107. The Chairperson recalled that the General Council, at its meeting on 25 September 1998, had established a Work Programme on Electronic Commerce for the relevant WTO bodies, namely the Council for Trade in Services, the Council for Trade in Goods, the Council for TRIPS and the Committee for Trade and Development. In addition, the Work Programme provided that further issues could be taken up at the request of Members by any of these bodies. The General Council would conduct an interim review of progress in the implementation of the work programme by 31 March 1999. The four WTO bodies in question should report or provide information to the General Council by 30 July 1999. The Work Programme provided that, in undertaking their work, the bodies concerned should take into account the work of other intergovernmental organizations. Consideration should also be given to possible ways of obtaining information from relevant non-governmental organizations. Paragraph 4.1 of the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce provided that the Council for TRIPS shall examine and report on the intellectual property issues arising in connection with electronic commerce, including issues concerning the protection and enforcement of copyright and related rights; the protection and enforcement of trademarks; and new technologies and access to technology. He had held informal consultations on how the TRIPS Council should approach the issues referred to in this paragraph of the Work Programme. However, before reporting on these consultations, he invited the representative of WIPO to provide information regarding WIPO's programme of work in relation to electronic commerce.
