RESTRICTED  
  
IP/C/M/84  
 
3 February 2017  
(17-0675) Page: 1/4 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectu al Property Rights   
 
 MINUTES OF MEETING  
HELD IN THE CENTRE W ILLIAM RAPPARD ON 30 JANUARY  2017 
Chairperson: Ambassador Mero (United Republic of Tanzania)  
The present document contains the record of the Council for TRIPS meeting held on 
30 January  2017. The statements made dur ing the meeting will be circulated in an addendum to 
the present document.  
 
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Subjects discussed  
1   THE PROTOCOL AMENDIN G THE TRIPS AGREEMEN T – STATUS UPDATE  ......................  2 
2   OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  4 
 
 
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  1  THE PROTOCOL AMENDIN G THE TRIPS AGREEMEN T – STATUS UPDATE  
1.  The Chairman  provided a status report on the Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement.  
2.  He recalled t hat he had updated delegations on the status of acceptances at the Council's last 
meeting in November. At that meeting, he had noted that fifteen instruments of acceptance had 
been deposited in 2016 and only five more instruments of acceptance were needed to trigger the 
entry into force of the Protocol. He referred delegations to the record in paragraph 28 of the cover 
part of the minutes of the Council's meeting held on 8 -9 November 2016 that had been circulated 
in document IP/C/M/83.  
3.  The Chairman also sai d that he had briefed the General Council at its meeting on 
7-8 December  2016 that two more instrument had been deposited with the WTO Director -General 
after the Council for TRIPS meeting in early November. Accordingly, he had informed the 
delegations that  only three more acceptances were needed to reach the two -thirds threshold that 
was required for the Protocol to enter into force.  
4.  He noted that there has been considerable momentum up to the entry into force of the TRIPS 
Amendment over the last two years . In 2015 and 2016 alone, 27 Members had formally accepted 
the Protocol.  
5.  The Chairman welcomed the fact that this momentum was continuing in 2017. Since 
mid-January, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Liechtenstein, the United Arab Emirates and Viet Nam had all 
depos ited instruments of acceptance. The updated list of WTO Members who had deposited 
instruments of acceptance was available on the WTO dedicated webpage.1 
6.  He recalled that, in accordance with paragraph 3 of Article X of the WTO Agreement, as 
referred to in p aragraph 4 of the Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement, the Protocol shall enter 
into force upon acceptance by two thirds of the Members. It was his understanding that, with the 
deposit of the last three acceptances by Liechtenstein, the United Arab Emira tes and Viet Nam on 
23 January 2017, the condition set out in paragraph 4 of the Protocol had been met and that 
therefore the amendment to the TRIPS Agreement had entered into force on 23 January 2017.  
7.  The Chairman thanked all delegations that had contribu ted to making the amendment happen 
through their hard work and support. The entry into force of the TRIPS amendment was a 
milestone in the WTO's comparatively short history. It was the first ever amendment to a 
multilateral agreement administered by the WT O, with its roots in the Doha Declaration on the 
TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, that had been unanimously adopted by WTO Members in 
2001. In response to a concrete proposal by the African Group, the amendment provided a secure 
legal pathway to access a ffordable medicines and put this new procurement tool on par with other 
TRIPS flexibilities directly relevant to public health. He emphasized that this was clearly a major 
contribution by the WTO membership to wider multilateral efforts to deliver on publi c health and 
the Sustainable Development Goals.  
8.  He said that the continuing string of acceptances that had been deposited over the last two 
years, as well the amendment's recent entry into force demonstrated Member's firm commitment 
to this additional fle xibility that was now a permanent part of the TRIPS Agreement. Equally, this 
commitment was confirmed by the significant increase of implementing legislation in countries that 
were major exporters of pharmaceuticals and that was now estimated to cover abou t 80% of the 
current global medicines export capacities.  
9.  The Chairman noted that these important developments seemed to support demands from 
Members to look into how to make this new procurement tool work effectively so that it delivered 
concrete results in practice. At the Council's last meeting in November, a number of issues that 
could be usefully considered for that matter had been brought to Members' attention, both under 
the agenda item on technical cooperation and also as part of the annual review o f the Paragraph 6 
System. The Council's report on the annual review that had been circulated in document 
IP/C/W/76, as well as Annex II to the WTO Secretariat's annual report on its technical cooperation 
                                                
1 https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/amendment_e.htm  IP/C/M/84  
 
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  activities that had been circulated in document IP/C /W/618, provided useful information resources 
in that regard.  
10.  He then referred to Members that had not yet accepted the TRIPS amendment. Paragraph 3 
of Article X of the WTO Agreement, as referred to in the Protocol, provided that the amendment 
would enter  into force for each Member concerned when it had accepted the Protocol. In the 
meantime, the 2003 waiver Decision would continue to apply to them.  
11.  He clarified that the entry into force of the amendment did not mean that no further action 
was needed by M embers that had not yet accepted the amendment. Rather, these Members were 
also expected to take action that would enable them to deposit their instruments of acceptance 
with the WTO in due course. The deadline to do so currently was end 2017. Therefore, h e called 
upon these Members to undertake the necessary steps as soon as possible.  
12.  The Director -General  took the floor  and made the following statement:  
This year starts in Geneva with a positive note. This is a historic session of the TRIPS 
Council. It ma rks the entry into force of the TRIPS amendment – and we should reflect on 
what a striking development this outcome represents. We received acceptances of the 
amendment from five Members  last week: Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Liechtenstein, the United 
Arab Emir ates and Viet Nam. Those acceptances took us over the threshold for entry into 
force. So thank you to those Members , and to all the others who have previously completed 
their notification.  
 
