WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/51 
4 December 2008 
 
 (08-5925) 
  
  
 
 
ANNUAL REPORT (2008) OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRIPS 
 
 
I. GENERAL 
1. Since the period covered by its 2007 report
1, the Council for TRIPS has held three formal 
meetings, on 14 March, 17 June, a nd 28 October.  The minutes of these meetings are to be found in 
documents IP/C/M/56-58.2 
2. The meeting in March was chaired by Ambassa dor Yonov Agah (Nigeria).  The meeting in 
June was chaired by Ambassador Gail Mathurin (Jamaica ), who returned to Jamaica at the end of July 
to take up new responsibilities.  The meeting in Oc tober was chaired by Ambassador Dennis Francis 
(Trinidad and Tobago). 
3. The meetings of the Council were open to all WTO Members, other governments with 
observer status in WTO bodies and certain interna tional intergovernmental organizations granted 
observer status in the Council.  The Food and Ag riculture Organization (FAO), the International 
Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Union for th e Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), 
the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and De velopment (OECD), the United Nations (UN), the 
United Nations Conference on Trade and Develo pment (UNCTAD), the World Bank, the World 
Customs Organization (WCO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) enjoy regular observer status in the TRIPS Council.  The World Health Organization (WHO) has ad hoc 
observer status in the Council.  At its meeting in  March 2002, the Council agreed to a request from the 
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNA IDS) for observer status during the Council's 
discussions on the TRIPS Agreement and public health  at that and future meetings.  Decisions on 
requests for observer status from 17 other organizations are pending.
3 
II. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE PROV ISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT 
4. The Council took note of new notifications under various provisions of the 
TRIPS Agreement.  To date, 124 Memb ers have notified, pursuant to Artic le 63.2, all or part of their 
implementing legislation relating to  all provisions of the Agreement.  Ninety-nine Members have 
provided responses to the Checklist of Issues on En forcement.  During the reporting period, some 
Members have updated their initial notifications, or  updated or supplemented their responses to the 
Checklist of Issues on Enforcement.  To date, 122 Members have notified pursuant to Article 69 
contact points for the purposes of cooperating with each  other with a view to eliminating international 
trade in goods infringing intellectual property rights.  A number of Members have updated the 
information they had earlier provided.4 
                                                      
1 Document IP/C/48. 
2 Document IP/C/M/58 to be circulated. 
3 The Organizations in question are listed in document IP/C/W/52/Rev.11. 
4 This information on contact points is contained in document IP/N/3/Rev.10 and addenda. IP/C/51 
Page 2  
 
  III. REVIEWS OF NATIONAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS 
5. During the reporting period, the Council reviewed  the legislation of Viet Nam and took note 
of the outstanding material required to complete th e pending reviews of six other Members.  It also 
made arrangements for the review of the implementing legislation of Ukraine a nd Tonga, to be held at 
the Council's first and second meetings in 2009, respectively. 
IV. TRANSITIONAL REVIEW UNDER SECTION 18 OF THE PROTOCOL ON THE 
ACCESSION OF PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA 
6. At its October meeting, the Council undertook th e seventh annual transitional review of the 
implementation by China of its WTO commitments pursuant to Section 18 of the Protocol on the 
Accession of the People's Republic of China (WT/L/ 432), and agreed that the Chair, acting on his 
own responsibility, would prepare a factual report on the review to the General Council.
5 
V. REVIEW OF THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 27.3(b);  RELATIONSHIP 
BETWEEN THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY;  AND PROTECTION OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE 
7. The Council continued its discussion of these th ree agenda items.  The Dominican Republic, 
the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (t he ACP Group) and Sri Lanka were added to the 
list of co-sponsors of a disclosure proposal circulat ed as document IP/C/W/474 (issued with the joint 
symbols WT/GC/W/564/Rev.2 and TN/C/W/41/Rev.2);  addenda 7-9 were issued to that effect. 
VI. NON-VIOLATION AND SITUATION COMPLAINTS 
8. At its March 2006 meeting, the Council had ag reed to keep the item on non-violation and 
situation complaints on the agenda as a regular item so as to allow Members who would have new 
thinking to share it, and also enable the Council to consider improved ways of organizing its work on this matter.  During the reporting period, no stat ements were made or documents submitted by 
delegations under this agenda item. 
VII. REVIEW OF IMPLEMENTATION  OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT UNDER 
ARTICLE 71 
9. No statements were made or documents subm itted by delegations unde r this agenda item. 
VIII. REVIEW OF THE APPLICATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE SECTION ON 
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 24.2 
10. At its meeting in February 2007, the Council agreed that the Chair hold further consultations 
in due course on how the Council should organize its fu ture work on the review of the application of 
the provisions of the Section on geographical indicati ons under Article 24.2.  At  its meetings in March 
and June, the Chair informed the Council that, gi ven that no representations from delegations on the 
issue had been received, further consultations had no t yet been held, but that the Chair remained ready 
to hold such consultations once the Chair sensed an active interest in pursuing the matter.  The Chair 
urged those delegations that ha d not yet provided responses to the Checklist of Questions (IP/C/13 
and Add.1) to do so, and said also that those Members that had already provided responses could 
provide updates to the extent there had been any significant changes to the way they provided 
                                                     
