RESTRICTED  
  
IP/C/M/86  
 
19 June 2017  
(17-3263) Page: 1/7 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights  
  
 
MINUTES OF MEETING  
HELD IN THE CENTRE W ILLIAM RAPPARD ON 13 JUNE 2017 
Chairperson: Ms Irene Young  (Hong Kong, China ) 
The present document contains the record of the Council for TRIPS meeting held on 13 June  2017. 
The statements made during the meeting will  be circulated in an addendum to the present 
document.  
Table of Contents  
1   ELECTION OF CHAIRPER SON ................................ ................................ .......................  2 
2   NOTIFICATIONS UNDER PROVISI ONS OF THE AGREEMENT  ................................ ........  2 
3   REVIEW OF NATIONAL I MPLEMENTING LEGISLAT ION ................................ ................  2 
3.1   Review of the National Implementing Legislation o f Kazakhstan  ................................ ........  2 
4   REVIEW OF THE PROVIS IONS OF ARTICLE 27.3 (B) ................................ .....................  3 
5   RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN  THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND THE CONVENTION  ON 
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY  ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 3 
6   PROTECTION OF TRADIT IONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE  ................................ ..... 3 
7   NON-VIOLATION AND SITUAT ION COMPLAINTS  ................................ .........................  3 
8   REVIEW OF THE IMPLEM ENTATION OF THE TRIP S AGREEMENT UNDER 
ARTICLE 71.1  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  4 
9   REVIEW OF THE APPLIC ATION OF THE PROVISI ONS OF T HE SECTION ON 
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICAT IONS UNDER ARTICLE 2 4.2 ................................ ......................  4 
10   TECHNICAL COOPERATIO N AND CAPACITY BUILD ING ................................ ..............  4 
11   INTELLECTUAL  PROPERTY AND INNOVAT ION: INCLUSIVE INNOV ATION 
AND MSME GROWTH  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  4 
12   INTELLECTUAL PROPERT Y AND THE PUBLIC INT EREST: COMPULSORY 
LICENSING  ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................  5 
13   INFORMATION ON RELEV ANT DEVELOPMENTS ELS EWHERE IN THE WTO  .................  5 
14   OBSERVER STATUS FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERG OVERNMENTAL 
ORGANISATIONS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  6 
15   OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 6 
15.1   Work Programme on Electronic Commerce  ................................ ................................ .... 6 
15.2   15th Annual Review under Parag raph 2 of the Decision on the Implementation of 
Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement  ................................ ................................ .....................  6 
15.3   Other Planned Activities for the Benefit of LDCs  ................................ .............................  7 IP/C/M/8 6 
 
