RESTRICTED  
  
IP/C/M/89  
 
19 June 2018 
(18-3821) Page: 1/10 
Council for Trade -Related Aspects of  
Intellectual Property Rights  
  
 
MINUTES OF MEETING  
HELD IN THE CENTRE W ILLIAM RAPPARD ON 5-6 JUNE 2018 
Chair: H.E. Ambassador Dr. Walter Werner  
The present document contains the record of the meeting of the Council for TRIPS, held on 
5-6 June 2018. The statements made during the meeting will be circulated in an addendum to the 
present document.  
Table of Contents  
 
1   ELECTION OF THE CHAIR  ................................ ................................ ............................  3 
2   NOTIFICATIONS UNDER PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT  ................................ ........  3 
3   REVIEW OF NATIONAL IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION  ................................ ................  4 
4   REVIEW OF THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 27.3(B)  ................................ .....................  4 
5   RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND THE CONVENTIO N ON 
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY  ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 4 
6   PROTECTION OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE  ................................ ..... 4 
7   NON-VIOLATION AND SITUATION COMPLAINTS  ................................ .........................  5 
8   REVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT UNDER 
ARTICLE 71.1  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  5 
9   REVIEW OF THE APPLICATION OF THE P ROVISIONS OF THE SECTION ON 
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 24.2  ................................ ......................  6 
10   TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING  ................................ ..............  6 
11   INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INNOVATION: THE SOCIETAL VALUE OF IP 
IN THE NEW ECONOMY, IP IMPROVING LIVES  ................................ ................................ . 6 
12   LDC GROUP PROPOSAL ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 OF THE 
TRIPS AGREEMENT (IP/C/W/640)  ................................ ................................ ..................  7 
13   INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND THE PUBLIC INTEREST: PROMOTING PUBLIC 
HEALTH THROUGH COMPETITION LAW AND POLICY ................................ ........................  7 
14   INFORMATION ON RELEVANT DEVELOPMENTS ELSEWHERE IN THE WTO  .................  7 
14.1   DISPUTE SETTLEMENT CONSULTATIONS  ................................ ................................  7 
14.2   TRIPS AMENDMENT  ................................ ................................ ................................  7 
14.3   IPR-RELATED ISSUES IN TRADE POLICY REVIEWS  ................................ ................  8 
15   OBSERVER STATUS FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL 
ORGANIZATIONS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  8 
16   OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 8 IP/C/M/8 9 
 
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  16.1   ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE SPECIAL COMPULSORY LICENSING SYSTEM  ...................  8 
16.2   16TH ANNUAL REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 2 OF THE DECISION ON THE 
"IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT"  ................................ .. 9 
16.3   OTHER PLANNED ACTIVITIES FOR THE BENEFIT OF LDCS  ................................ ...... 9 
16.4   WORK PROGRAMME ON E -COMMERCE  ................................ ................................ .... 9 
 
  IP/C/M/8 9 
 
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  1  ELECTION OF THE CHAIR  
1.  A representative of the Secretariat  recalled that, when the TRIPS Council met on 27  February  
2018, the General Council was yet to agree on a slate of names of Chairs for WTO  bodies. 
Therefore, the TRIPS Council could not elect its Chair for 2018, at that time . The TRIPS Council 
had agreed t o elect its new Chair  at the beginning of the present meeting, with the understanding 
that, as soon as the General Council had agreed on the slate of names for Chairpersons , the TRIPS 
Council Chair -designate would take up his role and hold consultations in  preparation of this 
meeting, pending her or his formal election.  
2.  At its meeting on 7 -8 March 2018, the General Council had noted the consensus on the slate of 
names for Chairpersons  for WTO bodies. On the basis of the understanding reached by the General 
Council, he proposed that the TRIPS Council elect H.E. Ambassador Dr. Walter Werner from 
Germany as its Chair for 2018.  
3.  The Council so agreed . 
2  NOTIFICATIONS UNDER PROVISIONS OF THE AG REEMENT  
4.  The Chair invited the Secretariat to report on notifications that  the Council had received since 
its meeting in February  2018.  
5.  A representative of the Secretariat  said that  the Council had received the following notifications 
under Article 63.2 of the TRIPS Agreement:  
a. Mexico had notified two Decrees, which amended and supplemented various provisions of 
the Industrial Property Law concerning a specific regime for geographical indications, the 
period of protection of industrial drawings, designs or models, and the opposition periods 
for patent and trademark applications ( circulated in documents IP/N/1/MEX/I/13 and 
IP/N/1/MEX/I/14). Mexico had also notified its General Declaration on Protection of the 
Appellation of Origin "Yahualica", which protected the fresh and dried tree chili fruit 
belonging to species with specific t axonomic classifications (circulated in document 
IP/N/1/MEX/G/7).  
 
