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

Mr. S. Harbinson (Hong Kong)
G Arrangements for Cooperation with WIPO
59. The Chairman informed the Council of the consultations he had held, as agreed by the Council at its meeting on 9 March 1995, on the issue of cooperation with WIPO. One question concerned the areas in which the cooperation of WIPO might be sought by the Council for TRIPS. The feedback he had received had confirmed that the Members of the Council wished to be clear as to the areas and nature of cooperation to be sought from WIPO before entering into consultations. The focus should be on the specific possible areas of cooperation. In this regard, his consultations had confirmed that there were two areas where, at least at this stage, there was a wide belief that cooperation might be desirable. One was the question of notification procedures, in particular in relation to national laws and regulations and TRIPS obligations stemming from Article 6ter of the Paris Convention. The other area was that of technical cooperation. In this regard, he hoped to have more detailed advice from delegations as to the sort of cooperation between the two Organizations which might need to be taken up in the consultations with WIPO. As agreed, a general discussion of the question of technical cooperation would be held in the autumn in this regard. Another aspect of the issue of cooperation with WIPO concerned the way in which the consultations between the two Organizations might be organized. In this regard, the feedback that he had been receiving suggested that there was a general view that it would be a good idea to approach WIPO sooner rather than later, although he had also sensed that it would be premature to set up a formal process for this purpose. He suggested, in the light of his consultations on this issue, that the Council might authorize him as its Chairman and with the assistance of the Secretariat to enter into informal contacts with WIPO, to inform them of the state of thinking in the Council, in particular with regard to the types of cooperation it might suggest. He would of course keep Members informed of any reaction from WIPO.
IP/C/M/2