 
5 Document  IP/C/50.  IP/C/51 
 Page 3 
 
 
  protection to geographical indications.  At its mee ting in October, the Council had before it responses 
from Colombia to the Checklist of Questions.6 
IX. REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 8 OF THE DECISION ON THE 
IMPLEMENTATION OF PARAGRAPH 6 OF THE DOHA DECLARATION ON THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH 
11. At its meeting in October, the Council took up the annual review, pursuant to paragraph 8 of 
the "Decision on the Implementation of Paragr aph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS 
Agreement and Public Health", of the functioning of the system set out in the Decision.  The Council's 
report to the General Council on the operation of the sy stem set out in the Decision is being circulated 
as document IP/C/49. 
12. As requested by the Council, the Secretaria t periodically updated the note on the status of 
acceptances of the Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement.
7 
X. IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 
13. At its meetings in March and June, the Council followed up its fifth annual review pursuant to 
paragraph 2 of the "Decision on the Implementa tion of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement"8 that it 
had taken up at its meeting in October 2007. 
14. At its meeting in October 2008, the Council to ok up its sixth annual review of developed 
country Members' reports on their implementation of  Article 66.2.  For this review, the Council 
received updated reports on actions they had taken or planned in pursuance of their commitments 
under Article 66.2 from the following developed count ry Members:  Japan, New Zealand, Norway, 
the United States, Switzerland, Canada, the Eur opean Communities and individual member States 
(namely Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denm ark, Finland, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, 
and the United Kingdom);  as well as from Australia .  This documentation is being circulated in 
document IP/C/W/519 and addenda. 
15. As requested by the Council at its meeting in June, the Secretariat prepared a brief 
background note for the Council's October meeting setting out the reports that had so far been 
submitted under paragraph 2 of  the Decision (IP/C/W/522). 
XI. TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPACITY-BUILDING 
16. At its meeting in June, the Council invited de veloped country Members to supply information 
on their activities pursuant to Article 67 of the TRIPS Agreement prior to the annual special review of 
this matter that was held at its October meeting.  Intergovernmental organiza tions that have observer 
status in the TRIPS Council were invited to provi de information on their activities of relevance and, 
further, the WTO Secretariat was instructed to re port on its activities.  The Council received updated 
information from the following developed country Members:  Norway, Japan, New Zealand, the 
United States, Switzerland, Canada, the Europ ean Communities and individual member States 
(namely Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, De nmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, 
Hungary, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the European 
Patent Office);  as well as from Australia (being circulated in IP/C/W/517 and addenda).  Updated 
information was received also from OECD, WHO, FAO, UPOV, UNCTAD and WIPO (being circulated in IP/C/W/516 and addenda), as we ll as from the WTO Secretariat (IP/C/W/515). 
                                                     
 
6 Being circulated as document IP/C/W/117/Add.32. 
7 The latest version has been circulated as document IP/C/W/490/Rev.3. 
8 Document IP/C/28. IP/C/51 
Page 4  
 
  17. The Council continued its discussion on LDC prio rity needs for technical and financial 
cooperation.  Pursuant to paragraph 2 of the d ecision on the "Extension of the Transition Period under 
Article 66.1 for Least-Developed Country Members"
9, it received for its June meeting additional 
information on such needs from Uganda (IP/C/W/510 ) and for its October meeting from Sierra Leone 
(IP/C/W/523). 
18. For its meeting in June, the Council received a communication from Brazil entitled 
"Technical Cooperation and Capacity Building:  'Cluster' A of the Development Agenda" 
(IP/C/W/513).  At its meeting in October, the C ouncil continued its discussion of this communication. 
 
XII. OBSERVER STATUS FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL 
ORGANIZATIONS 
19. At its meeting in March, the Chair informed the Council on his consultations on the issue of 
observer status for intergovernmental organizati ons, in particular on the request from the CBD 
Secretariat.  At its meeting in June, the Council ag reed that the Chair hold further consultations on the 
request for observer status received from the CBD Secr etariat.  At its meeting in October, the Chair 
informed the Council on these further consultations.  The Council agreed that the Chair continue his 
consultations on the request for observer status received from the CBD Secretariat. 
 
__________ 
 
 
                                                      
9 Document IP/C/40.