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  1  ELECTION OF CHA IRPERSON  
1.  The representative of the  Secretariat  recalled that, at the time of the meeting of the Council for 
TRIPS that had taken place in March 2017 , the General Council had not yet  agree d on a slate of  
names of Chairpersons  for WTO bodies . Thus,  the Counci l for TRIPS could not  elect its Chair  for the 
current year . At its meeting of  7 April 2017, the General Council had reached consens us on the 
Chairpersons  for regu lar and negotiating WTO bodies. On the basis of that understanding, it was 
proposed that the C ouncil for TRIPS elect Ms Irene  Young, Permanent Representative of Hong  
Kong, China, as its Chair person  for the current  year.  
2.  The Council so agreed . 
2  NOTIFICATIONS UNDER PROVISIONS OF THE AG REEMENT  
3.  The Chairperson  invited the Secretariat to provide an upda te on the legislative measures that 
had been notified by a number of Members since the Council's meeting in March 2017 .  
4.  The representative of the Secretariat  took the floor .  
5.  The Chairperson  invited delegations that had notified a new or revised legislati ve measure, or 
given responses or updates to the enforcement checklist, to briefly introduce the changes.  
6.  The representatives of the European Union ; Hong Kong, China ; Switzerland ; and Norway  took 
the floor.  
7.  The Chairperson  said that, as previous Chairpers ons had already noted, notifications to the 
Council had not been keeping up with the actual development of laws and regulations relating to 
the TRIPS Agreement. She recalled that Article 63.2 was not a one -off requirement, but required 
Members to notify an y new or amended laws. Therefore, she  urged Members to complete any 
outstanding initial notifications and to keep up to date with notifications on subsequent 
amendments . The same applied for the Checklist of Issues on Enforcement , which had been 
establishe d by the Council as an element of Members' notification obligations.   
8.  The Chairperson  invited the Secretariat to provide an update on the development of  e-TRIPS , 
the online platform for filing and consulting notifications  and other Council documentation.  
9.  The representative of the Secretariat  briefed Members on the development of e -TRIPS .  
10.  The Council took note  of the notifications and the statements made.  
3  REVIEW  OF NATIONAL IMPLEMEN TING LEGISLATION  
3.1  Review of the National Implementing L egislation of Kazakh stan 
11.  The Chairperson  recalled that Kazakhstan had agreed to apply the provisions of the TRIPS 
Agreement , as of the date of its accession t o the WTO (i.e. , 30 November 2015),  without recourse 
to any transitional periods.  In line with its accession  commitmen ts, Kazakhstan had notified a 
comprehensive set of laws and regulations implementing the TRIPS A greement, including the Law 
on Copyright and Related Rights, the Law on Trademarks, Service Marks and Appellations of Origin 
of Goods and the Patent Law . These laws had been  made available to Members in the document 
series IP/N/1. In addition, Kazakhstan had notified its contact point under Article 69 of the TRIPS 
Agreement.1  
12.  The Council had started  the review at its meeting in June 2016. Questions posed by 
Switzerland in December  20162, and the replies by  Kazakhst an submitted  in February  20173, had 
been already circulated. At the Council’s meeting in March  2017, Kazakhstan had  explained the 
structure of its domestic legislation in areas covered by the TRIPS Agre ement and reported on 
                                                
1 IP/N/3/KAZ/1 . 
2 IP/C/W/620 . 
3 IP/C/W/626 . IP/C/M/8 6 
 
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  legislative developments regarding its IPR regime. However, since Kazakhstan had yet to respond 
to the Checklist of Issues on Enforcement, and the United States had also wished to raise 
additional questions on the amended Copyright La w, the Council had agreed to continue the 
review.  The questions by the United States4 and the replies submitted by Kazakhstan5 had been 
circulated  since then . Kazakhstan had also responded to the Che cklist of Issues on Enforcement .6  
13.  The representative s of Kazakhstan  and the United States  took the floor.  
14.  Since there were no follow -up questions , the Chairperson  proposed  that the Council remove 
the review of Kazakhstan 's implementing legislation from the agenda.  Delegatio ns could revert to 
any matter stemmin g from this review , at any time.  
15.  The Council took note  of the statements made and agreed  to remove the review of 
implementing legislation of Kazakhstan from the agenda . 
4  REVIEW OF THE PROVIS IONS OF ARTICLE 27.3 (B) 
5  RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN  THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND THE CONVENTION ON 
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY  
6  PROTECTION OF TRADIT IONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE  
16.  The Chairperson  recalled that, at the  meeting of the Counci l for TRIPS that had taken place  in 
March  2017, Members had remained divided both on the su bstantive and pr ocedural issues. 
Therefore, no progress had been made.  She encourage d Members to consider how to make 
progress on these issues, rather than repeat well -known positions. Members were invited to report 
on their bilateral discussions, since the last meeting.  
17.  The representatives of India; South Africa ; Brazil ; Ecuador7; the Plurinational State of Bolivia ; 
Indonesia ; Egypt ; China ; the United States ; Japan ; Canada ; Australia ; Switzerland ; and the 
Republic of  Korea  took the floor.  
18.  The Council took note of the statements made and agree d to revert to the matters at its next 
meeting.  
19.  The Chairperson  recalled  that the review of Article  27.3 (b) was an integra l part of the TRIPS 
Agreement. However, information on important developments that many WTO Members ha d seen 
in this area over the last decade  had not been provided to the Council. Since 2003, t here had been 
no responses or updates to the Illustrative List of Questions on Article 27.3(b) , and no notifications 
of domestic mechanisms to protect genetic resou rces and traditional knowledge.  Members were  
encourage d to check whether they ha d information that ought to be shared in the WTO, and to 
submit notifications in a timely manner.  
7  NON-VIOLATION AND SITUAT ION COMPLAINTS  
20.  The Chairperson  recall ed that,  at the tenth Mini sterial Conference  in December 2015 , 
Ministers had directed the Council to continue its examination of the scope and modalities for 
complaints of the types provided for in Article XXIII 1(b) and 1(c) of  the GATT 1994 , and to make 
recommendations to the ele venth Ministerial Conference , scheduled to take place in 
December  2017. That instruction had mirrored the original mandate , contained  in Article 64.3 of 
the TRIPS  Agreement , which had set  1999 as the deadli ne for accomplishing this task.  She noted 
that, so far, the Council had not yet been able to find a solution.  She urged Members to provide  
more concrete ideas on how  the Council  could  work towards fu lfilling the mandate  and on a 
recommendation  for the eleventh Ministerial Conference, which would take plac e in merely  
six months . She noted that e xisting positions of Members were well documented, so there was no 
need to repeat them . 
                                                
