H.E. Ambassador Xolelwa Mlumbi-Peter (South Africa)

Ecuador

3 IP MEASURES IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19

58.   We appreciate the Secretariat's compilation of these measures. Ecuador wishes to reiterate its commitment to the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, as well as to the flexibilities provided for in the Agreement. 59.   In this regard, and in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement, theEcuadorian domestic legislation includes a compulsory licensing regime. In order to use the flexibilities of the Agreement, various conditions must be met depending on the type of licence required. Such conditions include those relating to matters of public interest, which are consistent with our constitution. 60.   The intellectual property measures adopted by Ecuador in the context of COVID-19 include the creation of the "COVID-19 and intellectual property" infosite of the National Intellectual Rights Service (SENADI), containing publicly available information on technologies that are useful for combating the pandemic, and also a patents bulletin produced in conjunction with PROSUR (Latin American IP cooperation system). This information is included in the list of IP-related measures compiled by the Secretariat.

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

15. The Chair recalled that this agenda item had been discussed in the Council since its informal open-ended meeting on 19 June 2020 and had been on the Council's agenda at its formal meetings since then. In light of broad support for a continuation of these exchanges at the preceding meetings, the item was on the agenda to facilitate exchange of views on measures undertaken as the pandemic persists.
16. As one basis for the Council's exchange, she referred to the compilation "COVID-19: Measures Regarding Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights" that was available from the WTO website and contained a non-exhaustive list of IP-related measures taken in the context of COVID-19, compiled by the Secretariat from official sources and verified by the Members concerned. This list was updated continuously, even if the rate at which new measures are brought to our attention had slowed considerably since the last meeting. She encouraged Members to inform the Secretariat of any measures that should be included on this list, as well as any update or information on the expiry, or end of application, of such measures. She invited Members to inform the Council on their measures.
17. The representatives of Chile; Canada; the European Union; Ecuador; South Africa; China; the Russian Federation; and Indonesia took the floor.
18. The Chair proposed that, in view of the continued interest on this agenda item, the Council agree to revert to the item at its next meeting, so that the exchanges can once again take place, including on the basis of the updated Secretariat document of COVID-19 related IP measures.
19. The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to this item at its next meeting.

IP/C/M/98, IP/C/M/98/Add.1