b. The United States had notified updated trade secrets laws for all its states as well as for 
the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands (circulated in 
documents IP/N/1/USA/U/4 to 56).  
 
c. Canada ha d notified its revised Trademarks Act and Patent Act.  These Acts had been  
amended by Bill C -30 to implement the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement 
between Canada and the European Union and its member States and to provide for certain 
other measures  (circulated in documents IP/N/1/C AN/P/ 13 and IP/N/1/CAN/G/1 ).   
 
d. The Kyrgyz Republic has submitted 16 notifications, including the notifications of its main 
dedicated IP laws and regulations, other laws and regulations or their amendments ( to be 
circulated in document series  IP/N/1/KGZ/…) .  
 
6.  Under Article 69, Ukraine  had updated its contact points for the exchange of information and 
cooperation on trade in infringing goods and Cambodia had notified new information regarding its 
contact points. The Member s' transparency toolkit page had  been updated accordingly.1  
7.  The Chair  invited delegations that had notified a new or revised legislative measure, or given 
responses or updates to the enforcement che cklist, to briefly inform the TRIPS Council about the 
key points in the notifications. This had become a well -establi shed tradition , as many  delegations 
had followed this practice at recent sess ions of the Council. It provided  valuable insight into the 
notifications provided and promotes awareness and transparency.  
8.  The representatives of Canada , the United States , Mexico  and Chile took the floor.  
                                                
1 Available at:  https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/trips_toolkit_e.htm   IP/C/M/8 9 
 
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  9.  The Chair noted that notifications to the Council were not keeping up with the actual 
development of laws and regulations relating to TRIPS. He recalled that Article 63.2 was not a 
one-off requirement, b ut obliged Members to notify any new or amended laws. Therefore, he 
urged Members to complete any outstanding initial notifications and to keep up to date with 
notifications on subsequent amendments. The same applied to the Checklist of Issues on 
Enforceme nt which had been established by the Council as an element of Members' notification 
obligations.  
10.  He especially encouraged Members to notify changes made to their laws and/or regulations to 
implement the special compulsory licensing system to export medici nes that was now covered by 
the new Article 31bis of the TRIPS Agreement. At least 56 WTO Members, including many of the 
world's major exporters of medicines, had adopted implementing legislation that allows them to 
use the System as exporters and/or impor ters. This said, only 19 Members, including the European 
Union, had formally notified such measures to the TRIPS Council. Completing the notification of all 
relevant laws and regulations could assist Members in preparing for the potential use of the 
System . It would also help the Secretariat in its efforts to provide informed technical support to 
Members in this area.  
11.  The Chair  invited the Secretariat to provide an update on the development of e -TRIPS, an 
online platform for filing and consulting notificati ons and other Council documentation.  
12.  A representative of the Secretariat  briefed Members on the development of e -TRIPS.  
13.  The Council took note  of the notific ations and the statements made.  
3  REVIEW  OF NATIONAL IMPLEMEN TING LEGISLATION  
14.  The Chair recalled that the reviews of all developed and developing country Members  had 
been completed , including newly acceded ones. Given the Council’s ongoing monitoring functions, 
as envisaged in Article 68 of the TRIPS Agreement, Members should feel free to re vert to any 
matter stemming from these reviews, or to propose further reviews in future. He encouraged 
delegations to reflect on how to make the best use of this agenda item and invited them to share 
their initial views.  
15.  The Council  took note  of the inform ation provided . 
4  REVIEW OF THE PROVIS IONS OF ARTICLE 27.3 (B) 
5  RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN  THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND THE CONVENTION O N 
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY  
6  PROTECTION OF TRADIT IONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE  
16.  The Chair said that, as had already been noted during  previous meetings, WTO Members had 
seen important developments in this area over the last decade. However, they had not shared 
information on those developments with the TRIPS  Council. He believed that such information 
would enrich discussions. The Counci l had agreed on an Illustrative List of Questions 
(IP/C/W/122), which served as the basis for the review of on Article 27.3(b). However, only a 
minority of Members had provided responses; and  there had been no response or updates  since 
2003. Similar gaps w ere also apparent with regard to Members' obligation s under Article 63.2, as 
important legislative developments had not been notified to the TRIPS Council. He encouraged 
delegations to submit or update responses and to notify relevant laws and regulations to the TRIPS 
Council.   
17.   The Chair noted that there were also two long -standing procedural issues which have been 
discussed for many years:  
a. The suggestion made in November 2012 that the Secretariat update the three factual 
notes on the Council's previous d iscussions on the TRIPS and CBD and related items; these 
notes had been initially prepared in 2002 and last updated in 2006; and  
 IP/C/M/8 9 
 