4 IP/C/W/627 . 
5 IP/C/W/628 . 
6 IP/N/6/KAZ/1 . 
7 The statement by Ecuador was read  by the rep resentative of the Plurinational  State of Bolivia.  IP/C/M/8 6 
 
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  21.  The representatives of Switzerland ; India; Brazil ; Argentina ; the Plurinational  State of Bolivia ; 
South Africa ; China ; Ecuador ; the United States ; Japan ; and, Sri Lanka  took the floor.   
22.  The Council took note of the statements made and agree d to revert to this matter,  at its next 
meeting.  
8  REVIEW OF THE IMPLEM ENTATION OF THE TRIP S AGREEMENT UNDER AR TICLE 71.1  
23.  The Chairperson  recalled  that Article 71.1 of the TRIPS Agreement require d the Council to 
conduct a review of the TRIPS Agreement once every two years. Since  the Council had not 
completed its initial review in 1999, there had been no subsequent review since  then. She 
observed tha t the requirement was  there because the review would be very useful for Members to 
share information and experiences in implementing the TRIPS Agreement . 
24.  The Council agree d to revert to the matter at its next meeting.  
9  REVIEW OF THE APPLIC ATION OF THE PROVI SIONS OF THE SECTION  ON 
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICAT IONS UNDER ARTICLE 2 4.2 
25.  The Chairperson  said Article 24.2 of the TRIPS Agreement required the Council to keep under 
review the application of the TRIPS provisions on geogra phical indications. The main tool for th e 
review was  the Checklist of Questio ns (document IP/C/13 and Add.1). She noted that  fewer than 
50 Members, out of 164 , had responded to the Checklist. M oreover, many of the earlier responses 
were likely to be outdated, because they had been submitted more  than 10 years ago , and no new 
or updated responses had been received since the previous meeting. She observed that  this 
situation did not seem to reflect the reality that GI protection was an active area of legal and 
policy development in some Members , as well as in a number of free trade agreements.  
26.  She called for Members to respect the need for this review, and to respon d to or update the 
Checklist, accordingly. I n line with the Council's recommendation of March 2010, she also invite d 
Members to share in formation on bilateral  or regional  agreements related to the protection of GIs 
they were party to.  
27.  The Council agreed  to revert to the matter at its next meeting.  
10  TECHNICAL COOPERATIO N AND CAPACITY BUILD ING 
28.  The Chairperson  noted that the Council had been c onducting annual reviews on technical 
cooperation and capacity building  and proposed  that: (i) the review be conducted at the last 
meeting of the Council in 2017;  (ii) developed country Members be invited to provide information 
on their activities , pursua nt to Article 67 of the TRIPS Agreement , and to encourage  other 
Members , who engage in technical cooperation , to share the relevant information,  if they so 
wished; (iii) intergovernmental organizations with observer status in the Council for TRIPS , as well  
as the WTO Secretariat, be invited to report on their activities ; and  (iv) that written information be 
submitted  by 20 September 2017, i.e. , four weeks before  the next meeting, in order to allow its 
timely circulation.  
29.  The Council so agreed . 
30.  The Chairpers on said that, taking account of  the extensive documentation that ha d been 
submitted  for past technical assistance reviews , and the benefits of a streamlined and more 
systematic approach to its management, Memb ers were encouraged  to follow the suggested 
format and structure that had been proposed in the Council and used by the Secretariat, other 
organisations and a number of Members . The Secretariat was ready  to provide informal support 
and background to interested delegations.  
11  INTELLECTUAL PROPERT Y AND INNO VATION: INCLUSIVE IN NOVATION AND MSME 
GROWTH  
31.  The Chairperson  noted  that, although this was an ad hoc  agenda item, the topic was not new 
to the Council  for TRIPS . It had originated  from some Members'  suggestion to share experiences , IP/C/M/8 6 
 
