RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE IP/C/W/33
2September 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-3427)
Council forTrade-Related Aspects
ofIntellectual Property Rights
REPORT (1996) OFTHE COUNCIL FOR TRIPS
Draft
Please findattached adraftforthereport oftheCouncil forTRIPS for1996 reflecting the
work oftheCouncil intheperiod uptoitsJuly1996 meeting. Thedraftwillneedtobeupdated to
takeaccount ofthework oftheCouncil atitsmeeting of18September 1996.IP/C/W/33
Page2
REPORT (1996) OFTHE COUNCIL FOR TRIPS
Draft
I General
1. Since theperiod covered byitslastreport1,theCouncil forTRIPS hasheld...formal meetings,
on11December 1995andon22February, 9May, 22-25 July...1996. Theminutes ofthesemeetings
aretobefound indocuments IP/C/M/5-... .Thisreport covers thisperiod, butalsocontains references
tothework donebytheCouncil forTRIPS in1995.
2. Thefirsttwoofthemeetings referred toabove were chaired byMr.Stuart Harbinson
(Hong Kong). Theremainder were chaired byAmbassador Wade Armstrong (New Zealand).
3. Meetings oftheCouncil wereopentoallWTO Members. Inaddition, government observers
toWTO bodies wereinvited. WIPO wasinvited toallmeetings, inaccordance withtherecommendation
ofthePreparatory Committee asconfirmed bytheGeneral Council. Pursuant totheinterim procedure
onobserverstatusforintergovernmentalorganizationsevolvedundertheauspicesoftheGeneralCouncil,
theFAO, theIMF, theOECD, theUNCTAD, theUnited Nations, theUPOV (International Union
fortheProtection ofNewVarieties ofPlants), theWorld Bank andtheWCO wereinvited tomeetings
oftheCouncil.
II Implementation
(i) Notifications andNotification Procedures
(a) Article 63.2
4. Atitsmeeting inNovember 1995, theCouncil adopted thefollowing decisions togiveeffect
totheobligation tonotify implementing legislation under Article 63.2: Procedures forNotification
of,andPossible Establishment ofaCommon Register of,National Laws andRegulations under
Article 63.2(document IP/C/2); Format forListing of"Other Laws andRegulations" tobeNotified
under Article 63.2(document IP/C/4); andChecklist ofIssues onEnforcement (document IP/C/5).
5. These procedures require that,asofthetimethataMember isobliged tostartapplying a
provision oftheTRIPS Agreement, thecorresponding lawsandregulations shallbenotified without
delay. Averysubstantial volume oflegislation hasbeennotified under these procedures. Asofthe
dateofthisreport, 29Members havenotified some oralloftheirimplementing legislation. Most
ofthematerial tobenotified byMembers whose legislation, intheareaofcopyright andrelated rights,
wasthesubject ofreview attheCouncil 'sJulymeeting (seeparagraph 14below) hasbeennotified;
threeothercountries havenotified someoftheirlegislation while indicating thatthisiswithout prejudice
totheirtransition period under theprovisions ofArticle 65;and10Members havenotified legislation
relating totheimplementation ofArticle 70.8and,insome cases, Article 70.9oftheTRIPS Agreement.
These notifications arecirculated intheIP/N/1/COUNTRY/- series ofdocuments.
6. AtitsNovember 1995meeting, theCouncil alsoagreed thatMembers would provide responses
toachecklist ofissues onenforcement (IP/C/5). Inrecognition ofthefactthatpreparation ofthe
responses would taketime, theprocedures require them tobesubmitted "assoonaspossible" after
1Document WT/GC/W/25, Section VIIP/C/W/33
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thetimethataMember isobliged tostartapplying theprovisions oftheTRIPS Agreement on
enforcement. Eight Members havenotified responses. These responses havebeencirculated inthe
IP/N/6/COUNTRY/- series ofdocuments. AttheJuly1996 meeting oftheCouncil, theChairman
urged theMembers concerned toprovide theirresponses soonandinanycasebefore theendof1996.
7. Thenational treatment andMFN obligations ofArticles 3,4and5oftheTRIPS Agreement
became applicable toallMembers from1January 1996. Sofar,nonotifications havebeenreceived
under Article 63.2relating specifically totheimplementation ofthese provisions, except insofaras
suchnotifications haveformed partofthecomprehensive notifications bydeveloped country Members
oftheirgeneral implementing legislation. TheCouncil hasconsidered whether theremaybetechnical
difficulties withmeeting thisnotification requirement. AttheCouncil 'sJulymeeting, aproposal was
made forasimplified procedure inthisconnection andtheCouncil agreed thatthematter betaken
upininformal consultations.