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  b. The request that the CBD Secretariat be invited to brief the Council on the Nagoya Protocol 
to the CBD, initially proposed in October 2010.  
18.  The Chair reported that there had been no developments on these procedural issues, during 
the informal consultation that had taken  place the previous week . He invited delegations to share 
their sugg estions on how to make progress . 
19.  The represe ntatives of India; Ecuador ; South Africa ; Brazil ; Benin, on behalf of the LDC 
Group ; the United States ; Bangladesh ; Japan ; Switzerland ; Australia;  the Republic of Korea ; 
Canada ; China;  and Indonesia  took the floor.  
20.  The Chair encouraged Members to have further discussions  to resolve the outstanding 
procedural issues, and said that he stood ready to assist  in the consultations .  
21.  The C ouncil took note of the statements made and agree d to revert to the matters at its next 
meeting . 
7  NON-VIOLATION AND SITUAT ION COMPLAINTS  
22.  The Chair recall ed that,  at the Eleventh Ministerial Conference (MC11), Ministers had renewed 
their instruction to the TRIPS Council to continue its examination of the scope and modalities" for 
non-violation and sit uation complaints and to make recommendations to MC12".2 This was in line 
with the original mandate in Article 64.3 of the TRIPS Agreement, which required such 
recommendations to be submitted in 1999. This issue had thus been with the TRIPS Council for 
almost two decades.  
23.  At the Council's meeting in February, there had been some signs that seemed to indicate 
certain delegations' readiness to engage in a constructive discussion of scope and modalities in 
case non -violation and situation complaints were to ap ply to TRIPS. This had also been confirmed 
during the consultations that took place the previous week. Therefore, he was interested to hear 
from delegations whether they had any suggestions regarding possible ways for the Council to 
ensure a meaningful deb ate that would ultimately fulfil the Ministers' instruction to examine the 
matter, and enable the Council to prepare the ground for the adoption of recommendations to the 
Ministerial Conference envisaged for next year. He was aware of the challenge, as it required 
delegations to reconsider their well -known and longstanding positions. He relied on delegations to 
come up with concrete proposals that would permit the Council to move beyond positions of 
principle and engage substantively in the examination of p ossible scope and modalities for such 
complaints. He invited delegations to share their ideas on any new approaches for the Council to 
take this issue forward.  
24.  The representatives  of South Africa ; India; Benin, on behalf of the LDC Group;  the United 
States ; Ecuador ; Bangladesh ; Switzerland ; Brazil ; the Republic of Korea ; China ; Argentina;  and 
Canada  took the floor.  
25.  The Council took note  of the statements made and agreed  to revert to the matter  at its next 
meeting.  
8  REVIEW OF THE IMPLEM ENTATION OF THE TRIP S AGREEMENT UNDER ARTIC LE 71.1  
26.  The Chair said that Article 71.1 required the TRIPS Council to conduct a review once every 
two years. Since the TRIPS Council had not completed its initial review in 1999, there had been no 
subsequent review since.  
27.  Carrying out such a review would be very useful for Members to share information and 
experiences in implementing the TRIPS Agreement. He invited delegations to suggest how the 
TRIPS Council could take this review forward.  
28.  The Council agree d to revert to the matter at its next meeting.  
                                                