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  during the course of 201 7, on the role of IP  as a driver for more inclusive innovation that supports 
the participation of micro, small and medium -sized enterprises (MSMEs ). She recalled that the 
Council had already discussed "Inclusive Innovation and MSME Collaboration"8, at its meeting in 
March 2017  and invited the co-sponsors to introduce their submission on "Inclusive Innovation and 
MSME Growth" .9 
32.  The representatives of  the European Union;  the United States ; Australia ; Japan ; Singapore ; 
Canada ; Chinese Taipei ; Brazil ; Hong Kong , China ; India; China ; El Salvador ; Republic of Korea ; 
and the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization  (ARIPO)  took the floor.  
33.  The Council took note of the statements made.  
12  INTELLECTUAL PROPERT Y AND THE PUBLIC INT EREST: COMPULSORY LI CENSING  
34.  The Chairperson  invite d the co -sponsors to introduce their submission on "Intellectual 
Property and the Public Interest" .10 
35.  The representative s of South Africa ; India; Brazil ; China ; Fiji; Ecuador ; the Plurinational  State 
of Bolivia ; the United States;  Indone sia; Colombia ; Japan ; Switzerland ; the European Union ; 
Republic of Korea ; and Australia  took the floor.  
36.  The Council took note  of the statements made.  
13  INFORMATION ON RELEV ANT DEVELOPMENTS ELS EWHERE IN THE WTO  
37.  The Chairperson  said that, since the March 2017  meeting of the Council, the following 
Members had deposited their instruments of acceptance of the Protoc ol Amending the TRIPS 
Agreement : Sierra Leone (21 March ); Fiji ( 5 May ); and, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ( 9 May). 
Currently, t he amended TRIPS Agr eement applie d to 116 Members.  She noted that t he remaining 
48 Members were still operating under the 2003 waiver Decision . She intended to  write to those  
Members reminding them that they were expected to complete their domestic acceptance 
procedures and t o submit their instruments of acceptance by the end of 2017, when the current 
deadline for acceptance of the Protocol was due to expire .  
38.  The Chairperson  also recalled that, at its meeting on 30 January, when the Council had taken  
note of the entry into fo rce of the amended TRIPS Agreement, Members had expressed their 
interest in considering how the Paragraph 6 System could be effectively used , in practice , as a 
procurement tool to respond to public health needs. She concurred  with the view of the former 
Chairperson of the Council that , when the Council conduct ed the annual review of the S ystem at 
its next meeting in  October, reference could be made to the information contained, and issues 
identified, in the 2016 Annual Review11, as well as Ann ex II to the WT O Secretariat's Annual 
Report on its Technical Cooperation A ctivities .12 She announced  her intention to consult Members 
in the coming months on how to prepare for a meaningful review.   
39.  The Chairperson invited  the Secretariat to provide an update on  IPR-related issues that had 
been considered in the context of individua l Members' trade policy reviews .   
40.  The representative of the  Secretariat  took the floor . 
41.  The Council took note of the statement made.  
                                                
