TRIPS Council Reviews Technology Transfer,
Digitalisation, and Post-Moratorium Dispute Issues
At a meeting of the Council for Trade-Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) on 23-24 April, items discussed
by WTO members included technology transfer, digitalization of IP offices, and TRIPS
non-violation and situation complaints. In the meeting, chaired by Emmanuelle Ivanov-Durand
of France, members were also updated on notifications under various provisions of
the TRIPS Agreement, including through the WTO Secretariat's sixth Annual Transparency
Report. Mr Alaa Hegazy of Egypt was elected chair for the coming year.
·
TRIPS Council meeting held (23–24 April 2026): Chaired by Emmanuelle Ivanov-Durand; high
engagement from WTO members on key intellectual property (IP) issues.
·
New chair elected: Alaa Hegazy appointed as Chair for the coming year.
·
Technology transfer discussions:
o Focus on incentives by developed countries
under Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement
o Emphasis on supporting least-developed
countries (LDCs)
o Consideration of G-90 proposal on voluntary
incentive frameworks
·
Workshop insights: Members shared learnings from WTO workshop on technology transfer to
LDCs, highlighting need-based approaches and enabling policy environments.
·
Non-Violation Complaints (NVSCs):
o Concerns raised after expiry of moratorium
at WTO Ministerial Conference 2026
o Debate on legal uncertainty and calls to
reinstate moratorium
o NVSCs allow disputes even without explicit
TRIPS violations if expected benefits are lost
·
Digitalisation of IP systems:
o Members discussed use of AI and digital
tools in IP offices
o Benefits include improved efficiency, transparency,
enforcement, and accessibility for small innovators
o Joint submission by major economies including
EU, US, Japan, and others
·
Transparency concerns:
o WTO Secretariat presented Sixth Annual
Transparency Report
o Decline in notifications of IP laws under
Article 63.2
o Many members have outdated or missing notifications,
highlighting need for improved compliance
·
Implementation review ongoing: Continued discussions under Article 71.1 on reviewing
TRIPS Agreement implementation.
·
TRIPS & biodiversity:
o Debate on IP protection of genetic resources
and traditional knowledge
o Diverging views on engagement vis-à-vis
World Intellectual Property Organization treaty developments
·
Other agenda items:
o IP response to COVID-19 and pandemic preparedness
o Observer status for international organizations
o Upcoming review of Samoa’s national IP legislation
·
Next meeting: Scheduled for 22–23 July 2026.
·
Overall takeaway: Members reaffirmed the importance of modernising IP systems, improving
transparency, and resolving emerging legal uncertainties in global IP governance.
[ABS News Service/30.04.2026]
Discussions at the meeting saw
a high level of engagement. Among the issues covered were continued talks on how
to proceed on the review of implementation of the TRIPS Agreement and on lessons
learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Members also expressed appreciation for the
insights gained during the "WTO Workshop on Incentives for Technology Transfer to Least-developed
Members" in the two days before the meeting. Capital-based workshop participants
shared their experience during the Council meeting.
Members continued engagement
on developed countries' reports on incentives for technology transfer to least-developed
countries (LDCs) that had been reviewed at the Council's meeting in November 2025.
Participants in the WTO Workshop prior to the meeting expressed their appreciation
for the breadth of discussions, including on the nature of incentives reported under
Article 66.2 of the TRIPS Agreement, the role of an appropriate needs assessment,
and the policies and other elements that enable effective cross-border technology
transfer.
At the request of the LDC Group,
the Council also discussed a G-90 submission on a possible illustrative list of
non-binding, voluntary incentives for reporting under Article 66.2 (IP/C/W/727),
which had been circulated ahead of the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Cameroon.
At the request of Colombia, India
and Bangladesh, members discussed the state of play regarding TRIPS non-violation
and situation complaints (NVSCs). Several members expressed disappointment that
the moratorium on NVSCs was not extended at MC14. Delegations exchanged views on
the legal situation following its expiry and some called for reviving the moratorium
in renewed talks in Geneva.
The discussion on NVSCs concerns
a remedy under which WTO members can bring disputes to the WTO alleging that an
action or situation has nullified expected benefits under the TRIPS Agreement, even
without a specific violation. In general, disputes in the WTO involve allegations
that a country has violated an agreement or broken a commitment. However, in some
situations, a WTO member can bring a case to the Dispute Settlement Body even when
an agreement has not been violated. This is called a non-violation complaint. It
is permitted if a WTO member can show that it has been deprived of an expected benefit
because of another member's action or omission, or because of any other situation
that exists.
