5.43. The representative of Switzerland said that the TRIPS Agreement and the CBD were mutually supportive. Nevertheless, that relationship could be further enhanced through the inclusion of a provision on a mandatory, non-burdensome requirement to declare in patent applications the source of genetic resources and traditional knowledge on which an invention was directly based. Switzerland was convinced that such a provision in the TRIPS Agreement would work in favour of the credibility of the patent system as a whole and the acceptance of the patentability of inventions in the field of biotechnology in particular. Therefore, Switzerland was a Member of the W/52 coalition - a large group of WTO Members which had proposed modalities language for three TRIPS issues negotiated in the Doha Round.
5.44. He said that a high-level panel and roundtable on the three TRIPS issues had been organized by the W/52 coalition back-to-back with the Council's meeting in November 2012. The broad participation and attendance in that event was evidence of the importance that Members attached to those topics. Those issues were firmly established items on the negotiation table.
5.45. He supported Ecuador's proposal that the WTO Secretariat update the three compilation documents and China's proposal that WIPO inform the Council of the state of play and outlook of the related work underway in the WIPO IGC.
