WTO TRIPS Council October 2021: UK statements

CNI Desk: UK statements during the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council from 13-14 October 2021.

NOTIFICATIONS UNDER PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT

Thank you Chair, Thank you for convening this meeting and thanks to the Secretariat for their hard work in preparing it.

As you know, the United Kingdom considers the WTO notification system an essential component in promoting transparency between WTO members.

Since our last update we have notified a number of new items, largely relating to the UK’s exit from the European Union.

In the interest of time and following our overall interventions in the past Council sessions, we believe the explanatory notes of the notifications are sufficiently detailed, so we will not go into specifics. This delegation is, however and as always, ready to answer any questions the WTO members may have.

We would once again like to thank the Secretariat for the ease and efficiency of the eTRIPS system. We continue to encourage other members to use it.

Thank you Chair.

PROTECTION OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE

Chair, in relation to this item, and without prejudice to our position on substantive matters, as a next step we could support a procedural briefing to the TRIPS Council from the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat, if there is sufficient interest from other Members on the matter. On the Secretariat updating the three factual notes, we are interested to hear views from other Members and are open to discussions on whether an update is necessary. We stand ready to consider any suggestions on next steps that can move the debate forward and towards consensus.

Thank you Chair.

ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE SPECIAL COMPULSORY LICENSING SYSTEM

The UK would like to note that while it’s still the case that some Members have not yet implemented the special compulsory licensing system set out in Paragraph 7 of the annex to the amended TRIPS Agreement, this is a vital capability. We therefore would strongly encourage all members to implement this amendment. We also support the extension of the deadline as suggested.

Thank you Chair.

NON-VIOLATION AND SITUATION COMPLAINTS (NVSCs)

Thank you Chair.

The applicability of non-violation and situation complaints to the TRIPS Agreement has been a long-standing agenda item. Little progress has been made towards reaching a consensus, and the TRIPS Council has been unable to have a substantive discussion on scope and modalities since the NVSCs moratorium was last extended in December 2019.

The UK would like to thank the Chair for convening a discussion on NVSCs and other topics on 6 October. We believe it is important that the TRIPS Council places a renewed focus on NVSCs, and we see last week’s session as a good first step.

In this regard, we would like to thank the Chair for submitting a draft proposal to the Council. We are currently considering the text in Capital.

Once again, the UK would like to thank you Chair for pushing to reinvigorate this important item and, going forward, we stand ready to work with all Members to find a long-term solution that works for all.