This is the very first amendment to WTO multilateral law, the fir st to be agreed among all 
Members, and the first to come into force.  It is significant that this first amendment is not 
about pursuing trade opportunities or market access for their own sake. Rather, its aim is to 
enhance access to medicines by the most vu lnerable countries and overturn a situation in 
which the poorest could face the biggest hurdles in accessing essential drugs. As such it is in 
keeping with Sustainable Development Goal 3, on public health. And it is in keeping with the 
spirit of the WTO's founding agreements – to ensure that trade complements other essential 
public policy goals. It also marks a very concrete and definitive action taken under the 
mandate set by ministers in the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public 
Health.   
 
We should recall that the initiative to turn this into a formal provision of the TRIPS 
Agreement was taken by the African Group of WTO Members. Many have referred to it, quite 
rightly, as the "African Amendment ". Today therefore marks a significant achievemen t for 
the Group. Moreover, I think it is a reminder of what the WTO community can do when it 
works together to  deliver practical solutions. In this sense it is fitting that today the TRIPS 
Council is chaired by a respected African Head of Delegation, my go od friend, Ambassador 
Modest Mero of Tanzania.  I understand that this will be your last meeting as Chair, 
Ambassador Mero, before you leave us for your new posting in New York. So let me say 
thank you, once again, for your work in delivering entry into for ce. Indeed, Tanzania’s 
acceptance of the amendment last year was part of the final burst of momentum among the 
Membership that brought about this result today.  
 
Members will know that the month of January is thought to be named after the Roman deity 
Janus,  who is depicted with two faces – one looking to the future and one to the past. On 
occasions like this I think that we should try to do the same. Looking back to the moment 
that the General Council unanimously agreed the TRIPS amendment in 2005, I think w e 
have to acknowledge that this journey took a lot longer than we expected it to take – and a 
lot long er than it should have taken. Over the years there was continuing encouragement 
from the international community to push ahead with entry into force. We s aw this most 
recently, from the UN General Assembly in their Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS. 
However, the rate of acceptances was persistently slow.  
 
Two years ago, the question returned to the General Council, and at that point I think we 
decided,  collectively, to put new energy behind entry into force. Since then, we have seen a 
dramatic rise in engagement. Almost 40% of all the instruments of acceptance have come 
over these last two years.   
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  The Secretariat has been busy. I personally have been busy. Your Chairs have been busy – 
all working to encourage Members to take this step. But of course it is the Members who 
have taken the decisive action. This impressive show of support is testament to Members ' 
renewed interest in the system, their desire  to see it work for the benefit of all, and their 
willingness to deliver on commitments made to each other.  So now, let's look ahead.  Entry 
into force consolidates compulsory licences for exports of generic medicines as an integral 
part of the TRIPS Agreem ent. It is now on a par with all other flexibilities for health under 
the Agreement.  
 
This provides a firm foundation for Members to make use of this mechanism, where needed, 
to serve their public health needs. We have heard concerns expressed, even in thi s Council, 
that Members may be reluctant to use this mechanism for fear of repercussions. The system 
is now unambiguously part of international law. It is a negotiated solution that has been 
expressly welcomed and supported by governments around the world.   
 
Policy debate may continue about the optimal use of compulsory licensing for access to 
medicines but there is no ambiguity about the status of this system. It is a legitimate 
measure with wide support and encouragement for its use when the situation on the ground 
so requires.  So, if this is to be a practical tool for access to medicines, we should look 
beyond the legal text. Like other public health flexibilities, its impact will depend on how it is 
used in practice. The new Article 31bis is another tool  which can be used for procurement, 
and it is one that has to be taken up positively if it s potential is to be realized. There is 
considerable scope for pooling demand and coordinating use of the system, to build 
economies of scale and to service regional needs in an efficient way. And we need to 
understand first, for what medicines, second, for what patient cohorts, and third, for what 
practical supply scenarios it is most useful. This is particularly true given that we now have a 
widening range of alterna tive avenues for procurement of affordable medicines.  
 
Therefore our collective tasks, looking ahead, are firstly to step up practical support for 
those Members and groups of Members who wish to make use of the system. And secondly 
to focus our attention on how to implement the system, and on how to identify the actual 
procurement scenarios for which the system is the optimal solution. So in marking this most 
significant milestone, I would like to echo the Chairman. This is not the time to take our rest 
– the remainder of journey lies ahead.  We must continue working together to fulfil the 
potential of this mechanism – and others – to ensure access to medicines for those in 
greatest need, and to help deliver the Sustainable Development Goals.  
 
13.   The represent atives of Canada , Benin on behalf of the LDC Group , Bangladesh , the European 
Union , Australia , Republic of Korea , Kenya , Morocco on behalf of the African Group , South Africa , 
Brazil , Botswana , Switzerland , China , Chile, Tanzania , Singapore on behalf of the  ASEAN Group , 
Peru, India, Chinese Taipei , Argentina , Norway , and Japan.  The representative from UNCTAD  also 
took the floor.  
14.  The Council took note  of the statements made.  
 
2  OTHER BUSINESS  
15.  The Chairman  said that due to scheduling conflicts with the General Council, it was proposed 
that the dates for the Council's first meeting be moved to 1 and 2 March, instead of 28 February 
and 1 March. The second meeting would be held on 13 and 14 June, and the third meeting on 
19 and 20 October, as already announced in a  fax that the Secretariat sent to Members on 
16 November 2016.  
16.  The Council took note  of the dates announced.  
17.  The Chairman  recalled that he had been appointed as Tanzania's Ambassador to the United 
Nations in New York. He thanked delegations for the excel lent collaboration throughout his 
chairmanship and wished them and the incoming Chairman a constructive and successful 
continuation of the Council's very important work.  
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