Annual report (2024) of the council for trips

1  GENERAL

1.  Since the period covered by its 2023 report^[1], the Council for TRIPS resumed and concluded its formal meeting of 30-31 October 2023 on 13 February 2024, and held formal meetings on 25‑26 April, 10 July 2024 and on 6-7 November 2024. The minutes of these meetings are found in documents _______IP/C/M/109, _IP/C/M/109/Add.1, _IP/C/M/110, _IP/C/M/110/Add.1, _IP/C/M/111 and _IP/C/M/111/Add.1, _IP/C/M/112 and _IP/C/M/112/Add.1.[2] Informal meetings were held on 29 November 2023, 30 January and 13 February 2024 5 July 2024, and on 4 November 2024.

2.  The formal and informal meetings held from November 2023 to March 2024 were chaired by Ambassador Pimchanok Pitfield (Thailand). The remaining meetings were chaired by Ambassador Sofía Boza (Chile).

3.  The meetings of the Council were open to all WTO Members, other governments with observer status in WTO bodies and certain international intergovernmental organizations granted observer status in the Council. The Cooperation Council of the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations (UN), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Bank (WB), 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 (UNAIDS) for observer status during the Council's discussions on the TRIPS Agreement and public health at that and future meetings. At its meeting in November 2012, the Council agreed to grant ad hoc observer status on a meeting-by-meeting basis to the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Pursuant to this decision, EFTA was invited to attend each formal meeting on an ad hoc basis. Decisions on requests for observer status from 13 other organizations are pending.[3]

2  NOTIFICATIONS UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT

4.  The Council took note of notifications of new or revised legislative measures made under Article 63.2 of the TRIPS Agreement. At the Council's meetings, the delegations of Argentina; Australia; Belize; Canada; Chile; China; the European Union; Hong Kong, China; Japan; the Republic of Korea; Moldova, Republic of; Myanmar; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Türkiye; Ukraine; and the United Kingdom provided further background to the notifications they had filed. To date, 139 Members have notified, pursuant to Article 63.2, all or part of their implementing legislation relating to all provisions of the Agreement. 114 Members have provided responses to the Checklist of Issues on Enforcement. During the reporting period, a number of Members updated their earlier notifications of laws and regulations, and several of them provided explanations of the significance of this new and amended legislation. 148 Members have notified contact points pursuant to Article 69, for the purposes of cooperating with each other with a view to eliminating international trade in goods infringing intellectual property rights.

5.  At the April meeting the Council took note of the Secretariat's Annual Report on Notifications and Other Information Flows[4], which presents and summarizes submission rates and identifies trends for each of the primary TRIPS transparency mechanisms. As in previous reports[5], Member‑specific information relating to each of the transparency mechanisms is provided in an Annex to the report.

3  REVIEWS OF NATIONAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS

6.  The Council began preparations for the review of the national implementing legislation of Samoa. The Chair also invited delegations to consider how to make best use of this agenda item, including by reverting to any matter stemming from previous reviews and by proposing further reviews in the future.

4  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.  Following the practice in its past meetings that delegates address these three agenda items together, the Council continued to discuss them together on the basis of contributions by Members, including as regards the patentability of life forms and the introduction of a mandatory disclosure requirement in the TRIPS Agreement. This discussion also covered the earlier suggestion that the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) be invited to brief the Council on the outcome of the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD held in Nagoya, Japan in October 2010, and the suggestion that the WTO Secretariat be requested to update the three factual notes[6] that summarized the points delegations had made in the Council's past discussions on these three agenda items. At the meeting July, Members also referred to the new WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge. The Treaty, once it enters into force, aims to establish in international law a new disclosure requirement for patent applicants whose inventions are based on genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge.

5  NON-VIOLATION AND SITUATION COMPLAINTS

8.  As mandated by the Ministerial Decision taken at the thirteenth Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi[7] in February and March 2024, the Council continued to consider the scope and modalities for the application of non‑violation and situation complaints under the TRIPS Agreement at its formal meetings on 25-26 April, 10 July and on 6-7 November 2024, including by reference to earlier communications.[8] At the formal meetings of the Council on 25-26 April, 10 July and 6‑7 November 2024 Members considered whether to invite the Secretariat to provide a factual overview of common elements in Members' positions from past interventions and submissions to help focus discussions on substantive differences.