2 See Ministerial Decision in document WT/L/ 1033.  IP/C/M/8 9 
 
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  9  REVIEW OF THE APPLIC ATION OF THE PROVISI ONS OF THE SECTION O N 
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICAT IONS UNDER ARTICLE 2 4.2 
29.  The Chair 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  (GIs). The principal  tool for the 
review was  the Checklist of Questio ns (document IP/C/13 and Add.1). Since the meeting in 
February, Mexico had submitted updates to its earlier responses that had been initially submitted 
in 199 9 (circulated in document IP/C/W/117/Add.14/Rev.1).  
30.  The representative s of Mexico  and Switzerland  took the floor.  
31.  The Chair recalled that, of the 164 Members,  fewer than 50 had responded to the  Checklist. 
Many of the earlier responses were also likely to be outdated, because they had been submitted 
more than 10 years ago, although GI protection was an active area of legal and policy 
development in some Members, as well as in a number of free trade agreements (FTAs). He 
encouraged delegations to consider re sponding to or updating initial responses so that important 
developments were duly reflected in Members' contributions.  
32.  The Council  took note  of the statements made and  agreed  to revert to the matter at its next 
meeting.  
10  TECHNICAL COOPERATIO N AND CAPACITY BUILDING  
33.  The Chair said the TRIPS Council had regularly conducted annual reviews of technical 
cooperation and capacity building activities at its end of the year meeting, based on reports 
submitted by developed country Members, international organizati ons and the WTO Secretariat. 
In line with past practice, he suggested the following approach:  
a. The next review should take place at the meeting of the TRIPS Council, scheduled for 8 -9 
November  2018; 
 
b. Developed country Members were invited to submit information on their activities, 
pursuant to Article 67 of the TRIPS Agreement. Other Members who also engage in 
technical cooperation were, of course, encouraged to share information if they so wish ed; 
 
c. Intergovernmental organizations with observer status in the TRIP S Council, as well as the 
WTO Secretariat, were invited to report on their relevant activities; and  
 
d. The deadline to submit written information would be set on 12 October 2018, i.e. four 
weeks prior to the TRIPS Council meeting, in order to allow timely ci rculation before the 
meeting.  
34.  The Council so agreed . 
11  INTELLECTUAL PROPERT Y AND INNOVATION: TH E SOCIETAL V ALUE OF IP IN THE 
NEW ECONOMY,  IP IMPROVING LIVES  
35.  The Chair said that the agenda item on "IP and Innovation: The Societal Value of IP in the 
New Economy" was not new to the Council. Some Members had introduced this as the overarching 
theme for discussions in the course of this year already at the Council's meeting  in February.  
36.  The co -sponsors of this item were Australia; Canada; the European Union; Hong Kong, China; 
Japan; the Republic of Korea; Switzerland; Chinese Taipei and the United States. They had 
suggested "IP Improving Lives" as the topic for this meeting,  on the basis of a communication 
circulated in document IP/C/W/642 . 
37.  The representative s of Australia;  the European Union ; Japan ; Chinese Taipei ; Hong Kong, 
China ; the United States ; Canada ; Switzerland ; Brazil ; the Republic of Korea ; South Africa ; India; 
Norway ; New Zealand ; China ; and  the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development  
(UNCTAD ) took the floor.  IP/C/M/8 9 
 
