28. 7. 86 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 189/7 
2.3.2. Paragraph 3 
The Committee approves the Commission's draft and 
because an international treaty is not expected to be 
established very soon, requests the Council on proposal 
from the Commission to make protection available to third 
country persons only in circumstances where such third 
countries ensure reciprocity towards Community Member 
States. The Committee nonetheless hopes that an inter­
national solution will be found, that will make 'national 
treatment' feasible. This requires the Commission to 
participate actively, in cooperation with the Member 
States, in the WIPO talks. 
2.4. Article 4 (formalities) 
2.4.1. Paragraph 1 
The Committee is in general against compulory regist­
ration or deposition. However, the Committee agrees that 
there is no reason why, in particular for trade policy 
reasons (e.g. vis-a-vis the United States and Japan), it 
should be easier to obtain protection (i.e. without any 
formality) in the Member States than in other countries. 
Therefore the Committee agrees that at least some Member 
States opt for such formalities. It insists however that 
compulsory registration and deposit be cheap and simple. 
Rules governing registration and deposition should 
therefore not be more than is needed for the ordinary 
recognition of the protected topography. The Committee is 
concerned in particular that the additional requirement 
which Member States may insist on for deposition of 
'material identifying, describing or exemplifying the 
topography or any combination thereof should in no 
circumstances lead to disclosure to the public of inform­
ation considered by the depositor as confidential. Any obligation to provide a 'description' would, furthermore, 
be totally impossible to respect in practice. 
2.4.2. Paragraph 3 
Divergences within the Community which, inter alia could 
flow from differences in formalities introduced in one or 
another Member State should be prohibited. The Commit­
tee endorses the draft text and insists that in no 
circumstances should barriers to trade be permitted to 
result from additional cumbersome, onerous and time-
consuming administrative, technical or legal requirements. 
2.5. Articles 5.2 and 5.3 (So-called reverse engineering) 
The Committee agrees with the Commission's explanatory 
memorandum (paragraph 28) and believes that a recital 
could bring additional clarification to these paragraphs. 
The Committee agrees with the rule that a result of an act of 
reverse engineering, being an original topography in itself, 
is protectable in itself. 
2.6. Article 6 (length of protection) 
The Committee regards the automatic protection starting 
from the moment the topography is first fixed or encoded 
as important and considers a 10-year protection period as 
an adequate minimum. 
2.7. Article 8 (marking) 
The Committee agrees that a distinctive marking for a 
semiconductor product could be provided for on an 
optional basis by Member States. However it should not be 
laid down that the only permitted mark is a 'T'. The 
Committee prefers that room be left for manoeuvre 
towards an international accepted marking symbol, which 
preferably should be a 'T'. 
Done at Brussels, 23 April 1986. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Gerd MUHR 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive amending, in view of the accession of the 
Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic, Directive 77/93/EEC on protective measures 
against the introduction into the Member States of harmful organisms of plants or plant 
products 
(86/C 189/05) 
On 24 January 1986 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under 
Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the abovementioned 
proposal. 
No C 189/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 28. 7. 86 
The Section for Agriculture, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the 
subject, adopted its opinion on 3 April 1986, in the light of the report by Mr de Tavernier. 
At its 236th plenary session (meeting of 23 April 1986), the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following opinion with no dissenting votes but with one abstention. 
1.1. The Committee endorses the Commission's pro­
posal amending Council Directive 77/93/EEC in order to: 
— extend the application of the Directive as a whole to 
Spain and Portugal, 
— extend the protection in respect of certain harmful 
organisms of general Community concern and organ­
isms of particular concern to Spain and Portugal or to 
other Member States or regions with similar ecological 
conditions. 
1.2. The Committee points out that Spain and Portugal 
will be under some time pressure to take the legislative and 
administrative steps necessary to meet the 1 July 1986 
deadline agreed with them for application of the Directive. 
2.1. The Committee would like to take this opportunity 
to reiterate a number of points raised in a previous 
Committee opinion (J), concerning the wider issues under 
discussion here. 
2.2. In particular, the Committee feels that research on 
harmful organisms and protection from them is largely 
inadequate, and that better provisions are needed. 
(!) OJ No C 25, 28. 1. 1985, p. 31. 2.2.1. A consolidated instrument would facilitate the 
implementation of this complex piece of Community 
legislaton, and would give the consumer a feeling of greater 
legal certainty. 
2.2.2. The enlargement of the Community does not 
make the problem of the tolerances contained in Annexes 
I A and II A any easier. On the one hand there is the need to 
promote free trade between the Member States, but on the 
other hand the fact remains that some Community 
countries are still free of a number of these pests and 
infecting organisms. 
3.1. With regard to the scope of Council Directive 77/ 
93/EEC, but also bearing in mind the deadline set by the 
Community for completion of the internal market, the 
Committee urges the Member States to cooperate to the 
fullest possible extent. Appropriate Community initiatives 
are needed, not only with regard to the specific content of 
this Directive, but also with respect to other related areas, 
such as the use of plant-protection products and maximum 
permitted levels for plant-protection-product residues. 
Done at Brussels, 23 April 1986. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Gerd MUHR 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Decision adopting ERASMUS: the European 
Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students 
(86/C 189/06) 
On 20 January 1986 the Council of the European Communities decided to consult the Economic 
and Social Committee, under Article 198 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic 
Community, on the abovementioned proposal. 
The Section for Social Questions, which was responsible for preparing the Committee's work on 
the matter, adopted its opinion on 10 April 1986 in the light of the report by Mr Schwarz. 
At its 236th plenary session (meeting of 23 april 1986) the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted the following opinion unanimously.