6  REVIEW OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT UNDER ARTICLE 71

9.  At the Council's formal meetings on 25-26 April, 10 July 2024 and 6-7 November 2024 the Chair recalled that the Council was required under Article 71 to review the Agreement, having regard to the experience gained in its implementation, and that it had not discharged this obligation. The Chair continued consultations with Members and group coordinators in different settings on the possibility of restarting the review as a long-term forum for exchanging experiences on domestic implementation of TRIPS obligations in selected areas. In May 2024, the Secretariat circulated a note with information on regular review procedures followed in selected WTO bodies.[9] Further, the Chair circulated questions to Members in order to gain a better understanding of Members' expectations regarding the review process. A summary of the responses received to these questions was circulated on 28 June 2024.[10] On 8 July 2024, the Chair also circulated a note on "Common elements on format, methodology and timeline"[11] of the Article 71.1 Review, which she had drawn from consultations with Members and group coordinators. Updated versions of this note were circulated on 27 September 2024[12] and 14 October 2024.[13] At its November meeting, the Council agreed to keep this agenda item open with a view to resuming the meeting in the near future when Members might be in a position to take a decision on the launch of the review.

7  REVIEW OF THE APPLICATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE SECTION ON GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 24.2

10.  At the Council's formal meetings on 25-26 April, 10 July 2024 and on 6-7 November 2024, the Chair invited delegations that had not yet provided responses to the Checklist of Questions on the application of the TRIPS Agreement in the area of geographical indications[14] to do so. The Chair also called upon delegations that had already provided responses to provide updates, to the extent there had been any significant changes to the way they provided protection to geographical indications.

11.  In line with the Council's recommendation made in March 2010, Members were also encouraged to share information on bilateral agreements related to the protection of geographical indications into which they had entered. In this regard, in the formal meeting on 25-26 April, the United Kingdom and Japan shared that they had completed the process to formally grant GI protection to 37 British and 38 Japanese products within their respective systems.

8  REVIEW OF THE SPECIAL COMPULSORY LICENSING SYSTEM

12.  At the Council's formal meetings on 25-26 April and 10 July 2024, the Chair updated delegations on the status of acceptances of the Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement. At these meetings, the Chair encouraged Members that were yet to notify their acceptance of the Protocol to ensure that necessary measures were being taken at the domestic level in order to proceed in a timely fashion.

13.  At its formal meeting on 6-7 November, the Council took up the annual review of the functioning of the System, pursuant to paragraph 7 of the Annex to the amended TRIPS Agreement and paragraph 8 of the Decision of 30 August 2003 on the Implementation of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, respectively. The Council's report to the General Council on the operation of the System has been circulated as document _IP/C/101.

9  IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2

14.  At its formal meeting on 25-26 April 2024, the Council followed up its twenty-first annual review of developed Members' reports on their implementation of Article 66.2. Members also discussed the annual workshop on the implementation of Article 66.2, held immediately prior to the meeting.

15.  At its formal meeting on 10 July 2024, the Chair referred to the upcoming twenty-second Review of the Implementation of Article 66.2 and suggested a deadline of 16 September 2024 for developed country Members to submit new detailed reports as required under Paragraph 1 of that Decision.

16.  At its formal meeting on 6-7 November 2024, the Council took up its twenty-second annual review of developed Members' reports on their implementation of Article 66.2. For this review, the Council reviewed the new detailed reports presented by the following developed Members: Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

10  TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPACITY‑BUILDING

17.  At its formal meeting on 25-26 April, the Council followed up its annual review of technical cooperation held at its meeting in October 2023. The Secretariat took the floor to introduce the information note entitled 'WTO TRIPS Technical Assistance in 2024'[15], outlining WTO TRIPS-related technical assistance activities planned for 2024.

18.  At its formal meeting on 10 July, the Council invited developed Members to supply information on their activities pursuant to Article 67 of the TRIPS Agreement prior to the annual review of technical cooperation at its upcoming meeting on 6-7 November. Intergovernmental organizations that have observer status in the Council for TRIPS were also invited to provide information on their activities of relevance and, further, the WTO Secretariat was requested to report on its activities.

19.  The Council conducted its annual review of technical cooperation at its formal meeting on 6‑7 November, on the basis of updated information received from the following developed Members: Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, Switzerland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. Updated information was also received from the GCC, UNCTAD, WCO, WHO, WIPO, as well as from the WTO Secretariat.