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  38.  The Council took note  of the statements made.  
12  LDC GROUP PROPOSAL O N THE IMPLEMENTATION  OF ARTICLE 66.2 OF T HE TRIPS 
AGREEMENT (IP/C/W/64 0) 
39.  The Chair said that the Central African Republic, on behalf of the LDC Group , had requested 
the inclusion of the agenda item "LDC Group Proposal on the Implementation of Article 66.2 of the 
TRIPS Agreement". Reference had been made to an earlier communication from the LDC Group, on 
the same topic, that had already been introduced a t the Council's last meeting (circu lated in 
document IP/C/W/640).  As request ed by Bangladesh on behalf of the LDC Group, he had also 
facilitated an informal meeting between representatives from the LDC Group and developed 
country Members , which had taken place the previous week . Those initial discussions of the LDC 
Group Proposal ha d focused on the incentives needed to encourage companies to transfer 
technologies to LDCs and on the reporting mechanism. They ha d been very constructive.   
40.  As follow up to that  initial discussion, the LDC Group had also made available an illustrative 
list of incentives for consideration by Members. Printed copies of the room document RD/IP/24 had 
been made available for delegations in French and English.  
41.  The representative s of Chad, on behalf of the LDC Group ; Bangladesh ; the United States ; 
India; Norway ; New Zealand ; the European Union ; Canada ; Australia ; Switzerland ; Japan ; Brazil ; 
and Nepal  took the floor.  
42.  The Chair said that he would continue to facilitate consultations amongst Membe rs to find 
possible solutions .  
43.  Council took note  of the statements made.  
13  INTELLEC TUAL PROPERTY AND THE PUBLIC INTEREST : PROMOTING PUBLIC H EALTH 
THROUGH COMPETITION LAW AND POLICY  
44.  The Chair said that China and South Africa had initially requested the agenda item on 
Intellectual Property and the Public Interest: Promoting Public Health through Competition Law and 
Policy". It had also been cosponsored by Brazil and India. A communication had been circulated in 
document IP/C/W/643 and its addendum.  
45.  The representative s of South Africa;  Brazil ; China ; India; Indonesia ; the United States ; the 
European Union ; Switzerland ; the Republic of Korea ; Australia;  Japan ; New Zealand ; and UNCTAD  
took the  floor. 
46.  The Council took note  of the statements made.  
14  INFORMATION ON RELEV ANT DEVELOPMENTS ELS EWHERE IN THE WTO  
14.1  Dispute Settlement Consultations  
47.  The Chair said that b y means of a communication dated 23 March 2018, the United States 
had requested consultations with China regarding "Certain Measures Concerning the Protection of  
Intellectual Property Rights" ( circulated in document IP/D/38 ).  
48.  The representatives of the European Union  and China  took the floor.  
14.2  TRIPS Amendment  
49.  The Chair informed delegations that, since the last meeting, Côte d'Ivoire had deposited its 
instrument of acceptance of the Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement with the Director -
General on 7 May 2018. The amended TRIPS Agreement now applied to 125 Members.  The 
remain ing 39 Members were still operating under the 2003 waiver Decision, which was due to 
expire by the end of 2019. He encouraged those Members to expedite action.  IP/C/M/8 9 
 
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  14.3  IPR-Related Issues in Trade Policy Reviews  
50.  The Chair invited the Secretariat to provide an updat e on IP-related issues that had been 
considered in the context of individua l Members' trade policy reviews .  
51.  A representative of the  Secretariat  took the floor . 
52.  The Council took note of the statement s made.  
15  OBSERVER STATUS FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL OR GANI ZATIONS  
53.  The Chair said that there were 13 pending requests by intergovernmental organizations for 
observer status in the Council  for TRIPS .3 In the past few years, the Council had made some 
progress, in particular, by agreeing in 2017 to grant permanent observer status to African Regional 
Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO)  and the African Intellectual Property Organization  
(OAPI). It al so had agreed to continue granting ad hoc  observer status on a meeting -by-meeting 
basis to the Cooperation Council of the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) and the European Free Trade 
Association (EFTA) . He suggested that Members consider the pending requests on their individual 
merits, in particular the competence and interest that the requesting entity ha d in matters dealt 
with by the TRIPS Council.  
54.  The representatives of India; the United States ; Ecuador ; South Africa ; the Bolivarian 
Republic of Venezuela ; China , Brazil  and Bangladesh  took the floor.  
55.  The Council took note  of the statements made  and agreed  to revert to the matter at its next 
meeting.  
56.  The Chair suggested  that, since it had not been possible today to reach an agreement to grant 
permanent obser ver status to GCC and EFTA, the TRIPS Council invite these organizations to 
attend the meeting on an ad hoc  basis. This was in line with the agreement reached at the TRIPS 
Council meeting in November 2012 to grant these organizations ad hoc  observer status  on a 
meeting -by-meeting basis.  
57.  The Council  so agreed .  
16  OTHER BUSINESS  
16.1  Annual Review of the Special Compulsory Licensing System  
58.  The Chair recalled that at the meeting on 30 January 2017, when the Council took note of the 
entry into force of the amended TRIPS Agreement, Members had said this would also be the 
moment to consider in greater detail how the Special Compulsory Licensing System could be 
effectively used as a practical procurement tool to respond to public health needs. In addition, 
Members had also proposed a number of accompanying measures, including legislative advice to 
implement the mechanism into domestic law and capacity building activities.  
59.  The annual review of the System could be usefully guided by the issues that had already been 
identi fied in the Council's 2016 report on the Annual Review (circulated in document IP/C/76 ), as 
well as those listed in Annex II to the WTO Secretariat's Annual Report on its Technical 
Cooperation Activities (circulated in document IP/C/W/618 ). He planned to  consult with Members , 
in the coming months , on how to prepare for a meaningful review. He invited delegations to 
contribute to the preparation and to participate  in substantive discussions.  
60.  The Council took note  of the information provided.  
                                                
