39. While thanking the WTO Members mentioned for their notifications, the representative of the United States said that, in respect of many other Members, it still remained unclear what the legal situation was with regard to the patentability of pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical products or whether Article 70.8 and 70.9 of the Agreement had been complied with. Although this point had been emphasized at various previous Council meetings, the information available from Members was still unsatisfactory and his delegation would appreciate the necessary clarifications from Members including, in particular, Bangladesh, Guatemala, Madagascar, Morocco, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Qatar, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The other point that he wished to stress again was that virtually all notifications received so far were limited to information on the establishment of a "mailbox" under Article 70.8 and not about the availability of exclusive marketing rights as required by Article 70.9. Finally, he informed the Council of developments in the disputes with Pakistan and India relating to these provisions, saying that he hoped to be in a position to notify a mutually agreed solution to the dispute with Pakistan to the Council shortly and that the panel established in the dispute with India had established a timetable for its work.
