Minutes - TRIPS Council - View details of the intervention/statement

Ms Irene Young (Hong Kong, China)
10 FIFTEENTH ANNUAL REVIEW UNDER PARAGRAPH 2 OF THE DECISION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 66.2 OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT
209. Australia is committed to assisting least developed countries in the area of technology transfers pursuant to the Council's decision on the implementation of Article 66.2. We were pleased to present Australia's report yesterday at the workshop. It was another important opportunity to foster continuing dialogue with Members regarding technology transfer initiatives that benefit LDCs. Australia has attended these workshops since their inception in 2008. They are a useful forum for exchanging views and have positively influenced how Australia prepares our reports and shares information and we are also looking forward to further work on the eTRIPS portal for next year. 210. In this year's report IP/C/W/631/Add.1/Rev.1 we outline initiatives to promote and encourage technology transfer in a wide variety of fields. Australia recognizes that encouraging increased innovation and technology transfer to high-productivity sectors is a means of helping LDC partners create a sound and viable technological base.
The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to the matter at its next meeting.
41. The Chairperson recalled that, as provided for in the Council's Decision on the Implementation of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement (IP/C/28), developed country Members were to submit annual reports on actions taken or planned in pursuance of their commitments under Article 66.2. They were required to provide new detailed reports every third year and updates in the intervening years.

42. The fifth set of detailed annual reports under this procedure had been presented to the Council in October 2015. Last June, the Council had requested developed country Members to update their annual reports in time for the present meeting, and the Secretariat had since circulated a reminder.

43. The Council had received updates to the annual reports from Japan, Australia, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland (IP/C/W/631 and addenda). The report from the European Union and some of its individual member States, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Sweden and the United Kingdom had been received shortly before the meeting and was being circulated as an addendum to document IP/C/W/631.

44. Paragraph 2 of the Council's Decision on the Implementation of Article 66.2 explained that the annual review shall provide Members with an opportunity to pose questions in relation to the information submitted and request additional information; discuss the effectiveness of the incentives provided in promoting and encouraging technology transfer to least developed country Members in order to enable them to create a sound and viable technological base; and consider any points relating to the operation of the reporting procedure established by the Decision.

45. The Chairperson said that, since some of the information had been received only very recently, and most of it was, so far, available only in its original language, she intended to give Members a further opportunity to comment on this information at the Council's next meeting.

46. At the request of LDC Members, the Secretariat had organized annual workshops on transfer of technology under Article 66.2 back-to-back to with the Council's end-of-year meeting. The 2017 workshop had been held the previous afternoon. She thanked the Secretariat for organizing it and the delegations involved for their constructive contributions.

47. The representatives of Norway; the European Union; Australia; the United States; Japan; New Zealand; Canada; Brazil; Cambodia on behalf of the LDC Group, and Haiti took the floor.

48. The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to the matter at its next meeting.

IP/C/M/87, IP/C/M/87/Add.1