3 An up -to-date list can be found in document IP/C/W/52/Rev.13. Information provided by all 
13 intergovernmental organizations is available on the Members' website.  IP/C/M/8 9 
 
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  16.2  16th Annual Revi ew under Paragraph 2 of the Decision on the "Implementation of 
Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement"  
61.  The Chair  said that Paragraph 1 of the Decision on the Implementation of Article 66.2 of the 
TRIPS Agreement provided that developed country Members shall s ubmit reports annually on 
actions taken or planned in pursuance of their commitments under Article 66.2. For this purpose, 
developed country Members were required to provide new detailed reports every third year and, in 
the intervening years, updates to th eir most recent reports.  
62.  Developed country Members had presented detailed annual repor ts to the Council's end of 
year meetings in 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2015. In 2018 , they were therefore expected to 
submit their sixth new detailed reports on actions t aken or planned in pursuance of their 
commitments under Article 66.2. Since paragraph 2 of the Decision provided that  the Council shall 
review these  detailed  reports at the last meeting of the year, he suggest ed that developed country 
Members be requested to submit their reports by 12 October, i.e. four weeks before the meeting in 
November. This would allow timely circulation of the documents, as well as preparation for a 
meaningful discussion.  
63.   The Council so agreed. 
64.  The Chair noted that t he kind of information to be provided in the reports was specified in 
paragraph 3 of the Decision. It ha d also been considered , under the earlier agenda item on the 
LDC Proposal on the Implementation of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS  Agreement. Given the huge 
volume of materials that ha d to be processed for this exercise, Members had in the past 
considered some practical approaches to streamline their submission and management. Reporting 
Members were welcome to seek informal support a nd background information from t he Secretariat 
in this regard.  
65.  The representatives of Benin ; the European Union ; the United States ; and Bangladesh;  took 
the floor.  
66.  A representative of the Secretariat  took the floor.  
67.  The Council took note  of the statements  made.  
16.3  Other Planned Activities for the Benefit of LDCs  
68.  The Chair said that, in connection with Article 66.2, the Secretariat was preparing for the 11th 
Workshop on Technology Transfer, to be held back -to-back with the next meeting , in the afternoon 
of 7 November. The Secretariat would contact the delegations concerned to prepare for the 
Workshop.  
69.  The Council took note  of the information provided.  
16.4  Work Programme on E -Commerce  
70.  The Chair  recalled that, at  the 11th Ministerial Conference  (MC11 ), Ministers had agreed that 
the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce be continued, based on the existing mandate 
adopted by the General Council in September 1998. They had instructed the General Council to 
periodically review  the work on the basis of reports to be submitted by the relevant WTO bodies. 
For the first such review in July  2018, the Chair of the General Council, Ambassador Ihara, had 
asked him to report on the work carried out in the TRIPS Council. To prepare for t his, he had 
bilaterally discussed with some delegations whether they intended to discuss the Work Programme 
on E-Commerce at this meeting. In the  informal consultations with a small group of Members last 
week, one delegation had raised the question as to h ow the TRIPS Council could best give the 
appropriate follow -up to the Ministerial Decision to continue the Work Pr ogramme on Electronic 
Commerce. Given that there had been no request for the inclusion of an ad hoc agenda item on 
e-commerce, the Chair invited delegations to share any views or ideas on this issue under "Other 
Business".  IP/C/M/8 9 
 
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  71.  The representatives of Bangladesh , the United States , Brazil , Benin , the Bolivarian Republic of 
Venezuela  and the European Union  took the floor.  
72.  The Chair  said that  he would c onsult on how to move forward with regard to procedural 
matters . 
73.  The Council took note  of the statements made.  
__________