417. Switzerland thanks the delegation of South Africa for introducing its submission.
418. E-Commerce is a topic Switzerland attaches much importance to. We believe that the World Trade Organization has a central role to play in shaping a legally safe and reliable international regulatory framework that is conducive - and adequately responds - to the exponential growth that we have seen in e-commerce over the last two decades.
419. My delegation agrees that the objectives of the TRIPS Agreement as set out in its Article 7, including the balance of rights and obligations, apply to intellectual property protection in both the analogue and the digital environment.
420. As in analogue business, adequate and effective IP protection and enforcement is instrumental in e-commerce, whether it concerns goods or services. Switzerland is thus happy to participate in a discussion of the Council on e-commerce from the perspective of trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights.
421. We agree that the General Council mandate must guide us in this discussion. This mandate has however, in our view, its limits. The General Council instructs the TRIPS Council to examine the e-commerce-relevant aspects of the protection of copyrights and related rights as well as of trademarks and enforcement against their infringement, which in the world of e-commerce means, above all, counterfeiting and piracy activities.
422. With its reference to new technologies and access to such technology, the General Council recognizes in its mandate that the protection and enforcement of IPRs in e-commerce matters not only for copyright and trademarks, but also for patents, utility models and designs.
