WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/38 
21 November 2005 
 (05-5485) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights  
 
 
 
ANNUAL REPORT (2005) OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRIPS  
 
  I. GENERAL 
1. Since the period covered by its 2004 report
1, the Council for TRIPS has held three formal 
meetings, on 8-9 and 31 March;  14- 15 June;  and 25, 26 and 28 October.  It agreed to suspend its 
October meeting to keep three agenda items ope n for further consideration and discussion, as 
indicated below.  The minutes of these meetings  are to be found in documents IP/C/M/47-49.2 
2. The meeting in March 2005 was chaired by Mr . Tony Miller (Hong Kong, China) and the 
subsequent meetings by Amb assador Hyuck Choi (Korea). 
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 June 
meeting, the Council received a request for observer status from the ACP Group and, at its October meeting, it took note of a letter received from the S outh Centre reiterating its request of November 
1998 for observer status.  Decisions on requests fro m the ACP Group, the South Centre and 15 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, 125 Member s 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.4  T o  d a t e ,  
                                                      
1 Document IP/C/32. 
2 Document IP/C/M/49 to be circulated. 
3 The Organizations in question are listed in document IP/C/W/52/Rev.11. 
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 IP/C/38 
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121 Members have notified pursuant to Article 69 co ntact points for the purposes of cooperating with 
each other with a view to eliminating internati onal trade in goods infringi ng intellectual property 
rights.
5 
III. REVIEW OF NATIONAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS 
5. During the reporting period, the Council completed its reviews of the legislation of Armenia, 
Egypt, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Mace donia and Zimbabwe, and took note of the new 
responses received from and the outstanding material required to complete the pending reviews of ten 
other Members. 
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 fourth 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 brief, factual report 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 these agenda items:  for its March meeting, communications 
from Peru focusing on its experience in fighting bi opiracy through its National Commission against 
Biopiracy (IP/C/W/441);  from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, 
India, Peru and Thailand entitled "The Relatio nship between the TRIPS Agreement and the 
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Protection of Traditional Knowledge – Elements 
of the Obligation to Disclose Evidence of Bene fit-Sharing under the Relevant National Regime" 
(IP/C/W/442);  and from Brazil and India entitled "Technical Observations on Issues Raised in a 
Communication by the United States (IP/C/W/434)" (IP/C/W/443);  for its June meeting, 
communications from Switzerland containing questions on proposals submitted by other Members relating to the three agenda items (IP/C/W/466);  fro m Peru on its position in relation to the disclosure 
of origin and legal provenance (IP/C/W/447);  and from the United States relating to the three agenda 
items (IP/C/W/449);  and for its October meeting communications from Peru containing a case study (IP/C/W/458), and from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, C uba, India and Pakistan containing technical 
observations on an earlier US submission circulat ed as document IP/C/W/449 (IP/C/W/459).  At its 
October meeting, the Council agreed to keep th ese agenda items open in order to allow further 
consultation on how it should report on these matters. 
VI. REVIEW OF IMPLEMENTATION OF  THE TRIPS AGREEMENT UNDER 
ARTICLE 71 
8. No statements were made or documents subm itted by delegations unde r this agenda item. 
                                                                                                                                                                    
