series 
IP/C/R/TC/[IGO observ er]/. Updated information on the WTO Secretariat's own technical 
cooperation activities in the TRIPS area could be found in document IP/C/R/TC/WTO -OMC/3 . 
70.  The representatives of the European Union ; Japan ; the United St ates of America ; Switzerland ; 
Norway ; Canada ; the United Kingdom ; Australia ; New Zealand ; Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC 
Group ; the WTO Secretariat ; the World Intellectual Property Organization  (WIPO); the World Health 
Organization  (WHO); and the Gulf Co operation Council  (GCC) took the floor.  IP/C/M/109  
 
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  71.  The Chair noted that most of the valuable information provided by Members and IGO observers 
had been received only very recently. She would therefore provide delegations an opportunity at the 
next regular meeting to make further comments on the information submitted  for this meeting . 
72.  Before concluding, she mention ed that the first ever Workshop on Article 67 of the 
TRIPS  Agreement would  be organized in the days immediately following the present Council meet ing. 
She reiterate d that this event aim ed to help operationalize the unique information resource contained 
in Members' Article 67 reports – and thus improve the coordination and impact of TRIPS -related 
technical assistance. As had been mentioned in the Sec retariat intervention, this addresse d one of 
the priority areas identified by developing countries in recent questionnaires. She expressed her 
hope that this novel Workshop would benefit from delegations' active engagement in the next few 
days. The next Co uncil meeting would then provide an opportunity to report on the Workshop, collect 
feedback from participants, and to discuss the way forward.  
73.  The Council took note  of the statements made and agreed  to revert to the matter at its next 
meeting.  
13  PARAGRAPH 8 OF THE MINISTERIAL DECISION ON THE TRIPS AGREEMENT ADOPTED 
ON 17 JUNE 2022  
74.  The Chair recalled that under paragraph 8 of the Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement, 
adopted on 17 June 2022, Members had agreed to make a decision within six months from a doption, 
on whether to extend this Decision to cover the production and supply of COVID -19 diagnostics and 
therapeutics. She also recalled that the General Council had decided to extend this deadline, and 
had kept the question of the duration of the deadli ne extension on its agenda, while substantive 
discussions continued in the Council for TRIPS.  
75.  With respect to these substantive discussions, she said Members' interventions during the March 
and June  2023 meeting of the Council for TRIPS – as well as the i nterventions at the senior officials 
meeting in the prior  week – had illustrated that a wide variety of views persisted in regard to this 
issue.  
76.  Since the last Council meeting, Members had been busy in collecting more input for their 
discussions.  On 28 Sep tember  2023, Members had held the Council's first ever "Thematic Session 
for External Stakeholder Input ", where over 22 speakers from intergovernmental organizations, civil 
society, business representatives and academics had been invited to share facts, evidence and 
experience relevant to the manufacture and supply of COVID -19 vaccines, diagnostics and 
therapeutics. This had been  a very busy and insightful day, with presentations from a wide variety 
of viewpoints, which had also provided t he opportunity for delegations to ask questions. She said 
that the Chair's  report on this Thematic Session ha d been circulated in document IP/C/W/706 .  
77.  Further, on 19 October, WTO Members had had the privilege of a briefing by the US International 
Trade Comm ission on its report entitled: "COVID -19 Diagnostics and Therapeutics: Supply, Demand, 
and TRIPS Agreement Flexibilities ". This report had been requested by the US Trade Representative 
to provide information on market dynamics of COVID -19 diagnostics and t herapeutics in the context 
of discussions under this agenda item. With this additional material as input, she hoped delegations 
would be able to engage more concretely with a view to finding agreement ahead of MC13.  
78.  She invited Members to continue their s ubstantive discussions under this item  and to also share 
any thoughts on how to organize work on this item going forward in order to find a solution to this 
question , ideally before MC13.  
79.  The representatives of Uruguay ; South Africa on behalf of the Africa n Group ; Mozambique on 
behalf of the ACP Group ; Mozambique ; Bangladesh on behalf of the LDC Group ; Nepal ; Indonesia ; 
Colombia ; China ; Nigeria ; Cambodia ; the United States of America ; Egypt ; Switzerland ; Japan ; the 
European Union ; the United Kingdom ; Norway ; Korea, Republic of ; Singapore ; India; Brazil ; 
Australia ; and the Chair took the floor.  
80.  The Chair noted that there was  some crossover in Members' interventions between the topic of 
paragraph 8 and the more general discussion on pandemic preparedness mandated by the Ministerial 
Declaration, which was a separate track of work. She said that while her priority was to advance the IP/C/M/109  
 