8 IP/C/W/622 and IP/C/W/625 . 
9 IP/C/W/629 . 
10 IP/C/W/630 . 
11 IP/C/76 . 
12 IP/C/W/618 . IP/C/M/8 6 
 
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  14  OBSERVER STATUS FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERG OVERNMENTAL ORGANI SATIONS  
42.  The Chairperson  recalled  that there were still 13 pending requests by intergovernmental 
organizations for observer status in the Council  for TRIPS . The list was up -to-date13 and 
information provided by all 13 intergovernmental organizations was available on the Members' 
website. She urged Members to consider the requests on their individual merits, and in particular 
according to the competence and interest that the requesting entity has in matters dealt with by 
the Council for TRIPS . 
43.  The delegations of India; South Africa ; the United States ; Ecuador ; Indonesia ; Brazil ; Egypt ; 
the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ; and China  took the floor.  
44.  The Chairperson  proposed that, since it had not been possible to reach an agreement to grant 
permanent observer st atus to ARIPO, OAPI, GCC and EFTA, the Council should again invite these 
four organizations  to attend its next meeting on an ad hoc  basis. This would be  in line with the 
agreement reached at the Council's meetings in June  2010 and November 2012 on granting  ad hoc  
observer status to these organizations on a meeting -by-meeting basis.  
45.  The Council so agreed .  
15  OTHER BUSINESS  
15.1  Work Programme on Electronic Commerce  
46.  The Chair person  noted that there had been no request s for an ad hoc  agenda item on the 
Work Programme  on Electronic Commerce  for the current meeting of the Council . However, 
Singapore had indicated that it would like to introduce a recent communication .14 
47.  The representative  of Singapore  took the floor.   
48.  The Chair person  said that Moldova had co-sponsor ed an earlier communication on "Trade 
Policy, the WTO and the Digital Economy ", which the Council had considered at its meeting in 
March . The updated communication had been already circulated .15 
49.  The Chairperson  recalled  that, at the Tenth Ministerial Conference , Ministers had requested 
the General Council "to hold periodic reviews in its sessions of July and December 2016 and July 
2017 based on the reports that may be submitted by the WTO bodies entrusted with the 
implemen tation of the Work Programme" .16 Therefor e, she would  submit, in her capacity as  
Chairperson of the Council for  TRIPS and on her own responsibility, a factual record of the 
discussions  that had taken place in the Council , so that it could  be considered by the General 
Council  at its stocktaking se ssion planned for  July. This was also the practice of other WTO bodies. 
Thereafter, Members could continue to further discuss issues related to intellectual property and 
e-commerce in future  meetings of the Council for TRIPS.  
15.2  15th Annual Review under Parag raph 2 of the Decision on the Implementation of 
Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement  
50.  Regardin g the Annual Review under paragraph 2 of the Decision on the Implementation of 
Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement , the Chairperson  said that developed country Memb ers were 
required to provide detailed reports every third year, and in the intervening years, provide updates 
to their most recent reports. Since 2017 was an intervening year, developed country Members 
were to  provide an update , to be reviewed at the last meeting of the year.  
51.  She proposed that developed country Members submit their updates by 20 September , four 
weeks before the meeting scheduled for 19 -20 October. Considering the large volume of materials 
to be processed, reporting Members were invited to s eek informal support from the Secretariat.  
                                                
13 IP/C/W/52/Rev.13 . 
14 JOB/IP/23 . 
15 JOB/IP/21/Rev .1. 
16 WT/L/977 . IP/C/M/8 6 
 
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  52.  The Council so agreed . 
15.3  Other Planned Activities for the Benefit of LDCs  
53.  The Chairperson  informed Members that, in connection with Article 66.2, the Secretariat was 
organizing the Tenth Workshop on Technology Trans fer, to be held in the after noon of 18 October, 
i.e., the day before the meeting of the Council for TRIPS . 
54.  She noted that, a part from Article 66.2 which promote d technology transfer to LDCs, LDC 
Members were entitled to technical cooperation, on mutually a greed terms, under Article 67. Nine 
LDC Members ha d informed the  Council of their outstanding needs for technical and financial 
assistance.  
55.  Currently, LDCs were enjoying extended transition periods, both in general and , more 
specifically , regarding the pha rmaceutical sector.  Members might  wish to assist LDCs  to establish  
IP regime s that would suppo rt their domestic needs.  The Secretariat was considering  convening 
another symposium on the special needs of LDCs, back -to-back with the October meeting of the 
Council for TRIPS.  
56.  The Secretariat would be reaching out to  delegations to prepare for the Workshop on 
Technology Transfer and to explore the possibility of organizing  the LDC Symposium.  
57.   The Chairperson  concluded by encouraging  Members to  constructively eng age in intensive 
consultations and preparatory work in advance of  the next formal meeting of the Council for 
TRIPS , scheduled to take place  in October . Members should  tackle issues that ha d been 
outstanding for a long time . She  looked forward to working cl osely with delegations to , hopefully,  
make progress, remove obstacles, and build a more solid foundation for future work.  
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