 
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.8 and addenda. 
6 This will be circulated in document IP/C/39.  IP/C/38 
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VII. REVIEW OF THE APPLICATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE SECTION ON 
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 24.2 
9. The Council continued its discussion under this agenda item.  No documents were submitted 
by delegations. 
VIII.  PARAGRAPH 6 OF THE DOHA DECLARATION ON THE TRIPS AGREEMENT 
AND PUBLIC HEALTH 
10. The Council continued its work pursuant to paragraph 11 of the "Decision on the 
Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRI PS Agreement and Public Health" 
(WT/L/540 and Corr.1) on the preparation of an amendment to the TRIPS Agreement to replace the 
provisions of the waiver Decision. 
11. At its meeting in March 2005, the Council had before it communications from the African 
Group entitled "Legal Arguments to Support the A frican Group Proposal on the Implementation of 
Paragraph 11 of the 30 August 2003 Decision" (IP/C/W/440 and Corr.1);  from the delegation of 
Barbados, on behalf of the Gr oup of Commonwealth Developing C ountries, containing a "Report on 
the Workshop on the WTO Decision on Access to Medi cines at Affordable Prices for Countries with 
no or Insufficient Manufacturing Capacities", that wa s organized by the Commonwealth Secretariat in 
cooperation with the ACP Geneva Office and the Ag ency for International Trade Information and 
Cooperation (AITIC) in Geneva from 12 to 14 October 2004 (IP/C/W/439);  and from the United 
States entitled "Comments on Implementation of the August 30, 2003 Agreemen t (Solution) on the 
TRIPS Agreement and Public Health" (IP/C/W/444). 
12. On 9 March 2005, the Council agreed to suspe nd its meeting so as to allow the Chair to 
continue his consultations with a view to mee ting the March 2005 time-frame agreed by the Council 
in June 2004.  At the request of some delegati ons, the Chair reconvened the meeting on 31 March to 
provide an opportunity for delegations to make st atements on TRIPS and public health.  The Council 
agreed that the Chair continue his consultations  in the period until the General Council meeting of 
26 May with a view to enabling the General Council to take action at that time.  At that meeting, the 
Chair of the TRIPS Council reported to the General Council that the question of the preparation of an 
amendment continued to be actively under consider ation in the TRIPS Council but some more time 
was necessary before the Council was to be in position to make a recommendation. 
13. At the Council's meeting in June, Canada and India introduced the notifications of their 
legislation implementing the Decision, and Norway recalled the information it had provided on its 
implementation.  Korea informed the Council of a revi sion of its patent law, that was to enter into 
force on 1 December 2005, and the European Communities and Switzerland referred to the 
preparatory work with respect to amendments to their legislation to give effect to the provisions of the 
Decision.  At that meeting, the Council agreed that the Chair continue his consultations on the 
preparation of an amendment with a view to agr eeing on a recommendation as soon as possible.  He 
informed the General Council of these arrangements at its meeting of 27 July.  Furthermore, he 
reported to the General Council on his further c onsultations at its meeting of 19 October. 
14. At the its meeting in October, the Council agreed, in the light of the current situation, to keep 
open this agenda item.  The Chair said that he hoped to be able to reconvene the Council once the 
further work was sufficiently matu re, with a view to the Council agreeing on a recommendation to the 
General Council in good time in advance of  the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference. IP/C/38 
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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 
15. At its meeting in October 2005, 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.  It had 
before it a communication from Canada providing a descr iption of the functioning of Canada's system 
with respect to the implementation of the Decisi on (IP/C/W/464).  The Council's report to the General 
Council on the operation of the system set out in the Decision has been circulated as document IP/C/37. 
X. IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 
16. At its first two meetings in 2005, the Council followed up its second annual review pursuant 
to paragraph 2 of the "Decision on the Implementati on of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement" that 
it had taken up at its meeting in December 2004, and took note of a further report from Norway 
(IP/C/W/431/Add.6) and a supplement to the ear lier report from the European Communities, 
providing information on the relevant activ ities of the European Investment Bank 
(IP/C/W/431/Add.3/Suppl.1). 
17. At its meeting in October 2005, the Council t ook up its third annual review of developed 
country Members' reports on their implementation of  Article 66.2.  For this review, the Council 
received updated information from the following devel oped country Members:  Japan;  Switzerland;  
Canada;  New Zealand;  the European Communities and certain member States  (the Czech Republic, 
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom);  
as well as from Norway;  and the United States.  The documentation is being circulated in document IP/C/W/452 and addenda. 
XI. TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPACITY-BUILDING 
18. 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;  Australia;  Japan;  Canada;  New Zealand;  Norway;  the European 
Communities and certain member States (Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, 
Germany, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the Unite d Kingdom);  as well as from the United States 
(being circulated in IP/C/W/445 and addenda).  Updated information was received also from the 
OECD, WHO, UPOV, and WIPO (being circulated in IP/C/W/456 and addenda), as well as the WTO 
Secretariat (IP/C/W/454). 
XII. TRANSITION PERIOD FOR LEAST-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES;  REQUESTS FOR 
EXTENSION 
19. At its meeting in June, the Council agreed to  extend the Maldives' transition period under 
Article 66.1 of the TRIPS Agreement until 20 December 2007 (IP/C/35).  IP/C/38 
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20. At its meeting in October, the Council had be fore it a communication from the delegation of 
Zambia on behalf of the least-developed country Members of the WTO containing a request for an 
extension of the transitional period under Article  66.1 of the TRIPS Agreement (IP/C/W/475).  The 
Council agreed to keep this agenda item open so as to allow time for further consultations on the 
matter. 
XIII.  NON-VIOLATION AND SITUATION COMPLAINTS 
21. At its March and June meetings, the Council continued its discussion of non-violation and 
situation complaints, inter alia , on the basis of an updated Secretariat summary note on the points 
raised in the Council's substantive discussions of this matter so far (IP/C/W/349/Rev.1).  At its 
October meeting, it considered in particular wh at kind of recommendation it could provide to the 
Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.  In concluding the discussion, the Chair noted that the Council 
was not in a position to make any recommendations at th is stage.  This meant that further work might 
need to take place in the period leading up to the Mi nisterial Conference.  He indicated that he would 
report accordingly to the Chairman of the General Council. 
XIV.  SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT PROPOSALS REFERRED TO THE 
COUNCIL 
22. At its meeting in June, the Council agreed to authorize the Chair to report to the General 
Council that the TRIPS Council reiterated its recomm endation concerning the text that was forwarded 
to the General Council for appropriate action by th e Chair of the TRIPS Council in August 2003, and 
to provide a brief factual report on what has happened with regard to the other proposals.  The Chair's 
report was circulated as document IP/C/36.  At its meeting in October, the Council authorized the 
Chair to report, if requested to do so, that the s ituation remained as describ ed in the aforementioned 
report. 
XV. ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS – 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
23. At its meetings in June and October, the Council discussed a communication from the 
European Communities on "Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights" (IP/C/W/448). 
XVI.  REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 63.3 OF THE 
AGREEMENT 
24. At its meeting in October, the Council had be fore it, under "Other business", requests from 
the United States, Switzerland and Japan asking China to provide certain inform ation pertaining to the 
subject-matter of the Agreement pursuant to its Article 63.3 (IP/C/W/461-463, respectively). 
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