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  paragraph 8 discussions towards a decision before MC13, she acknowledged that the substance of 
both discussions was related, even if the mandate under paragraphs 23 -24 of the Ministerial 
Declaration did not require a decision. She remain ed in Members h ands on how the topics and 
elements mentioned in the discussions could be taken forward, such as for instance in further 
thematic sessions.  
81.  The Chair said it was her impression that delegations were still far apart on the question of 
extension and therefor e not ready to take a decision on this matter quite yet. She would therefore 
suggest suspending  this agenda item and resume the formal meeting at a time when delegations 
are closer to an agreement. In the meantime, she would organize consultations individu ally or in 
groups beginning in the coming week.  
82.  The Council took note  of the statements made and agreed  to proceed as suggested by the Chair.  
83.  At a resumed meeting of the Council on 13 February 2024, the Chair recalled the suspension of 
this agenda item at the Council's meeting on 30 -31 October 2023, with a view to resuming the 
meeting at a time when Members might be in a position to take a decision in this regard. She said 
that, as she had reported in an informal meeting on 30 January 2024, subsequent to he r 
consultations on 21 -22 January 2024 she had circulated a draft report of the Council 's work under 
this agenda item to the General Council in document JOB/IP/73 , with an invitation to Members to 
provide written comments by 29 January 2024.  After comments from delegations had been received 
at an informal meeting on 28 January  2024, at a drafting session on 1 February  2024, and bilaterally 
on 5 February  2024, she had  circulated a further revised version of the draft report 
(document  JOB/IP/73/Rev.3 ) which no longer contain ed a recommendation to conclude the 
discussions, but simply indicate d the state of play that discussions were 'exhausted' and that 
consensus could not be reached.  
84.  Following discussions at an informal meeting immediately preceding th is formal resumption of 
the meeting, the last sentence of paragraph 10 of the draft report had been amended to read 
"Despite these efforts, consensus could not be reached. " The Chair proposed that the Council adopt 
the draft report circulated in JOB/IP/73/Rev. 3 with that amendment . 
85.  The Council so agreed .    
86.  The Chair thanked all delegations and indicated that t his report would be circulated as a formal 
Council for TRIPS document  and forwarded to the General Council.5 
14  THE ROLE OF TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY IN RESILIENCE BUILDING: 
REINVIGORATING THE DISCUSSIONS IN THE WTO ON TRADE AND TRANSFER OF 
TECHNOLOGY  
87.  The Chair said that this item had been put on the agenda at the request of the  African Group. 
She said that the African Group had circulated a number of documents relating to the topic of transfer 
of technology and had requested that two submissions be listed under this item. These were  
document IP/C/W/700 , entitled "The Role Of Trans fer of Technology in Resilience Building: 
Reinvigorating the Discussions in the WTO on Trade and Transfer of Technology "; and  document 
IP/C/W/701 , entitled "The Role of Transfer of Technology in Resilience Building: The TRIPS 
Agreement ". 
88.  Since then, the dele gation of India ha d submitted document JOB/IP/70 , entitled "Reinvigorating 
Discussions on the Relationship Between Trade and the Transfer of Environmentally Sound 
Technologies to Developing Countries to Address Climate Change " for discussion under this agenda 
item.  
89.  The representatives  of South Africa on behalf of th e African Group ; India; Bangladesh ; Brazil ; 
China ; the United States of America ; Japan ; the European Union ; Switzerland ; Nigeria ; Nepal ; the 
United Kingdom ; and South Africa  took the floor.  
 