11  IP AND COVID-19 and Pandemic Preparedness

20.  At its formal meetings on 13 February, 25-26 April, 10 July and 6-7 November 2024, the Council had on its agenda an item on "IP and COVID-19", under which it discussed the list entitled "COVID‑19: Measures regarding Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights" prepared by the Secretariat[16], any information communicated under paragraph 5 of the Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement[17], and any initiatives under paragraph 24 of the Ministerial Declaration on the WTO Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Preparedness for Future Pandemics (Pandemic Declaration).[18]

21.  On 13 February 2023 the Council adopted a report to the General Council on its work under Paragraphs 23-24 of the Ministerial Declaration on the WTO Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Preparedness for Future Pandemics.[19]

22.  At the Council's meeting on 25-26 April 2024, Members agreed to rename this agenda item as "IP, COVID-19 and Pandemic Preparedness" to better reflect the work being done thereunder.

12  PARAGRAPH 8 OF THE MINISTERIAL DECISION ON THE TRIPS AGREEMENT

23.  On 13 February 2024 the Council resumed discussions of an item entitled "Paragraph 8 of the Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement", held open from its formal 30-31 October 2023 meeting. Paragraph 8 of the Decision provides that Members will take a decision on the extension of the Decision to cover the production and supply of COVID-19 therapeutics and diagnostics no later than six months from its adoption. At that meeting, the Council adopted a Report to the General Council on its work under this Agenda item, indicating that discussions were exhausted, and consensus could not be reached.[20]

13  INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INNOVATION: IP AWARENESS AND CREATORS

24.  At the request of Australia; Canada; the European Union; Hong Kong, China; Japan; Korea, the Republic of; Singapore; Switzerland; Chinese Taipei; the United Kingdom; and the United States of America, the Council had on the agenda of its formal meeting on 25-26 April an item on Intellectual Property and Innovation: IP Awareness and Creators. It had before it a communication co-sponsored by these delegations.[21]

14  INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INNOVATION: IP AWARENESS AND COOPERATION

25.  At the request of the delegations of Australia; Canada; the European Union; Hong Kong, China; Japan; Korea, Republic of; New Zealand; Singapore; Switzerland; Chinese Taipei; the United Kingdom; and the United States of America, the Council had on the agenda of its formal meeting on 10 July an item on Intellectual Property and Innovation: IP Awareness and Cooperation. It had before it a communication co-sponsored by these delegations.[22]

15  INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND INNOVATION: EDUCATION ON IP

26.  At the request of Australia; Canada; Chile; the European Union; Hong Kong, China; Israel; Japan; Korea, Republic of; New Zealand; Singapore; Switzerland; Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu; the United Kingdom and the United States of America, the Council had on the agenda of its formal meeting on 6-7 November an item on Intellectual Property and Innovation: Education on IP. It had before it a communication co-sponsored by these delegations.[23]

16  INFORMATION ON RELEVANT DEVELOPMENTS ELSEWHERE IN THE WTO

27.  At the Council's formal meetings on 25-26 April, 10 July and 6-7 November 2024 the WTO Secretariat provided an overview of the wide range of trade-related measures and experiences in the field of intellectual property that had been raised by Members in recent WTO Trade Policy Reviews.

28.  At the Council's April meeting, the Chair informed Members that during the 13th Ministerial Conference, held from 26 February to 2 March 2024 in Abu Dhabi, ministers had adopted two documents related to the TRIPS Agreement, i.e. the Ministerial Decision on TRIPS Non-Violation and Situation Complaints (document _WT/L/1194); and the Abu Dhabi Ministerial Declaration (document _WT/MIN(24)/DEC).  

17  OBSERVER STATUS FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

29.  The Council continued its consideration of the pending requests for observer status from international intergovernmental organizations at the Council's formal meetings on 25-26 April, 10 July and 6-7 November 2024.

18  OTHER BUSINESS

30.  At the formal Council meeting in April, the Chair recalled that the Ministerial Decision on the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce adopted at the 13th Ministerial Conference[24] instructed the General Council to reinvigorate the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, based on the existing mandate, and to periodically review work based on reports submitted by relevant WTO bodies. She recalled that the Council for TRIPS had had discussions relating to the E-commerce Work Programme in 2019 and 2020, when a number of delegations had supported making this a standing item on the TRIPS Council's agenda. Others, however, had preferred that the topic only be taken up on the basis of proposals by Members, and she had not detected any movement of positions in this regard. The Chair informed Members that, if requested, she would report accordingly to the General Council during its review of the Work Programme.

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