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

H.E. Ambassador Dr. Walter Werner
5   PROTECTION OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE
63.   Australia believes that the WIPO IGC is best placed, with appropriate technical expertise, to consider the important and complex issues relating to intellectual property and genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, and cultural expressions. Australia hopes WIPO Members will adopt a spirit of compromise when the issue of genetic resources is next considered in 2019. Australia will continue to be an active and constructive participant in the IGC process. 64.   Australia believes the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity are fully consistent, and that the TRIPS Agreement therefore does not need to be amended. Australia fully implements its obligations under both agreements, which we view as mutually supportive. 65.   In relation to procedural matters, Australia is open to a briefing by the CBD Secretariat on the Nagoya Protocol, and can be flexible in relation to the Secretariat updating the three factual notes.
The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to the matters at its next meeting.
14.   The Chair proposed that, following past practice, agenda items 3, 4 and 5 would be addressed together. He noted that there had been important developments in these areas in many WTO Members. However, these developments had not been shared with the Council. Particularly, there had been no response or update to the Illustrative List of Questions on Article 27.3(b) (IP/C/W/122) since 2003; and only 25 Members had responded at all. Likewise, there had been no notifications to the TRIPS Council of domestic laws that related to the protection of genetic resources and traditional knowledge. He encouraged delegations to submit responses to the Checklist or update their previous responses; as well as to notify any relevant changes in legislation. At the previous meeting, delegations had continued their discussion on two long-standing procedural issues, namely the suggestion first made in November 2012 that the Secretariat update the three factual notes on the Council's previous discussions on TRIPS/CBD and related items; and the proposal initially submitted in October 2010 that the CBD Secretariat be invited to brief the Council on the Nagoya Protocol to the CBD. He said that he had no new developments to report in this regard.
15.   The representatives of India, South Africa, Ecuador, China, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, the United States of America, Japan, Brazil, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Indonesia and Chile took the floor.
16.   The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to the matters at its next meeting.
IP/C/M/91, IP/C/M/91/Add.1, IP/C/M/91/Corr.1