(b) Articles 1.3and3.1
8. Articles 1.3and3.1oftheTRIPS Agreement, relating tothedefinition ofbeneficiary persons
under theAgreement andtonational treatment, allow certain exceptions tothenormal rulesonthese
matters, provided thatnotifications aremade totheCouncil forTRIPS. 23Members havesubmitted
notifications under these provisions. These notifications arecontained intheIP/N/2/COUNTRY/-
series ofdocuments.
(c) Article 4(d)
9. Article 4(d)oftheTRIPS Agreement requires aMember seeking tojustify anexception to
theMFN ruleonthebasisofaninternational agreement relating totheprotection ofintellectual property
which hadentered intoforcepriortotheentryintoforceoftheWTO Agreement tonotify thatagreement
totheCouncil forTRIPS. Atthemeeting oftheCouncil inNovember 1995, theChairman drew the
attention ofMembers totheneedtomake notifications under Article 4(d)by1January 1996ifMembers
wished tohavelegalcover fromthatdateforanyexceptions toMFN treatment thattheyseektojustify
byreference totheprovisions ofArticle 4(d). Todate, 25Members havemade notifications under
thisprovision. These notifications arecontained intheIP/N/4/COUNTRY/- series ofdocuments.
10. Indiscussions attheCouncil 'smeetings ofFebruary, MayandJuly1996, some Members
expressed concern about some ofthenotifications made, inparticular thattheabsence ofsufficient
guidelines forsuchnotifications meant thatthenotifications didnotalways enable theother Members
tounderstand thespecific element ofdiscrimination thatwasbeing sought tobejustified. Asagreed
attheCouncil 'sFebruary meeting, theChairman heldinformal consultations onthismatter. Tofacilitate
theseconsultations, hecirculated aninformal background notebytheSecretariat onthedrafting history
ofArticle 4andidentifying anumber offactors thatmight berelevant toconsideration ofwhether
anotification should bemade under subparagraph (d).
(d) Article 69
11. Article 69oftheTRIPS Agreement requires Members toestablish andnotify contact points
forthepurposes ofcooperating witheachother withaviewtoeliminating international tradeingoods
infringing intellectual property rights. Procedures forsuchnotifications wereagreed bytheCouncil
inSeptember 1995. Todate,65Members havenotified contact points. Themostrecent compilation
ofthese iscontained indocument IP/N/3/Rev.2.IP/C/W/33
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(e) Notifications Under Other Provisions oftheAgreement
12. Anumber ofnotification provisions oftheBerne andRome Convention areincorporated by
reference intotheTRIPS Agreement butwithout being explicitly referred toinit.Atitsmeeting in
February 1996, theCouncil invited eachMember wishing tomake suchnotifications tomake them
totheCouncil forTRIPS, eveniftheMember inquestion hadalready made anotification under the
Berne orRome Convention inregard tothesame issue, anddrew theattention ofMembers tothe
discussion relating tothetiming ofsuchnotifications inparagraphs 16through 21ofdocument
IP/C/W/15, aSecretariat background noteonthesubject. Todate,oneMember hasmade anotification
under thisprocedure. These arecontained intheIP/N/5/COUNTRY/- series ofdocuments.
(ii) Monitoring theOperation oftheAgreement
(a) Review ofNational Laws andRegulations
13. Atitsmeeting inNovember 1995, theCouncil adopted aschedule fortheconsideration of
national implementing legislation in1996/1997 (IP/C/4). Thisprovided forlegislation intheareaof
copyright andrelated rights tobereviewed bytheCouncil inJuly1996. Following informal
consultations, theCouncil agreed atitsMay1996 meeting onprocedures fortheCouncil 'sreview of
legislation inthisarea. These procedures provided forwritten questions andreplies priortothereview
meeting, withfollow-up questions andreplies during thecourse ofthemeeting.
14. AttheCouncil 'smeeting of22-25 July1996, thelegislation intheareaofcopyright andrelated
rights of29Members wasreviewed. Therecord oftheintroductory statements made bydelegations,
thequestions puttothemandtheresponses given isbeing circulated intheIP/Q/COUNTRY/- series
ofdocuments. Atsubsequent meetings oftheCouncil, anopportunity willbegiven tofollow-up points
emerging from thereview session which delegations consider havenotbeenadequately addressed.
