. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/W/462/Add.1 
1 February 2006 
 
 (06-0439) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English 
 
 
 
FOLLOW-UP REQUEST FOR INFORMATION PURSUANT TO  
ARTICLE 63.3 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT 
 
Communication from Switzerland  
 
Addendum  
  
 The following communication addressed to the De legation of China, dated 24 January 2006, 
is being circulated at the request of the Delega tion of Switzerland.  It follows up the response from 
China (IP/C/W/466) to a request from Switzerland fo r information pursuant to Article 63.3 of the 
TRIPS Agreement (IP/C/W/462). 
_______________ 
 
1. I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 22 December 2005 concerning 
Switzerland's request of 25 October 2005 (IP/C /W/462) under Art. 63.3 of the WTO/TRIPS 
Agreement submitted to China to receive specific additional information regarding enforcement of 
intellectual property rights in China.  We have taken note of your comments and questions concerning 
Switzerland's request and I am pleased to prov ide in the following the clarifications sought. 
2. Switzerland's request to China under the Transpar ency provisions of the TRIPS Agreement is 
based on the entire paragraph 3 of Article 63 and thus  not necessarily limited to either of its sentences. 
3. Sentence 1 of Article 63.3, in conjunction with Article 63.1, enables WTO Members to 
request information from another Member regarding fi nal judicial decisions or administrative rulings 
of general application.  Similarly to China, Sw itzerland is not a common law country, but is following 
the civil law tradition.  Article 63 of the TRIPS Ag reement being applicable to all WTO Members, we 
interpret Article 63.1 and 3 as referring to final judi cial decisions in the sense of decisions which have 
become legally binding because they have either not b een appealed or were rendered by the court of 
final instance. 
4. Sentence 2 of Article 63.3, for its part, enables a WTO Member to request from another 
Member detailed information on, among others, specific judicial decisions in the area of intellectual property rights which affect its rights under the TRIPS Agreement. 
5. The decisions referred to by Switzerland in its request to China were reported by China on its 
own accord in its transitional review documents
1 (pursuant to Section 18 of the Protocol on the 
Accession of the People's Republic of China to the WT O) as evidence of its fight against domestic IP 
infringement and more specifically of its enforcem ent efforts in accordance with its obligations under 
Part III of the TRIPS Agreement. 
                                                      
1 WTO Documents: IP/C/34, paras. 6, 52-55, 62, and 75-76 (December 9, 2004); IP/C/31, paras. 49, 
54, 56 (December 10, 200 3); IP/Q/CHN/1, secti on I.C (Dec. 10, 2002). IP/C/W/462/Add.1 
Page 2  
 
  6.  Articles 41 to 61 of the TRIPS Agreement cont ain detailed rights and obligations of WTO 
Members with respect to an efficient enforcement regime.  Switzerland feels, therefore, that it has 
good reason to believe that the im plementation and application of the relevant TRIPS enforcement 
provisions in the cases and decisions reported by Chin a in the context of its  transitional review 
mechanism concern and affect its rights under the TR IPS Agreement as a WTO Member.  It is on this 
background that Switzerland submitted its Article 63. 3 request to receive more specific information 
from China regarding the cases and judicial de cisions in which Chinese intellectual property 
legislation was applied in practice.   
7. The Swiss request specifies particular points of  interest and what information it requests 
China to provide in regard to Chinese IPR enfo rcement and the cases reported. We would like to 
recall that the Swiss request does not require this information for each and every case reported in the 
transitional review process but that the answers and information requested from China be illustrated 
with examples from specific cases as identified in that process. 
8. Finally, in your letter, you raise the question as to whether Article 63.3 contains only the right 
of Members to request such information or also th e respective obligation of the Member to which the 
request is addressed to provide this information.  Switzerland has always held the view that WTO 
Agreements are a set of rules which establish mutual rights and obligations for their Members. 
9. Considering the key importance of effective en forcement for adequate  intellectual property 
protection, my Government hopes that we can wo rk in good faith and in a cooperative spirit with 
China to help us gain a better understanding of these issues, especially of how China addresses them 
not only in its implementing legislation but also in  everyday practice.  Switzerland is convinced that 
such better understanding will contribut e to further enhancing our bilate ral trade relations with China. 
10. It is my sincere hope that this letter provides the clarifications necessary for China to respond 
to the questions raised in our request and woul d like to reassure you once more of our full 
collaboration and assistance if any further questions should arise.  My Government is looking forward 
to receiving the response of China at its earliest convenience. 
 
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