23. The representative of the United States informed the Council that his Government had initiated the formal dispute settlement process with the Government of India with regard to the issue of compliance with the provisions of Articles 70.8 and 70.9 (document IP/D/5). In this regard, he said that, although India had notified to the Council for TRIPS certain administrative provisions, it had not made the changes to its legislative régime necessary to implement the substantive obligations of Articles 70.8 and 70.9. He looked forward to working with the Government of India to resolve this dispute in a prompt and satisfactory manner. He also brought to the attention of the Council that his Government had requested the formation of a panel under the dispute settlement process initiated in May with the Government of Pakistan (document WT/DS36/3). On 30 April 1996, the United States had requested formal consultations with Pakistan with regard to its failure either to provide patent protection for pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical products or to comply with the obligations of Articles 70.8 and 70.9 (document IP/D/2). The United States had engaged in consultations with Pakistan with the aim of resolving this dispute, but the consultations had not produced a mutually satisfactory or acceptable solution. His delegation continued to monitor closely what other countries were doing and had taken careful note of the information provided by the Chairman. He was pleased to hear that the Government of Morocco had provided an address for the filing of patent applications under Article 70.8, but wondered what provisions Morocco had put in place under Article 70.9. Finally, he noted that there were still several other countries that, in his delegation's view, were in breach of their obligations under the provisions of Article 70.8 and/or 70.9, including Guatemala, Kuwait, Madagascar, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Qatar, Tunisia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. His delegation would welcome any indication of when these Members would be making a notification to the Council for TRIPS explaining the measures which they had implemented to comply with the provisions in question. He stressed that these notifications should also indicate how the availability of exclusive marketing rights as required by Article 70.9 had been secured. Most of the notifications made to date did not include this information.
