ANNUAL REPORT (2025) OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRIPS

1  GENERAL

1.  Since the period covered by its 2024 Annual Report^[1], the Council for TRIPS held formal meetings on 20-21 March 2025, 26-27 June 2025 and 10-11 November 2025. The minutes of these meetings are found in documents ______IP/C/M/113, _IP/C/M/113/Add.1, _IP/C/M/114, _IP/C/M/114/Add.1, __IP/C/M/115 and _IP/C/M/115/Add.1__.[2]

2.  The meetings were chaired by Mme Emmanuelle Ivanov-Durand, the Permanent Representative of France to the World Trade Organization. As the previous Chair, Ambassador Sofía Boza (Chile), was unavailable to chair the last meeting of her term, Mme Ivanov-Durand exceptionally took over the Council's chairmanship at the beginning of the 20-21 March 2025 meeting.

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). Following this decision, EFTA was invited to attend the formal meetings in March and June 2025 on an ad hoc basis. At the meeting in June and November 2025, the Council did not invite EFTA to participate as an ad hoc observer. A Member suggested that ad hoc observer status be extended to certain other organizations whose requests for observer status are pending. Decisions on requests for observer status from 14 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 Australia; Bangladesh; Canada; the European Union; Hong Kong, China; India; the Republic of Korea; Mauritius; Norway; New Zealand; Samoa; Chinese Taipei; 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. 150 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 March 2025 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. Following the receipt of Samoa's revised legislative notifications, at its formal meeting on 10‑11 November 2025 the Council agreed to initiate the review of Samoa's national TRIPS implementing legislation with a view to holding discussions at the second meeting in 2026.

7.  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  IP, COVID-19 AND PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS

8.  At its formal meetings on 20-21 March 2025, 26-27 June 2025 and 10-11 November 2025, the Council discussed under this agenda item initiatives under paragraph 24 of the Ministerial Declaration on the WTO Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Preparedness for Future Pandemics (Pandemic Declaration).[6] The Chair also noted that while the Council had agreed in July 2022 to discuss under this agenda item information that any Member might communicate to the Council under paragraph 5 of the Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement[7], the Council had not in fact received any such information to date.

9.  The Council also discussed the list entitled "COVID‑19: Measures regarding Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights" prepared by the Secretariat.[8] In the Council meeting in June 2025, the Chair noted that she, as well as previous chairs, had encouraged Members at each meeting to inform the Secretariat of measures that should be included on the list, as well as any update or information on the end of application of such measures. However, as the need for such updates had not arisen for some time, she suggested, and the Council agreed, that the list would no longer be formally mentioned under this agenda item.

5  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

10.  Following the practice in its past meetings, the Council continued to address these three agenda items 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[9] that summarized the points delegations had made in the Council's past discussions on these three agenda items. Members also referred to the new WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge. The Treaty, once it enters into force, will establish in international law a disclosure requirement for patent applicants whose inventions are based on genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge.

11.  The delegations of India, Brazil and Peru circulated a communication entitled "Reviving Discussions on the Relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and Convention on Biological Diversity" and this communication was discussed in the June and November 2025 meetings of the Council.[10]

6  NON-VIOLATION AND SITUATION COMPLAINTS

12.  As mandated by the Ministerial Decision taken at the 13th Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi[11] 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 20-21 March 2025, 26-27 June 2025 and 10-11 November 2025, including by reference to an earlier communication.[12] At its November meeting, the Council agreed to keep the agenda item open with a view to reconvening the meeting once work was sufficiently mature for Members to agree on a recommendation to the 14th Ministerial Conference.

7  REVIEW OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT UNDER ARTICLE 71.1

13.  At the Council's formal meetings on 20-21 March 2025, 26-27 June 2025 and 10‑11 November 2025 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 resuming discussions on the proposed modalities for the mandated review, for exchanging experiences on the implementation of the TRIPS Agreement, including on the basis of the proposal "Review of the Implementation of the TRIPS Agreement: Article 71.1".[13] On the "Proposed Process for the first Review of the Implementation of the TRIPS Agreement under Article 71.1"[14] that had been circulated in November 2024, consensus could not be reached. While some delegations referred to it in their interventions, no discussion of this document took place during the Council's formal meetings in June and November. At its November meeting, the Council agreed to keep the agenda item open. Some Members did not consider this issue to be ripe for consideration by Ministers at the 14th Ministerial Conference.  

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

14.  At the Council's formal meetings on 20-21 March 2025, 26-27 June 2025 and 10‑11 November 2025, 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[15] 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.

15.  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.

9  REVIEW OF THE SPECIAL COMPULSORY LICENSING SYSTEM

16.  At the Council's formal meetings on 20-21 March 2025, 26-27 June 2025 and 10‑11 November 2025, the Chair updated delegations on the status of acceptances of the Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement. At these meetings, the Chair encouraged Members that had not notified their acceptance of the Protocol to ensure that the necessary measures were being taken at the domestic level in order to proceed in a timely fashion. At its meeting in November, the Council agreed to recommend extending the acceptance period until 31 December 2027, or such later date as may be decided by the Ministerial Conference and submitted a draft decision to the General Council for adoption.[16]

17.  At its formal meeting on 10-11 November 2025, 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/104.

10  IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2

18.  At its formal meeting on 20-21 March 2025, the Council followed up on the twenty-second 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, which had been held immediately prior to the meeting.

