WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/44 
4 December 2006 
 
 (06-5829) 
 
  
ANNUAL REPORT (2006) OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRIPS  
 
 
I. GENERAL 
1. Since the period covered by its 2005 report
1, the Council for TRIPS reconvened 
on 6 December 2005 its end-of-year meeting, whic h had earlier met on 25, 26 and 28 October and 
on 29 November to continue the consideration of agenda item "Decision on the Implementation of 
Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declara tion on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health".  The discussions at 
the reconvened meeting are reflected in the mi nutes of the end-of-year meeting in document 
IP/C/M49.  In the year 2006, the Council has held three formal meetings, on 14-15 March;  14-15 June;  and 25-26 October.  The minutes of these meetings are to be found in documents 
IP/C/M/50-52.
2 
2. The reconvened meeting in December 2005 and th e meeting in March 2006 were chaired by 
Ambassador Hyuck Choi (Korea), and the subseque nt meetings by Ambassador C. Trevor Clarke 
(Barbados). 
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.  At its meeting in 
June 2006, the Council took note of  a letter received from the Secretariat of the Convention on 
Biological Diversity (CBD) drawing attention to a decision of the CBD Conference of Parties to 
renew the CBD Secretariat's request for observer st atus.  Decisions on requests for observer status 
from the CBD Secretariat and 16 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, 126 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-six Members have 
provided responses to the Checklist of Issues on Enfo rcement.  During the reporting period, a number 
of Members notified amendments to laws and regulations they had notified earlier, including 
measures to give effect to the General Council Decisions of 30 August 2003 (WT/L/540 and Corr.1) 
                                                      
1 Document IP/C/38 and Add.1. 
2 Document IP/C/M/52 to be circulated. 
3 The Organizations in question are listed in document IP/C/W/52/Rev.11. IP/C/44 
Page 2  
 
  and 6 December 2005 (WT/L/641) on TRIPS and pub lic health.  Some Members have updated their 
initial notifications, or update d or supplemented their responses to the Checklist of Issues on 
Enforcement.
4  To date, 122 Members have notified pursu ant 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.5 
III. REVIEWS OF NATIONAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS 
5. During the reporting period, the Council complete d its reviews of the legislation of Congo 
and Qatar, and took note of the outstanding material required to complete the pending reviews of eight 
other Members.  It also made arrangements fo r the review of the implementing legislation of 
Saudi Arabia, to be held at the Council's first meeting in 2007. 
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 the fifth annual transitional review of the 
implementation by China of its WTO commitments pursuant to Section 18 of the Protocol on the 
Accession of People's Republic of China (WT/L/432), and agreed that the Chair, acting on his own 
responsibility, would prepare a factual repor t on the review to the General Council.6 
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 Council received a 
number of new submissions relating to them:  for its March meeting, communications from the 
United States relating to the three agenda ite ms (IP/C/W/469), and from Cuba, Ecuador, India, 
Sri Lanka and Thailand responding to an earlie r communication from Switzerland circulated in 
document IP/C/W/466 (IP/C/W/470);  for its June  meeting, communications from Japan on "The 
Patent System and Genetic Resources" (IP/C/W/472), from Norway on "Amending the 
TRIPS Agreement to Introduce an Obligation to Disclose the Origin of Genetic Resources and 
Traditional Knowledge in Patent  Applications" (IP/C/W/473, WT /GC/W/566 and TN/C/W/42) and 
from Brazil, China, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Indi a, Pakistan, Peru, South Africa, Thailand and 
Tanzania on a disclosure proposal (IP/C/W/474 a nd Add.1-2, WT/GC/W/564/ Rev.2 and Add.1-2 and 
TN/C/W/41/Rev.2 and Add.1-2);  and for its Oc tober meeting a communication from Peru that 
provides comments in relation an earlier communication from the United States in document 
IP/C/W/469 (being circulated as IP/C/W/484).  The Secretariat updated for the March meeting, as requested by the Council, its summary notes of issues  raised and points made in the work on the three 
items at hand (IP/C/W/368/Rev.1 and Corr.1, 369/Rev. 1 and 370/Rev.1).  At its meeting in March, the 
Council agreed to maintain its present method of work on these matters at that stage, and to keep this 
                                                     
