1. The Chair invited the Secretariat to update delegations on the notifications under various provisions of the TRIPS Agreement that had been submitted since the meeting in October 2022 and said she would then offer the floor to delegations wishing to introduce their notifications.
2. A representative of the Secretariat said that the Council had received the following notifications, under Article 63.2 of the TRIPS Agreement:
a. A number of the member States of the European Union had notified a significant number of primary and secondary domestic laws relating to the substance and the administration of their respective IP systems. These EU member States were:
i. Ireland, which had notified a significant number of laws and regulations relating to the substance and the administration of its IP system;
ii. Portugal, which had notified laws on the collective management of copyright and related rights, on copyright exceptions for the benefit of blind people, on the monitoring, control and removal of protected content in a digital environment, and on formality requirements relating to applications for industrial property grants;
iii. Slovenia, which had notified consolidated versions of its Copyright and related Rights Act and of its Act regulating Collective Management of these Rights; and
iv. the Czech Republic, which had notified an amended Act on Geographical Indications, and an amendment to its Copyright Act.
b. Ukraine had notified an amended Copyright Act, and an Act to harmonize legislation in the area of Plant Varieties and Seed Production with EU legislation.
c. The Republic of Moldova had notified a law on Copyright and Related Rights updating and modernizing its copyright legislation and implementing a number of international treaties.
d. Montenegro had notified amendments to its Law on Trademarks.
e. Korea had notified a number of amendments and consolidated versions including its Patent Act, its Trademark Act, its Design Protection Act, its Utility Model Act and its Copyright Act, as well as related Enforcement Decrees.
f. Costa Rica had notified a number of laws and regulations relating inter alia to Copyright and related rights, on Patents, on Trademarks, on Protection of Topographies for Integrated Circuits, and on IP Enforcement, as well as the creation of an interinstitutional commission for IP protection.
g. Japan had notified consolidated versions of the Patent Act, its Trademark Act, and the Designs Act.
h. Hong Kong, China had notified its Copyright Amendment Ordinance which covers a number of areas, mainly to strengthen copyright protection in the digital environment.
3. Montenegro and Türkiye had notified a contact point for IP enforcement under Article 69.
4. The Chair invited delegations that had provided new or revised notifications to the Council to introduce those notifications. The representatives of the European Union; Japan; Ukraine; Moldova, Republic of; Costa Rica; Hong Kong, China; Korea, Republic of; the Russian Federation and the United States of America took the floor.
5. The Chair thanked delegations for the information provided on their notifications and welcomed the information provided by the Secretariat. She noted that Article 63.2 of the TRIPS Agreement was not a one-off requirement, but a core element of the TRIPS transparency arrangements and a central part of the Council's substantive work. It obliged Members to notify any new or amended laws in the area of TRIPS. She urged Members to complete any outstanding initial notifications and to keep up to date with notifications on subsequent amendments. The same applied to the Checklist of Issues on Enforcement which was established by the Council as an element of Members' notification obligations.
6. The Chair also noted that the Article 63.2 obligation included the notification of legislative changes made to implement the special compulsory licensing system to export medicines covered by Article 31bis of the TRIPS Agreement. A more comprehensive picture of how the special compulsory licensing system had been implemented in Members' domestic law could also help Members' on-going discussions about how this particular TRIPS flexibility worked in practice, and about the causes of any potential delays or hindrances in using the system. Notifying these laws would also help the Secretariat in its efforts to provide informed technical support to Members in this area.
7. The Chair recalled that all these notifications could be made through the e-TRIPS Submission System. E-TRIPS not only facilitated the submission of information by Members – it also permitted digital access, consultation, and analysis of this information through the e-TRIPS Gateway, an easytouse interface to search and display information related to the TRIPS Council. The Secretariat was available to respond to any question in that regard.
8. The Council took note of the notifications and the statements made.
