WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/W/522 
22 October 2008 
 
 (08-5076) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights  
 
 
 
SUBMISSIONS UNDER ARTICLE 66.2  OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT 
 
Note by the Secretariat  
 
 
 
   
  
  
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. At its meeting of 17 June 2008, the Council for TRIPS requested the Secretariat to prepare a 
brief background note setting out the reports that have  so far been submitted under the Decision of the 
Council for TRIPS on Implementation of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement.  The purpose of this 
note is to respond to this request. 
2. Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement requir es developed country Members to provide 
incentives to enterprises and ins titutions in their territories for the purpose of promoting and 
encouraging technology transfer to least developed c ountry Members in order to enable them to create 
a sound and viable technological base. 
3. At the meeting of the TRIPS Council on 1- 2 December 1998, the delegation of Haiti 
requested information from developed country Memb ers on how Article 66.2 was being implemented, 
and the Council agreed that this question be circul ated in an informal document of the TRIPS Council 
to all Members and that developed country Members be invited to supply information in response to 
this question.
1 
4. In its Decision on Implementation-Related I ssues and Concerns, adopted on 14 November 
2001, the Ministerial Conference reaffirmed that  the provisions of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS 
Agreement are mandatory, and instructed the TRI PS Council to put in place a mechanism for ensuring 
the monitoring and full implementation of the obligati ons in question.  To this end, developed country 
Members were to submit prior to the end of 2002, de tailed reports on the functioning in practice of the 
incentives provided to their enterprises for the tr ansfer of technology in pursuance of their 
commitments under Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreemen t.  These submissions were to be the subject 
of a review in the TRIPS Council and info rmation to be updated by Members annually.2 
                                                      
1 Document IP/C/M/21. 
2 Paragraph 11.2 of the Decision of the Ministerial Conference on Implementation-Related Issues and 
Concerns in document WT/MIN(01)/17. This document has been prepa red under the Secretariat's own 
responsibility and without prejudice to the positions of Members 
and to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  IP/C/W/522 
Page 2  
 
 
  5. Having regard to the instructions of the Mini sterial Conference, the TRIPS Council adopted a 
Decision on Implementation of Article 66.2 of  the TRIPS Agreement on 20 February 2003.
3  T h e  
Decision establishes a mechanism for ensuring the monitoring and full implementation of the 
obligations in Article 66.2.  Paragraph 1 of th e Decision provides that developed country Members 
shall submit annually reports on actions taken or planned in pursuance of their commitments under 
Article 66.2.  To this end, they are to provide new detailed reports every third year and, in the 
intervening years, to provide updates to their most  recent reports.  These reports are to be submitted 
prior to the last Council meeting scheduled for the year in question.  Moreover, paragraph 2 of the 
Decision provides that the submissions shall be revi ewed by the Council at its end of year meeting 
each year. 
II. SUBMISSIONS UNDER THE DECISION ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 
66.2 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT 
6. The following reports have been submitted pursuant to the Decision on Implementation of 
Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement since 2003: 
1. First Set of Detailed Reports in 2003 
Canada     IP/C/W/412/Add.7 
Czech Republic   IP/C/W/412/Add.1 European Communities and individual member Stat es (namely France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, 
Spain and Sweden)   IP/C/W/412/Add.5 Japan    IP/C/W/412 
New Zealand   IP/C/W/412/Add.6 
Norway    IP/C/W/412/Add.4 Switzerland   IP/C/W/412/Add.2 United States    IP/C/W/412/Add.3  2. First Set of Updates to the First Detailed Reports in 2004 
 
Canada    IP/C/W/431Add.4 European Communities and individual member States (namely the Czech Republic, Denmark, 
Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, the Slovak Republic, Spain and Sweden) 
    IP/C/W/431Add.3 and Suppl.1 
Japan    IP/C/W/431Add.1 
New Zealand   IP/C/W/431 Norway    IP/C/W/431/Add.6 Switzerland   IP/C/W/431/Add.2 United States   IP/C/W/431/Add.5 
 
3. Second Set of Updates to the First Detailed Reports in 2005 
 
Australia   IP/C/W/452/Add.7 Canada    IP/C/W/452/Add.2 European Communities and individual member States (namely the Czech Republic, Denmark, 
Finland, France, Germany, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom) 
    IP/C/W/452/Add.6 
                                                     
 
3 Document IP/C/28.  IP/C/W/522 
 Page 3 
 
 
  Japan    IP/C/W/452 
New Zealand   IP/C/W/452/Add.3 Norway    IP/C/W/452/Add.4 Switzerland   IP/C/W/452/Add.1 United States   IP/C/W/452/Add.5 
 
4. Second Set of Detailed Reports in 2006 
 
Australia   IP/C/W/480/Add.2 Canada    IP/C/W/480/Add.7 
European Communities and individual member States  (namely Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, 
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Slova k Republic, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom)
    IP/C/W/480/Add.5 Japan    IP/C/W/480 New Zealand   IP/C/W/480/Add.1 
Norway    IP/C/W/480/Add.4 
Switzerland   IP/C/W/480/Add.3 United States   IP/C/W/480/Add.6  
5. First Set of Updates to the Second Detailed Reports in 2007 
 Australia   IP/C/W/497/Add.7 
Canada    IP/C/W/497/Add.6 European Communities and individual member States  (namely Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, 
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain and Sweden)     IP/C/W/497/Add.2 
Japan    IP/C/W/497/Add.1 
New Zealand   IP/C/W/497/Add.3 Norway    IP/C/W/497/Add.4 Switzerland   IP/C/W/497 United States   IP/C/W/497/Add.5  6. Second set of Updates to the Second Detailed Reports in 2008 (as of 20 October 2008) 
Canada    IP/C/W/519/Add.5
∗ 
Japan    IP/C/W/519 
New Zealand   IP/C/W/519/Add.1 Norway    IP/C/W/519/Add.2 United States   IP/C/W/519/Add.3 
Switzerland   IP/C/W/519/Add.4
* 
 
III. SUBMISSIONS FROM 1999 TO 2002 
1. 2002 Set of Submissions 
7. The following reports were submitted pursuan t to paragraph 11.2. of the Decision on 
Implementation-Related Issues and Concerns, adopted by the Ministerial Conference on 14 November 
2001: 
                                                      
∗ To be circulated. IP/C/W/522 
Page 4  
 
 
  Australia   IP/C/W/388/Add.2 
Canada    IP/C/W/388 Czech Republic   IP/C/W/388/Add.8 European Communities and individual member States  (namely Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, 
the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom) 
    IP/C/W/388/Add.6 New Zealand   IP/C/W/388/Add.1 Norway    IP/C/W/388/Add.5 Japan    IP/C/W/388/Add.4 
Switzerland   IP/C/W/388/Add.3 
United States   IP/C/W/388/Add.7  
2. 1999 Set of Submissions 
8. The following reports were submitted in res ponse to the request for information by the 
delegation of Haiti at the TRIPS Counc il's meeting of 1-2 December 1998: 
Australia   IP/C/W/132/Add.3 
Canada    IP/C/W/132/Add.7 European Communities and individual member States (namely Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, 
France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands,  Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom) 
    IP/C/W/132/Add.4 and Suppl.1 and 2 
Japan    IP/C/W/132/Add.2 
New Zealand   IP/C/W/132 Norway    IP/C/W/132/Add.6 Switzerland   IP/C/W/132/Add.5 United States   IP/C/W/132/Add.1 and Suppl.1 
 
 
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