 
4 At its meeting in November 1995, the Council adopted procedures for notification of laws and 
regulations under Article 63.2.  These procedures require th at, as of the time that a Member is obliged to start 
applying a provision of the TRIPS Ag reement, the corresponding laws and regulations shall be notified without 
delay;  any subsequent amendments of a Member's laws and regulations shall be notified without delay after 
their entry into force (IP/C/2).  At that meeting, the Council also agreed that Members would provide responses 
to a Checklist of Issues on Enforcement (IP/C/5).  Notifi cations of laws and regulations are being circulated in 
the IP/N/1/COUNTRY/- series of documents, and response s to the Checklist of Issu es on Enforcement in the 
IP/N/6/COUNTRY/- series of documents. 
5 These contact points are contained in  document IP/N/3/Rev.9 and addenda. 
6 The report has been circulated as document IP/C/43.  IP/C/44 
 Page 3 
 
 
  method under review to assess whether any change  might prove appropriate in the light of 
developments. 
VI. NON-VIOLATION AND SITUATION COMPLAINTS 
8. At its March meeting, the Council agreed 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 im proved ways of organizing its work on this matter. 
VII. SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT PROPOSALS REFERRED TO THE 
COUNCIL 
9. As regards the special and differential treat ment proposals referred to it, the Council 
authorized, at its meeting in March, the Chair to  report to the General Council that the situation 
remained as reported in July 2005 in document IP/C/ 36, that the TRIPS Council reiterated its earlier 
recommendation (reproduced in that document), and that no further action was otherwise needed.  
VIII.  REVIEW OF IMPLEMENTATION OF  THE TRIPS AGREEMENT UNDER 
ARTICLE 71 
10. No statements were made or documents subm itted by delegations unde r this agenda item. 
IX. REVIEW OF THE APPLICATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE SECTION ON 
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 24.2 
11. The Council continued its discussion under this ag enda item.  As agreed by the Council, the 
Chair held consultations on how the Council should orga nize its future work on this agenda item.  No 
documents were submitted by delegations. 
X. PARAGRAPH 6 OF THE DOHA DECLARATION ON THE TRIPS AGREEMENT 
AND PUBLIC HEALTH 
12. At its reconvened meeting in December 2005, the Council decided to approve a proposal for a 
decision on an amendment to the TRIPS Agreement (JOB(05)/318 and Corr.1) for forwarding to the 
General Council.
7  It also approved the forwarding, along with  the draft decision, of the text of two 
statements (JOB(05)/319 and Corr.1, and JOB(05)/320)  to be made by the Chairman of the General 
Council prior to the adoption of the proposal by the General Council.8 
XI. REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 8 OF THE DECISION ON THE 
IMPLEMENTATION OF PARAGRAPH 6 OF THE DOHA DECLARATION ON THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH 
13. At its meeting in October 2006, the Council took up the annual review, pursuant to 
paragraph 8 of the Decision on the Implementation of Paragraph 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 C ouncil on the operation of the system set out in the Decision has been 
circulated as document IP/C/42.  The Council agreed to request the Secretariat to prepare a note on the status of acceptances of the Protocol Amendi ng the TRIPS Agreement, which would be updated 
for each meeting of the Council. 
                                                     
 
7 Subsequently circulated in document IP/C/41. 
8 The subsequent General Council Decision of 6 December 2005 on "Amendment of the 
TRIPS Agreement" can be found in document WT/L/641. IP/C/44 
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  XII. IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 
14. At its meeting in March, the Council followe d up its third annual review pursuant to 
paragraph 2 of the "Decision on the Implementation of  Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement" that it 
had taken up at its meeting in October 2005, an d took note of a further report from Australia 
(IP/C/W/452/Add.7). 
15. At its meeting in October, the Council took up its  fourth annual review of developed country 
Members' reports on their implementation of Article  66.2.  For this review, the Council received new 
detailed reports on actions they had taken or pl anned in pursuance of their commitments under 
Article 66.2 from the following developed country Members:  Japan;  New Zealand;  Australia;  
Switzerland;  Norway;  and the European Communities and individual member States (Austria, 
Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland,  France, Germany, the Slovak Republic, Spain, 
Sweden and the United Kingdom);  the United States;   and Canada.  This documentation is being 
circulated in document IP/C/W/480 and addenda. 
XIII.  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.  Other Members who also make available technical 
cooperation were encouraged to share informat ion on these activities if they so wished.  
Intergovernmental organizations that have observer status in the TRIPS Council were also invited to 
provide information on their activitie s of relevance and, further, the WTO Secretariat was instructed 
to report on its activities.  The Council received updated information from the following developed 
country Members:  Switzerland;  Japan;  Ne w Zealand;  Norway;  Australia;  the 
European Communities and individual member  States and agencies (namely Austria, the 
Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,  Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, 
the United Kingdom and the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market);  the United States;  and Canada (being circulated in IP/C/W/476 and adde nda).  Updated information was received also from 
the OECD, UPOV, UNCTAD, WIPO and WHO (being circulated in IP/C/W/478 and addenda), as 
well as the WTO Secretariat (IP/C/W/477). 
XIV.  ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
17. At the request of the European Communities, at  each of its meetings the Council had on its 
agenda an item on "Enforcement of Intell ectual Property Rights – Communication from the 
European Communities".  For its meeting in March, the Council received two communications from 
the European Communities (IP/C/W/468 and 471), a nd for its October meeting, a communication 
from the European Commun ities, Japan, Switzerland and the United States (IP/C/W/485).  Different 
views were expressed on the appropriateness of dealing with the issues raised in those 
communications in the Council, as well as on whethe r the item should be on the Council's agenda. 
 
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