The WTO TRIPS Council meets from Thursday, 15 October 2015 to Friday, 16 October 2015. The hot topics for consideration include agenda item 13 (Request from the LDC Group for an indefinite exemption from WTO IP obligations to provide patents for pharmaceutical products, agenda item 8 (non-violation and situation complaints), agenda item 7 (Review of the Paragraph 6 system) and agenda item 14 (a discussion item co-sponsored by Australia, the European Union and the United States on “Intellectual Property and Innovation: Entrepreneurialism and New Technologies).
WTO/AIR/IP/5/REV.1 5 OCTOBER 2015
SUBJECT: COUNCIL FOR TRIPS
THE NEXT MEETING OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRIPS WILL BE HELD IN THE CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD ON 15-16 OCTOBER 2015. THE MEETING WILL START AT 10 A.M. ON THURSDAY, 15 OCTOBER.
TO FACILITATE PREPARATIONS FOR THE MEETING, DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED AND CIRCULATED SINCE THE LAST MEETING OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRIPS ARE LISTED UNDER THE RELEVANT AGENDA ITEMS, ALONG WITH DOCUMENTS CONTAINING CURRENT PROPOSALS FOR CONSIDERATION.
TWO WRITTEN REQUESTS HAVE BEEN MADE FOR ADDITIONAL ITEMS: BANGLADESH ON BEHALF OF THE LDC GROUP (LISTED AS ITEM 13), AND THE UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN UNION (LISTED AS ITEM 14). SINCE THE CIRCULATION OF THE INITIAL PROPOSED AGENDA, AUSTRALIA HAS CO-SPONSORED ITEM 14. THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE THEREFORE PROPOSED FOR
THE AGENDA:
1. ELECTION OF INTERIM CHAIRPERSON
2. NOTIFICATIONS UNDER PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT
IP/N/1/TJK/C/1, IP/N/1/TJK/U/1, IP/N/1/TJK/O/1 AND IP/N/1/TJK/O/2 (TAJIKISTAN: LAW ON COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS; LAW ON COMMERCIAL SECRETS; INTRODUCTION OF AMENDMENTS AND ADDITIONS TO THE LAW ON PHARMACEUTICALS AND PHARMACEUTICAL ACTIVITIES AND ON PRODUCTION AND SAFE HANDLING OF PESTICIDES AND AGROCHEMICALS)
IP/N/1/MUS/C/2 (MAURITIUS: COPYRIGHT ACT 2014)
IP/N/1/TPKM/9, IP/N/1/TPKM/10 (CHINESE TAIPEI: ENFORCEMENT RULES OF THE TRADEMARK ACT; REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF FILING TRADEMARK APPLICATIONS AND SERVICES BY ELECTRONIC MEANS)
IP/N/1/AUS/7, IP/N/1/AUS/8, IP/N/1/AUS/9 (AUSTRALIA: COPYRIGHT AMENDMENT (ONLINE INFRINGEMENT) ACT 2015; THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWS AMENDMENT ACT 2015 (“AMENDMENT ACT”) AND ITS SCHEDULES; INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (TRIPS PROTOCOL AND OTHER MEASURES) REGULATION 2015)
3. REVIEWS OF NATIONAL IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION
IP/C/W/604/ADD.1 (UNITED STATES: FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS TO TAJIKISTAN)
4. REVIEW OF THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 27.3(B)
5. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
6. PROTECTION OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE
7. REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 8 OF THE DECISION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PARAGRAPH 6 OF THE DOHA DECLARATION ON THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH
JOB/IP/13 (DRAFT REPORT PREPARED BY THE WTO
8. NON-VIOLATION AND SITUATION COMPLAINTS
IP/C/W/607 (COMMUNICATION FROM PERU ON BEHALF OF ARGENTINA, THE PLURINATIONAL STATE OF BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, CHINA, COLOMBIA, CUBA, ECUADOR, EGYPT, INDIA, INDONESIA, KENYA, MALAYSIA, PAKISTAN, RUSSIAN FEDERATION, SRI LANKA, BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA)
IP/C/W/607/ADD.1 (AFRICAN GROUP: CO-SPONSORSHIP)
IP/C/W/385/REV.1/ADD.1 (AFRICAN GROUP: CO-SPONSORSHIP))
9. REVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT UNDER ARTICLE 71.1
10. REVIEW OF THE APPLICATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE SECTION ON GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 24.2
11. THIRTEENTH ANNUAL REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 2 OF THE DECISION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT
IP/C/W/611 (REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 – JAPAN)
IP/C/W/611/ADD.1 (REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 – NEW ZEALAND)
IP/C/W/611/ADD.2 (REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 – CANADA)
IP/C/W/611/ADD.3 (REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 – SWITZERLAND)
IP/C/W/611/ADD.4 (REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 – AUSTRALIA)
IP/C/W/611/ADD.5 (REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 – UNITED STATES)
RD/IP/7 (REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 – EUROPEAN UNION)
12. TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPACITY-BUILDING
IP/C/W/608 (NOTE PREPARED BY THE WTO SECRETARIAT)
IP/C/W/609 (INFORMATION FROM OTHER INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS – FAO)
IP/C/W/609/ADD.1 (INFORMATION FROM OTHER INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS – GCC)
IP/C/W/609/ADD.2 (INFORMATION FROM OTHER INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS – OECD)
IP/C/W/609/ADD.3 (INFORMATION FROM OTHER INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS – WCO
IP/C/W/610 (INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS – JAPAN)
IP/C/W/610/ADD.1 (INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS – NEW ZEALAND)
IP/C/W/610/ADD.2 (INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS – CANADA)
IP/C/W/610/ADD.3 (INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS – SWITZERLAND)
IP/C/W/610/ADD.4 (INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS – AUSTRALIA)
IP/C/W/610/ADD.5 (INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS – UNITED STATES)
RD/IP/6 (INFORMATION FROM MEMBERS – EUROPEAN UNION)
13. REQUEST FOR AN EXTENSION OF THE TRANSITIONAL PERIOD UNDER ARTICLE 66.1 FOR LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRY MEMBERS WITH RESPECT TO PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS AND FOR WAIVERS FROM THE OBLIGATION OF ARTICLES 70.8 AND 70.9 IP/C/W/605 (COMMUNICATION FROM BANGLADESH ON BEHALF OF THE LDC GROUP)
14. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INNOVATION: ENTREPRENEURIALISM AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES
15. INFORMATION ON RELEVANT DEVELOPMENTS ELSEWHERE IN THE WTO
16. OBSERVER STATUS FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL
17. ANNUAL REPORT ORGANIZATIONS
JOB/IP/14 (DRAFT ANNUAL REPORT PREPARED BY THE WTO SECRETARIAT)
18. OTHER BUSINESS
IT IS RECALLED THAT PARAGRAPH 19 OF THE DOHA MINISTERIAL DECLARATION PROVIDES THAT THE COUNCIL, IN UNDERTAKING THE WORK PROVIDED FOR IN THAT PARAGRAPH, SHALL BE GUIDED BY THE OBJECTIVES AND PRINCIPLES SET OUT IN ARTICLES 7 AND 8 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND SHALL TAKE FULLY INTO ACCOUNT THE DEVELOPMENT DIMENSION.
MEMBERS OF THE WTO, OTHER GOVERNMENTS WITH OBSERVER STATUS AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS WITH OBSERVER STATUS ARE REQUESTED TO INFORM THE SECRETARIAT OF THE NAMES OF THEIR REPRESENTATIVES AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
ROBERTO AZEVÊDO
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