37. The Chair recalled that under the TRIPS Council decision of February 2003, developed country Members were to submit annual reports on actions taken or planned in pursuance of their commitments under Article 66.2. They were to provide new detailed reports every third year and updates in the intervening years. In June 2018, the Council had requested developed country Members to submit the sixth set of new reports in time for the present meeting, and the Secretariat had since circulated a reminder.
38. The Council had received new detailed reports from the United States of America, Switzerland, Australia, Japan and Canada. Since the circulation of the revised agenda, Norway had also submitted its new report. This documentation had been circulated in document IP/C/W/646 and addenda. In addition, shortly before the meeting, the Council had received the reports from New Zealand, as well as from the European Union and some of its member States, namely Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Advance copies of both reports had been made available as room documents on documents online and would also be circulated as addenda to document IP/C/W/646.
39. Paragraph 2 of the Council's Decision on the Implementation of Article 66.2 explained that the annual review was to 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.
40. Some of the information by developed country Members had been received only very recently, and most of it is, so far, available only in its original language. Members would have an opportunity to make further comments at the next meeting of the Council. This would allow Members to study the information recently circulated and any additional information subsequently received. For the same reasons, the Article 66.2 Workshop that would had been held before that meeting had been postponed. The plan was to convene the Workshop on 11-12 February 2019, backto-back with the Council's next meeting in February 2019.
41. The Chair informed Members that, the day before, there had been an informal small group meeting and ideas had been exchanged with regard to the organization of the forthcoming Article 66.2 Workshop.
42. The representatives of the European Union; Canada; Japan; Australia; the United States of America; Norway; the Central African Republic, on behalf of the LDC Group; and Cambodia took the floor.
43. The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to the matter at its next meeting.