19.  At its formal meeting on 26-27 June 2025, the Chair referred to the upcoming twenty-third Review of the Implementation of Article 66.2 and suggested a deadline of 16 September 2025 for developed country Members to submit updates to their most recent reports as required under Paragraph 1 of that Decision.

20.  At its formal meeting on 10-11 November 2025, the Council took up its twenty-third annual review of developed Members' reports on their implementation of Article 66.2. For this review, the Council reviewed the first set of updates to the eighth set of 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.[17]

11  TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND CAPACITY‑BUILDING

21.  At its formal meeting on 20-21 March 2025, the Council followed up its annual review of technical cooperation held at its meeting in November 2024. The Secretariat took the floor to provide an update on the Secretariat's Technical Assistance activities covering the period from November 2024 to March 2025.

22.  At its formal meeting on 26-27 June 2025, the Council invited developed Members to provide information on their activities pursuant to Article 67 of the TRIPS Agreement prior to the annual review of technical cooperation at its meeting on 10-11 November 2025. Intergovernmental organizations that have observer status in the Council for TRIPS were also invited to provide information on their activities of relevance and the WTO Secretariat was also requested to report on its activities.

23.  The Council conducted its annual review of technical cooperation at its formal meeting on 10‑11 November 2025, on the basis of updated information received from the following developed Members: Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.[18] Updated information was also received from the GCC, UNCTAD, WCO, WHO, WIPO, as well as from the WTO Secretariat.[19]

12  INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND Innovation: TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER CASE STUDIES AND "LESSONS LEARNED"

24.  At the request of Australia; Canada; the European Union; Israel; Japan; Korea, the 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 meetings on 20-21 March 2025 and 26‑27 June 2025 an item on Intellectual Property and Innovation: Technology Transfer Case Studies. These delegations co-sponsored a communication in relation to this item that was circulated on 10 March 2025.[20]

25.  At the request of Australia; the European Union; Israel; Japan; Korea, the 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 10-11 November 2025 an item on Intellectual Property and Innovation: Technology Transfer Case Studies and "Lessons Learned". These delegations co-sponsored a communication in relation to this item that was circulated on 30 October 2025.[21]

13  INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND THE PUBLIC INTEREST

26.  At the request of Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, and India, the Council had on the agenda of its formal meeting on 20-21 March an item on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest. These delegations had also submitted a communication entitled "Intellectual Property for Development Group – Side Event: 30 Years of TRIPS Expectations and Concerns of Developing Countries".[22]

14  THE "AFTER-LIFE" OF PATENTS

27.  At the request of Colombia, the Council had on the agenda of its formal meeting on 26-27 June an item on the "After-Life" of Patents. Colombia submitted a communication in relation to this item that was circulated on 16 June 2025.[23]

15  TRADE-RELATED FIGURES OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AT THE WTO: THE CASE OF IP ROYALTIES AT THE GLOBAL LEVEL

28.  At the request of Colombia, the Council had on the agenda of its formal meeting on 26-27 June an item on Trade-Related Figures of Intellectual Property at the WTO: the Case of IP Royalties at the Global Level. Colombia submitted a communication in relation to this item that was circulated on 16 June 2025.[24]

16  EMPOWERING WOMEN IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

29.  At the request of South Africa, the Council had on the agenda of its formal meeting on 10‑11 November 2025 an item on Empowering Women in Intellectual Property. South Africa submitted a communication in relation to this item that was circulated on 21 October 2025.[25]

17  TECHNICAL, INFORMAL AND IN-DEPTH DISCUSSIONS ON VARIOUS ISSUES

30.  At the request of Brazil, Colombia, India and South Africa, the Council had on the agenda of its formal meeting on 10-11 November 2025 an item on Technical, Informal and In-depth Discussions on Various Issues. These delegations co-sponsored a communication in relation to this item that was circulated on 30 October 2025.[26]

18  IP AND THE WORK PROGRAMME ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE - DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE (DPI) AS A DRIVER FOR DIGITAL INCLUSION AND COMPETITIVE E‑COMMERCE

31.  At the request of India, the Council had on the agenda of its formal meeting on 10‑11 November 2025 an item on IP and the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce - Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) as a Driver for Digital Inclusion and Competitive E-Commerce. India submitted a communication in relation to this item that was circulated on 31 October 2025.[27]

19  INFORMATION ON RELEVANT DEVELOPMENTS ELSEWHERE IN THE WTO

32.  At the Council's formal meetings on 20-21 March 2025, 26-27 June 2025 and 10‑11 November 2025 the WTO Secretariat provided an overview of the IP-related issues considered in the context of individual Members' trade policy reviews, and in the Director-General's Monitoring Report. The Chair also shared information on matters relevant to the work of the TRIPS Council addressed in other WTO bodies, including the Dispute Settlement Body and the Committee on Trade and Development Special Session.

20  OBSERVER STATUS FOR INTERNATIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS

33.  The Council continued its consideration of the pending requests for observer status from international intergovernmental organizations at the Council's formal meetings on 20‑21 March 2025, 26-27 June 2025 and 10-11 November 2025.

21  OTHER BUSINESS

34.  At the formal Council meetings in March and June 2025, the Chair recalled that the Ministerial Decision on the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce adopted at the 13^th Ministerial Conference[28] 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, 2020 and 2023 when some 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.

35.  At the meetings in June and November 2025, the Chair informed Members that the Council was using the eAgenda[29] tool on a trial basis.

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