15. Theprocedures adopted bytheCouncil forthereview provided thatthereview would apply
tothecopyright andrelated rights legislation ofMembers obliged tocomply withtheTRIPS Agreement
under Article 65.1andofanyother Members notstillavailing themselves inrespect ofthisareaof
legislation ofanylonger transition period towhich theymaybeentitled. During thecourse ofthe
review, questions wereputtoanumber ofMembers which didnotconsider thattheyfellintoeither
ofthese categories andwhich didnotprovide answers intheCouncil 'smeeting.
16. Inaccordance withthe"schedule forconsideration ofnational implementing legislation in
1996/1997" (IP/C/3), theCouncil willreview legislation intheareas oftrademarks, geographical
indications andindustrial designs atitsmeeting scheduled for11-15 November 1996. Legislation in
theareas ofpatents, layout-designs ofintegrated circuits, undisclosed information andthecontrol of
anti-competitive practices incontractual licences isscheduled forreview inthefirsthalfof1997, and
thatintheareaofenforcement inthesecond halfof1997.
(b) Implementation ofArticle 70.8and70.9
17. Atitsmeetings inFebruary, MayandJuly1996, theCouncil considered theimplementation
ofArticle 70.8andtherelated provisions ofArticle 70.9. Atthese meetings theCouncil tooknote
ofstatements bysome Members oftheirconcern thatnotallMembers towhich theseprovisions applied
weregiving effect tothemor,intheevent thattheyhaddoneso,hadnotnotified therelevant legislation
under Article 63.2. AttheCouncil 'smeetings ofMayandJuly1996, theCouncil wasinformed of
theinitiation ofdispute settlement proceedings onthismatter byaMember withtwoother Members
(IP/D/2 andIP/D/5).IP/C/W/33
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(c) Implementation ofArticle 70.2
18. AttheCouncil 'sFebruary meeting, statements were made concerning compliance with
Article 70.2inregard tothepatent termandinrespect ofrights insound recordings. Dispute settlement
proceedings initiated inconnection withthese matters havebeennotified totheTRIPS Council in
documents IP/D/1, 3and4.
(d) Revocation ofPatents
19. AttheCouncil 'sJulymeeting, aMember stated itsunderstanding oftheTRIPS Agreement
inregard tothecircumstances under which Members could justify therevocation ofapatent (statement
subsequently circulated asdocument IP/C/W/32). Anumber ofother Members spoke onthismatter.
TheCouncil tooknoteofthestatements andagreed thatthisitembeplaced ontheagenda ofits
September meeting.
(iii) Technical Cooperation
20. Inaccordance withadecision taken bytheCouncil inNovember 1995, theChairman made
available fortheFebruary 1996 meeting oftheCouncil aninformal discussion noteoutlining and
structuring theissues which hadbeenraised intheCouncil 'svarious discussions onthesubject of
technical cooperation andidentifying possible options forcarrying forward theCouncil 'swork inthis
area(subsequently distributed asIP/C/W/21). Asaresult oftheensuing discussion, theCouncil agreed
onthefollowing:
- thattheCouncil would seektheannual updating bydeveloped country Members of
information ontheir technical cooperation activities pursuant toArticle 67ofthe
Agreement, andthatin1996 theupdating would besought intimefortheCouncil 's
meeting scheduled forSeptember 1996;
- thattheCouncil 'sSeptember 1996 meeting would haveaspecial, butnotexclusive,
focus ontheissue oftechnical cooperation;
- thattheSecretariat would prepare ananalytical summary oftheinformation ontechnical
cooperation activities already presented and,onthisbasis, consideration would begiven
towhether Members would beinvited touseacommon listofbasic headings in
presenting anoverview oftheirtechnical cooperation activities;
- thattheSecretariat would beinvited topresent asuggestion foraspecific pilotproject
foraworkshop, tobeheldinthemargins oftheCouncil meeting, thatwould permit
amore in-depth, thematic discussion ofaparticular aspect oftechnical cooperation.
21. AtitsMaymeeting, theCouncil considered aproposal forapilotproject foranin-depth
discussion ofaspecific aspect oftechnical cooperation. TheCouncil agreed thattheSecretariat should
goahead, hopefully incooperation withtheInternational Bureau oftheWIPO, toorganize aworkshop
onborder enforcement, tobeheld immediately before orafter theCouncil 'smeeting of
18September 1996. Theworkshop, organized jointly bytheWTO Secretariat andtheInternational
Bureau ofWIPO, washeldontheafternoon of17September 1996.
