Proposal for a Council Decision establishing the European Union position within the TRIPS Council of the World Trade Organisation on the request for an extension of the transition period under TRIPS Article 66.1 for least-developed countries

From the adoption in 1994 of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), Least Developed Countries (LDCs) were exempted from most TRIPS obligations for a period of ten years, beyond the initial one year of general exemption for all WTO Members, via its Article 66.1. This same Article also provides for the possibility of further extensions of this period upon a duly motivated request. In 2005, following a specific request from LDCs, this exemption was duly extended to 1 July 2013.

In view of the approaching deadline, Haiti, on behalf of the LDC group, formally submitted a request on 5 November 2012 for an extension of the transitional period (see WTO Document IP/C/W/583). Rather than asking for a specific extension calculated in years, this time the LDC group has asked for an exemption ”…until they cease to be a least developed country Member."

The Commission recommends the Council of the European Union to establish the following Union position: LDC Members should not be required to apply the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement, other than Articles 3, 4 and 5, for a period no longer than the duration of the extension granted previously in 2005, or until such a date on which they cease to be a least-developed country Member, whichever date is earlier. During this time, proper consideration could be given to the varying states of TRIPS implementation across LDCs, and how technical assistance can be further used to help address these shortcomings, with primary focus on those areas of most immediate utility. During this extension period, LDCs should not decrease their already existing level of IP protection below the standards set by TRIPS.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)309: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:309:FIN

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