WTO members address TRIPS implementation review, discuss pandemic preparedness

Under Article 71.1 of the TRIPS Agreement, the TRIPS Council is required to conduct a review of the implementation of the Agreement after two years and at periodic intervals thereafter. However, the initial review in 1999 was never completed and no other review has subsequently been initiated. After members begun considering relaunching the review and following extensive consultations, the Chair of the Council, Ambassador Sofía Boza of Chile, shared with members a first set of common elements on the format, methodology and timeline for the review.

Under her own responsibility, she proposed a process guided by the structure of the Agreement,  following the sections on individual IP rights in Part II of the Agreement, while also considering the provisions in Parts I, III and IV related to the individual IP right under review. After a first trial period, members would then evaluate the modalities for the rest of the review and agree any necessary changes before moving forward. The review would mainly involve input from members, who would provide information on their implementation of the sections under review, including their experiences, challenges and best practices.

The review would take place mainly in informal meetings, usually scheduled back-to-back with formal Council meetings. If necessary, further informal and other meetings may be scheduled, including thematic sessions that could include external stakeholders.

Ambassador Boza noted that the process should ensure a reasonable and manageable frequency of meetings, while at the same time facilitate capital officials' participation. The aim is for the review to be concluded with an objective report adopted by the TRIPS Council.

Overall, delegations appreciated progress made, noting that they have now a more detailed and concrete picture of the proposed review process. However, they stressed that there are still a number of open questions – particularly on the timeline and the scope of the review – for which some textual suggestions were still being considered by delegations and in capitals.

Ambassador Boza welcomed the "serious engagement" by members and shared her impression that there continues to be momentum towards starting the review very soon. She underlined the willingness shown by delegations to address outstanding questions and move forward. Members  supported the Chair's suggestion to keep this agenda item open so that the formal meeting can resume in a few weeks if a concrete outcome is feasible.

IP and innovation

The Council discussed a paper titled “Intellectual Property and Innovation: Education on IP", submitted by the “Friends of IP and Innovation” including Australia; Canada; Chile; the European Union; Hong Kong, China; Israel; Japan; the Republic of Korea; Singapore; Switzerland; Chinese Taipei; the United Kingdom; and the United States.

Introduced by the European Union, the paper invites members to discuss policies, programmes, good practices and challenges of incorporating knowledge about IP into various levels and types of education. These discussions should encompass, among other things, the level of education and how to best include IP in curricula. Members are also invited to discuss which fields of study - for example, business, engineering or arts - could most benefit from deeper IP knowledge.

Members took the floor to share information about successful IP education programmes and initiatives as well as available online tools, resources and platforms. They also provided examples of how to effectively integrate intellectual property (IP) education into curricula and the importance of focusing on the best design and implementation strategies.

Enhancing IP education through strong cooperation among public authorities, IP experts, educators and other stakeholders, and fostering partnerships that can improve educational outreach and impact was also part of the discussion. Members highlighted that ensuring IP teaching materials, resources and tools remain effective, up-to-date and grounded in relevant data was essential for fostering a well-informed understanding of IP.

Pandemic response  

Members once again addressed proposals under paragraph 24 of the Ministerial Declaration on the WTO Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Preparedness for future Pandemics, as reaffirmed in the Abu Dhabi Ministerial Declaration of 4 March 2024. Under this provision, the Council is mandated to continue or initiate work to analyze lessons learned and challenges experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, including on the basis of proposals by members.

Members continued discussions on the basis of two submissions on "Intellectual Property, Voluntary Licensing and Technology Transfer" by the United Kingdom and on "TRIPS for Development: Post MC13 Work on TRIPS-Related Issues" by Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt and India. The discussion focused on pandemic preparedness and the role of the WTO in addressing IP challenges.

Some delegations emphasized the need for a balance between IP rights and public health, calling for a solution to IP issues to ensure access to medical products during future pandemics. Other delegations stressed the importance of updating IP-related matters and supporting voluntary licensing and technology transfer, also emphasizing the need for evidence-based discussions. The WTO Secretariat's role in supporting intergovernmental negotiations was also discussed.

The Chair referred to the compilation of COVID-19: Measures Regarding Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights which is available on the WTO website. This document contains a non-exhaustive list of IP-related measures taken in the context of COVID-19, compiled by the Secretariat from official sources and verified by the members concerned. She encouraged all delegations to inform the Secretariat of measures that should be included on this list, as well as any update or information on the expiry – or end of application – of such measures.

Non-violation and situation complaints

The Chair recalled the mandate for members to discuss TRIPS non-violation and situation complaints (NVSCs) as agreed by ministers at the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi in February 2024. In their Decision, ministers directed the Council for TRIPS to continue its examination of the NVSCs scope and modalities for non-violation and situation complaints, and to make recommendations to the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14), scheduled to take place in Cameroon in early 2026. It was also agreed that, in the meantime, members would not initiate such complaints under the TRIPS Agreement.

Highlighting that the moratorium has now a new "lease of life", Ambassador Boza called on members to return to substantive discussions with a view to finding a permanent solution. She noted her predecessors had made different suggestions on how to have a substantive discussion on this topic but regretted that so far none of these ideas had been taken up by members.

Non-violation and situation complaints (NVSCs) refer to whether and under what conditions members should be able to bring WTO dispute complaints where they consider that another member's action, or a particular situation, has deprived them of an expected advantage under the TRIPS Agreement, even though no obligation under the Agreement has been violated.

Members have historically differed on whether such non-violation cases are feasible in intellectual property. Some delegations consider NVSCs essential to maintaining the proper balance of rights and obligations within the TRIPS Agreement while helping to ensure that legitimate obligations are not circumvented or avoided. Others believe there is no place for the application of non-violation complaints in the area of intellectual property because of the legal insecurity and curtailment of flexibilities that could ensue and favour their complete ban in the TRIPS area.

Other issues

Members addressed the Council's 22nd Annual Review of developed members' reports on their implementation of Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement, which mandates these members to provide incentives for technology transfer to least-developed countries (LDCs). Japan, Switzerland, New Zealand, Norway, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and the European Union presented their reports, highlighting individual programmes and initiatives for the benefit of LDCs.

The Chair informed delegations of the Secretariat's intention to hold the Article 66.2 Workshop in early 2025, back-to-back with the first TRIPS Council meeting of the year. This will give LDCs sufficient time to absorb the information provided by developed countries and provide an opportunity to discuss any other proposals.

The Secretariat presented a compilation of technical assistance programmes carried out between October 2023 and September 2024. It called members’ attention to the forthcoming Trilateral Symposium entitled "Strengthening Manufacturing Capacities to respond to the non-communicable diseases burden", which will be hosted by the WTO on 13 December 2024. The Secretariat also announced that the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the WTO launched the call for applications for the 20th edition of the WIPO-WTO Colloquium for Teachers and Researchers of IP Law and Policy, scheduled to take place from 3 to 14 February 2025.

The Chair said that two members – Tunisia and Armenia – deposited their instruments of acceptance for the protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement. In addition, Timor-Leste and Comoros  acceded to the WTO in recent months and were thereby bound by the amended TRIPS Agreement. This means that the amended TRIPS Agreement currently applies to 141 members.

Recalling that the current period for accepting the protocol runs until 31 December 2025, the Chair encouraged the 25 remaining members to complete their domestic procedures and deposit their instrument of acceptance as soon as possible.

Next meetings

The next meetings of the TRIPS Council are scheduled for 20-21 March 2025, 26-27 June 2025 and 10-11 November 2025.

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