20. The representative of the United States, referring to the Panel and Appellate Body Reports in dispute IP/D/5 (WT/DS50), said that, in the light of the findings of the Panel and of the Appellate Body in these first Panel and Appellate Body Reports in a dispute under the TRIPS Agreement, the obligations under Article 70.8 and 70.9 deserved careful and focused attention by the TRIPS Council. She said that it was now three years ago that these obligations had come into effect and that, since then, the WTO Members subject to these obligations were required to be in full compliance. As indicated at the last Council meeting, the United States had distributed questions regarding these obligations to several Members prior to the present meeting. She hoped that answers would be received soon and that these questions and answers would be helpful in clarifying the situation regarding Article 70.8 and 70.9 for the Members concerned. Furthermore, her delegation strongly supported the proposal of the European Communities to conduct a review of the legislation implementing Article 70.8 and 70.9 in Members currently subject to these obligations. Such a review should be conducted as early as possible and not later than the end of 1998.
