World Trade Organization

15 INFORMATION ON RELEVANT DEVELOPMENTS ELSEWHERE IN THE WTO

590.   As in previous occasions and for Members' information, the Secretariat will provide a brief update of the issues related to intellectual property policy that have come up in the most recent Trade Policy Reviews. 591.   Since the previous TRIPS Council Meeting in March, the following five Trade Policy Reviews have taken place: Mongolia; Qatar; Tonga; Viet Nam; and the Kyrgyz Republic. During these reviews, delegations engaged in the discussions and sought further details on:  The implementation of the TRIPS Agreement;  Institutional arrangements for the administration and enforcement of intellectual property;  Copyright and related-rights regimes;  Trademark regimes;  Protection of geographical indications;  Patent regimes;  Protection of new plant varieties;  Enforcement, online and at the border;  International cooperation;  Programmes to raise awareness on the importance of the protection of intellectual property;  Bilateral cooperation agreements between intellectual property offices;  Measures taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and  Accession to, and implementation of, WIPO instruments. 592.   The Secretariat has also contributed to the mid-year G20 and WTO-wide Director-General's Monitoring Reports that are to be circulated in the coming weeks. Continuing with the current practice, the mid-year monitoring reports also include a sub-section on the specific IP-related measures to facilitate the development and dissemination of COVID-19-related health technologies, as well as measures aimed at relaxing procedural requirements and extending deadlines for administrative matters. The table containing these measures is regularly updated and available on the WTO website, as indicated under agenda item 3.

81. The Chair said that the delegation of Antigua and Barbuda had deposited its instrument of acceptance on 12 May 2021. This meant that, to date, 133 Members had accepted the TRIPS amendment. Under the General Council Decision of 10 December 2019, the period for acceptance of the Protocol had been extended until 31 December 2021. He had encouraged the remaining 31 Members who are yet to accept the Amendment to do so expeditiously.
82. He invited the Secretariat to provide the regular briefing on IP-related issues considered in the context of individual Members' trade policy reviews, and in the Director-General's Monitoring Report.
83. The representative of the Secretariat took the floor.
84. The Council took note of the information provided.