In Article 64.2 of the TRIPS
Agreement, members agreed that such complaints would not be available under the
TRIPS Agreement for a period of five years following the entry into force of the
Agreement (i.e. 1995-99). In the meantime, members would discuss how and to what
extent ("scope and modalities") such complaints could be brought to the
WTO's dispute settlement process. An agreement
not to initiate NVSCs (the "moratorium") and to continue discussions regarding
scope and modalities was subsequently reached and extended - most recently at MC13
(WT/L/1194) in Abu Dhabi. However, at MC14 in March 2026, no agreement on a further
extension of the moratorium on TRIPS non-violation and situation complaints was
reached. The moratorium thus lapsed on 30 March 2026 with the closure of the Ministerial
Conference.
A document entitled "Intellectual
Property and Innovation: IP Office and Digitalization, including AI" was circulated
by Australia; Canada; the European Union; Hong Kong, China; Japan; the Republic of Korea; New Zealand; Switzerland;
Chinese Taipei; the United Kingdom; and the United States, and later co-sponsored
by Singapore.
In discussing the submission,
members shared experiences on how information technology and AI are enhancing the
operation of their intellectual property protection systems. Elaborating on examples
provided in the submission IP/C/W/734, several members shared how
their digitalization of IP administration can increase the predictability of granting
rights, strengthen market trust through scalable online enforcement and collaboration,
and contribute to trade facilitation by reducing inefficiencies in securing rights
abroad. They highlighted the impact of improved accessibility of protection systems
for small right holders, improved possibilities for cooperation among protection
regimes across borders, and higher efficiency in search and registration procedures.
Members were updated on notifications
under various provisions of the TRIPS Agreement that the Council has received since
its last meeting in November 2025.
The Secretariat introduced its
Sixth Annual Transparency Report on notifications and other information flows about
TRIPS measures (IP/C/W/732). The report uses the information
available through the e-TRIPS System to summarize submission rates and to identify
key trends for each of the primary TRIPS transparency mechanisms, with a particular
focus on the prior year's submissions. The report also provides a snapshot of each
member's notification history in its annexes.
The report highlights that the
number of notifications submitted under Article 63.2 of the TRIPS Agreement in 2025
is below the average annual rate of such submissions in the last 20 years. It notes
that nearly half of all non-LDC members have not updated their initial notifications
in the last ten years. Further, it observes that 18% of developed members and 39%
of developing members have not submitted any Article 63.2 notifications since 2010. The wealth of information that members have provided
at the turn of the century now risks becoming outdated, it notes. The notification
rates illustrate that there is significant scope for several members to improve
the frequency with which they apprise the TRIPS Council of their IP-related laws
and regulations or submit other required information to the Council.
Mme Ivanov-Durand noted that
while the pace of notifications to the Council has increased in recent years, the
rate is still not keeping up with the actual development of laws and regulations
relating to the TRIPS Agreement. She emphasized that Article 63.2 is not a "one-off"
requirement. It is a core element of the TRIPS transparency arrangements and a central
part of the Council's substantive work. It obliges members to notify any new or
amended laws in the area of TRIPS. She also urged members to complete any outstanding
initial notifications and to keep up to date with notifications on subsequent amendments.
Members continued exchanges on
the Review of the Implementation of the TRIPS Agreement mandated by Article 71.1.
In view of intensive efforts to agree on launching this process during 2024, the
Chair once again urged members to continue engagement on this important mandate.
The Council continued discussions
on the relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on Biological
Diversity, the protection of traditional knowledge and folklore, and the review
of Article 27.3(b), including with reference to previous submissions. Some members
urged renewed engagement to discuss the trade aspect of misappropriation of genetic
resources and traditional knowledge, in light of the 2024 World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO) Treaty on this issue. Others discouraged engagement on this
topic and cautioned against duplicating the work done in WIPO.
The Council continued to exchange
views and information regarding IP, COVID-19 and pandemic preparedness.
Members also discussed the state
of play of international intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) being granted observer
status to the Council.
The Chair reminded the Council
of the arrangements for the review of the national implementing legislation of Samoa
that would be discussed at the next meeting and acknowledged questions submitted
to Samoa in this regard.
The Council elected Mr. Alaa
Hegazy, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Egypt, as its chair for the coming
year.
The next regular meeting of the
TRIPS Council is scheduled for 22-23 July 2026.