4th July 2000

TRIPs Council Meeting Ends In Gridlock

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The WTO Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) met in Geneva last week from 26 to 30 June over an agenda primarily focused on the review and implementation of the TRIPs Agreement. Due to serious disagreements over substantive and procedural matters, however, participants departed without reaching consensus on a majority of issues on the table.

In their second meeting of the year, Council members discussed several controversial topics, including the review of Article 27.3(b), which addresses patentability exclusions for biological organisms. According to diplomatic and WTO sources, however, discussion focused more on the scope and procedures for review than on substantive debate over the provisions of Article 27.3(b). Sources also noted that Members seemed mostly concerned about reaching consensus on procedural issues surrounding the review.

According to Rashid Kaukab of the Geneva-based South Centre, developing countries remain much more interested in reviewing Article 27.3(b)’s substance than in discussing its implementation or procedures for review. The governments of many developing countries, according to Kaukab, seek greater flexibility in creating their own systems of intellectual property protection and may push for the exclusion of all life forms from intellectual property laws. According to one participant in the TRIPs Council discussions, some developing countries, such as India and Pakistan, are currently supporting a proposal to allow the compulsory licensing of essential medicines under Article 27.3(b) in the context of the Implementation discussions at the General Council. According to another observer, however, many of the developing countries’ proposals may be unlikely to succeed because most developed nations are extremely reluctant to open the TRIPs Agreement for renegotiation.

Delegates to the Council also debated the provisions of Article 23.4, which calls on countries to establish a multilateral registry of geographical indications for wine varieties. Countries were divided over registration schemes, with the major European countries lining up in favour of a comprehensive scheme against the wine producers of the New World, who prefer a less stringent, voluntary system. A related conflict arose between countries that wish to restrict stronger protection of geographical indications to wines and spirits and those countries — including Switzerland, Cuba and several other developing country Members — that seek to extend additional protection of geographical indications to other goods.

Developing countries, particularly India, also expressed interest in exploring the relationship between the TRIPs Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity. The TRIPs Council is currently considering the CBD’s application for observer status, along with applications from at least eleven other intergovernmental organisations. At last week’s meeting, it extended observer status on an ad hoc basis to the World Health Organization, increasing the prospects for future collaboration and consultations between the two intergovernmental bodies.

The decision to extend observer status to the WHO seemed to be the only concrete outcome of last week’s meeting. Though routine items such as national implementation reviews proceeded smoothly, discussion on other agenda items, including the overall TRIPs implementation review called for under Article 71.1, slowed to a halt as countries endlessly debated procedural concerns. One participant in the Council meeting noted that discussion on most items failed to progress beyond procedural debates mostly because of deep political divisions between Members. Mired in disagreements over how to proceed, the meeting adjourned without having accomplished substantial progress. “There was no resolution about how to move forward,” said one participant. “The Chair will have to take a very active role in the fall to see where there is room for discussion and compromise.” With much left undecided, there remains a great deal of work for the Chair to accomplish in upcoming informal consultations. The next meeting of the TRIPs Council will be held from 21-22 September 2000.

ICTSD Internal Files.