5 See document IP/C/100  dated 13 February 2024.  IP/C/M/109  
 
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  90.  The Council  took note  of the statements made.  
15  INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INNOVATION: INCUBATORS AND ACCELERATORS’ 
SUPPORT OF START -UPS OPERATING IN A CROSS -BORDER ENVIRONMENT.  
91.  The Chair said this item had been put on the agenda at t he request of the delegations of Canada; 
the European Union; Hong Kong, China; Japan; Singapore;  Switzerland;  the Separate Customs 
Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu; the United Kingdom; and the United States of 
America. These delegations had al so submitted a communication on this topic, circulated in 
document IP/C/W/705  in order to allow Members to prepare for today's discussion.  
92.  The representatives  of Switzerland ; the United States of America ; the United Kingdom ; Japan ; 
Singapore ; Chinese Taipei ; the European Union ; Canada ; and the World Intellectual Property 
Organization  (WIPO)  took the floor.  
93.  The Council  took note  of the statements made.  
16  INFORMATION ON RELEVANT DEVELOPMENTS ELSEWHERE IN THE WTO  
94.  The Chair recalled that the purpose of this information agenda item was to keep Members 
informed of developments in other WTO bodies which were relevant to TRIPS matters. No discussion 
was required, but delegations could, of course, comment if they so wished.  
95.  Regarding dispute settlement, the Chair noted that, by means of a communication dated 
15 September 2023, China requested further consultations with the United States of America 
regarding Measures on Certain Semiconductor and other Products, and related services and 
technologies . This additional request had been circulated on 19 September 2023 
(document  IP/D/44/Rev.1/Add.1 ). 
96.  Regarding developments relating to the TRIPS amendment, the Chair said that the state of play 
had already been reviewed under item 7.  
97.  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.  
98.  A representative of the Secretariat  took the floor.  
99.  The Council took note  of the information provided.  
17  OBSERVER STATUS FOR  INTERNATIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS  
100.  The Chair said that the updated list of pending requests for obse rver status in the 
Council  for TRIPS by intergovernmental organizations was available in document IP/C/W/52/Rev.14 . 
Information provided by these organizations on their respective work and the reasons for their 
interest in observer status was avai lable on the Members' website.6 
101.  The Council agreed  to revert to the matter at its next meeting.  
102.  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 had 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.  
103.  The Council so agreed . 
 
6 Available at https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/xtrips_e/igo_observer_e.htm . IP/C/M/109  
 
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  18  ANNUAL REPORT  
104.  The Chair said that the draft Annual Report of the Council had been circulated  in 
document  JOB/IP/69  and still needed to be updated in order to reflect the discussions at the present 
meeting. She asked if any delegation would have any comments on the draft at this poin t. She 
suggested that the Council agree that the Secretariat be requested to update the draft to reflect the 
discussions at this meeting. The delegations would then have one week to comment on the updated 
parts of the draft report.  
105.  The Council so agreed .7 
19  OTHER BUSINESS  
106.  The Chair recalled that, in the context of WTO Reform, Members were discussing a number of 
procedural and organizational improvements in some WTO bodies, which had been grouped under 
the heading "Reform by doing ". Many of the suggestions di scussed there – such as providing 
annotated agendas, and activating hyperlinks in documents circulated electronically – were already 
standard practice in the Council for TRIPS, which might explain why Members had so far not raised 
any such requests for "Reform by doing " in this Council.  
107.  She said that, in order to nevertheless provide Members with sufficient opportunity to raise 
any issues or request any improvements for the Council for TRIPS, she had asked Members for their 
views at an informal Council meet ing on 9 October 2023. At that meeting, she had indicated that 
the TRIPS Council Secretariat would continue to be in touch with the General Council colleagues and 
provide information on Council for TRIPS practices for any overview documents circulated ther e.  
108.  The Chair reported that delegations who had taken the floor on this topic at the informal 
meeting, had reiterated their views on the process of 'Reform by doing' generally, as discussed in 
the General Council, but had not identified any specific issues  related to the functioning of the 
Council  for TRIPS at this stage. There had been general agreement at that meeting, that there was 
no need to formally raise this issue at the Council for TRIPS meeting at the present time – which 
was why she had chosen to  simply report this state of play to Members here under Other Business. 
Members remained, of course, free to raise any issue with respect to 'Reform by doing' at any time.  
109.  With regard to the dates for the Council's meetings in 2024, she noted that that pro spective 
dates for the TRIPS Council had been identified in the Annotated Draft Agenda, which the Secretariat 
had circulated in document JOB/IP/71  prior to the meeting. The Secretariat had reserved meeting 
rooms for the following dates for meetings of the Counc il in 2024:  
a. 25–26 April 2024  
b. 10-11 July 2024  
c. 6-7 November 2024.8 
110.  The Chair asked whether these dates were agreeable.  
111.  The Council so agreed . 
 
__________  
 
7 The Annual Report (2023) was circulated in document IP/C/98  dated 28 November 2023.  
8 As has been Secretariat practice, in an effort to reduce scheduling problems, these dates had been 
communicated to WIPO for comments before the Coun cil meeting.