22. AttheCouncil 'sJulymeeting, itwasagreed thatdeveloped country Members, insubmitting
updated information ontheirtechnical cooperation activities priortotheCouncil 'sSeptember meeting,
would notify acontact pointorcontact points which could beaddressed byadeveloping country Member
seeking technical cooperation. Thecontact pointcould bethesameastheonethatthedeveloped countryIP/C/W/33
Page6
Member inquestion hadnotified under Article 69oftheAgreement, oritcould bedifferent, depending
onthestructure oftheMembers 'administrations.
(iv) Cooperation withWIPO
23. Article 68oftheTRIPS Agreement provides thattheCouncil shall, inconsultation withWIPO,
seektoestablish, within oneyearofitsfirstmeeting appropriate arrangements forcooperation with
thebodies ofthatOrganization. AtitsDecember 1995 meeting, theCouncil forTRIPS approved a
draftagreement drawn upasaresult ofconsultations between theChairman oftheCouncil forTRIPS,
assisted bytheWTO Secretariat, andtheChairman oftheWIPO Coordination Committee, assisted
bytheInternational Bureau ofWIPO. Thedraftagreement wasapproved bytheGeneral Council at
itsmeeting of13and15December 1995. Following approval bythecompetent bodies oftheWIPO
andthesignature bytheDirector 's-General ofthetwoOrganizations, theAgreement between theWorld
Intellectual Property Organization andtheWorld Trade Organization (IP/C/6) entered intoforce on
1January 1996. TheAgreement provides forcooperation inthefollowing threeareas: thenotification
of,access toandtranslation ofnational lawsandregulations; theimplementation ofArticle 6terof
theParis Convention (relating tonational emblems) forthepurposes oftheTRIPS Agreement; and
legal-technical assistance andtechnical cooperation.
24. AtitsDecember 1995 meeting, theCouncil adopted adecision ontheimplementation ofthe
obligationsundertheTRIPSAgreementstemmingfromtheincorporationoftheprovisionsofArticle6ter
oftheParis Convention 1967(IP/C/7). Thisdecision hasasitspurpose giving legaleffect under the
TRIPS Agreement totheprocedures relating totheadministration ofTRIPS obligations regarding
Article 6teroftheParisConvention thatareincorporated intheAgreement between WIPO andWTO.
III In-built Agenda
(i) Article 24.2
25. Article24.2requirestheCouncilforTRIPStokeepunderreviewtheapplicationoftheprovisions
oftheSection oftheAgreement ongeographical indications, andstates thatthefirstsuchreview shall
takeplace within twoyears oftheentry intoforce oftheWTO Agreement. AttheCouncil 'sMay
andJulymeetings, theChairman raised thequestions ofwhen andhowthisreview should beundertaken.
(ii) Article 23.4
26. Article 23.4 calls ontheCouncil forTRIPS toundertake negotiations concerning the
establishment ofamultilateral system ofnotification andregistration ofgeographical indications for
wines eligible forprotection bythose Members participating inthesystem. AttheJulymeeting of
theCouncil, anumber ofdelegations addressed thequestion ofhowandwhen thesenegotiations might
beinitiated.
(iii) Article 27.3(b)
27. Article 27.3(b) states thattheprovisions ofthissubparagraph shallbereviewed fouryears after
thedateofentry intoforceoftheWTO Agreement. AttheCouncil 'smeeting inJuly,some delegations
addressed thequestion ofwhen thiswork should beinitiated.IP/C/W/33
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(iv) Article 64.3
28. Article 64.3requires theCouncil forTRIPS toexamine, during thefiveyears from thedate
ofentry intoforce oftheWTO Agreement, thescope andmodalities forthecomplaints provided for
under subparagraphs 1(b)and1(c)ofArticle XXIII ofGATT 1994 made pursuant totheTRIPS
Agreement, andtosubmit itsrecommendations totheMinisterial Conference forapproval. No
suggestions regarding thisaspect oftheCouncil 'swork were made during thecourse of1996.
(v) Article 71.1
29. Article 71.1requires theCouncil forTRIPS toreview theimplementation oftheTRIPS
Agreement aftertheexpiration ofthetransitional period referred toinparagraph 2ofArticle 65,namely
after1January 2000.
[IV Issues, Problems andRecommendations ifany,tobeBrought totheAttention ofMinisters ]