BRAZIL – MEASURES AFFECTING PATENT PROTECTION
Document: Notification of Mutually Agreed Solution
Date: 19 July 2001
Document codes: WT/DS199/4; WT/DS199/1; G/L/454; IP/D/23
Complainant: Mexico
Respondent: Venezuela
Dispute stage: Consultation
Agreements cited: Art. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 16  Anti-dumpingArt. VI  GATT 1994

BRAZIL – MEASURES AFFECTING PATENT PROTECTION
Notification of Mutually Agreed Solution
The following communication, dated 5 July 2001, from the Permanent Mission of the
United States and the Permanent Mission of Brazil to the Chairman of the Dispute Settlement Body, is
circulated pursuant to Article 3.6 of the DSU.
The United States of America and Brazil wish to notify the Dispute Settlement Body that they
have reached a mutually satisfactory solution to the matter raised by the Government of the
United States in (Brazil - Measures Affecting Patent Protection), dated 8 June 2000.
Please find attached the text of the exchange of letters of 19 and 25 June 2001 on this subject.
We would ask you to circulate this notification and attachment to the relevant Councils and
Committees, as well as to the Dispute Settlement Body.
Mr. Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim
Ambassador and Permanent Representative
Permanent Mission of Brazil
Ms Linnet F. Deily
Ambassador and Permanent Representative
Permanent Mission of the United States of
America

Letter from Mr. José Alfredo Graça Lima, Under-Secretary-General for Integration, Economic and
External Trade Matters to Ambassador Peter Allgeier, Deputy USTR, dated 19 June 2001
1. I refer to the panel initiated by your Government questioning the compatibility of Article 68
of Brazil's Industrial Property Law (Law 9.279/96) with the TRIPS Agreement. In the view of Brazil,
as you are aware, Article 68 is fully compatible with the TRIPS Agreement.
2. Nevertheless, in the spirit of the proposal made by Ambassador Robert Zoellick to
Minister Celso Lafer in their recent meeting in Geneva for a common endeavor to find a mutually
satisfactory solution for the dispute, and following up on our recent conversation about the same
subject in Washington D.C., on May 24, I would like to convey to you the following proposal.
3. Should the U.S. withdraw the WTO panel agai nst Brazil concerning the interpretation of
Article 68, the Brazilian Government would agree, in the event it deems necessary to apply Article 68
to grant compulsory license on patents held by th e U.S. companies, to hold prior talks on the matter
with the U.S. Government. These talks would be held within the scope of the U.S. - Brazil
Consultative Mechanism, in a special session scheduled to discuss the subject.
4. I look forward to receiving your response to this proposal.
Letter from Mr. Peter F. Allgeier, Executive Office of the President, Deputy United States Trade
Representative to Mr. José Alfredo Graça Lima, Under-Secretary-General for Integration, Economic
and External Trade Matters, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brazil, dated 25 June 2001
Thank you for your letter, which referred to the panel initiated by the United States regarding
the consistency of Article 68 of Brazil's Industrial Property Law (Law 9.279/96) with the TRIPS
Agreement.
As Ambassador Zoellick mentioned during his m eeting with Minister Celso Lafer, we are
interested in finding a mutually satisfactory solution to this dispute. Your letter conveyed a proposal
that should lead to such a solution. I am pleased to report that my government will agree to terminate
the WTO panel proceeding without prejudice concerning the interpretation of Article 68, based on
your government's commitment to hold prior talks w ith the United States with sufficient advance
notice to permit constructive discussions in the context of a special session of the US - Brazil
Consultative Mechanism, should Brazil deem it necessary to apply Article 68 to grant a compulsory
license on patents held by U.S. companies. While we had real concerns regarding the potential use of
Article 68 of Brazil's Industrial Property Law, we note that this provision has never been used to grant
a compulsory license. In addition, we would expect Brazil not to proceed with further dispute
settlement action regarding sections 204 and 209 of the U.S. patent law.
As Ambassador Zoellick noted during his meeting with Minister Lafer, the United States'
concerns were never directed at your government's bold and effective program to combat HIV/AIDS.
Our ability to find a mutually satisfactory soluti on to this WTO dispute will allow our conversation
regarding this scourge to turn to our shared goal of defeating the HIV/AIDS virus.
We will make the necessary arrangements to notify the WTO Secretariat of our decision as
soon as possible.