RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE IP/C/W/7
28July1995
ORGANIZATION(95-2201)
Council forTrade-Related Aspects
ofIntellectual Property Rights
DRAFT SCHEDULE FOR CONSIDERATION OF
NATIONAL IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION IN1996
Note bytheSecretariat
1. Atthemeeting oftheTRIPS Council of24May1995, theChairman, reporting oninformal
consultations thathehadheld, saidthathehaddetected afairly general viewthatitwould besensible,
from thepoint ofviewbothofhelping delegations copewithtranslation burdens andofhelping the
Council toorganize itswork mosteffectively, todrawupaschedule fortheexamination ofthenational
implementing legislation ofdeveloped countries in1996, andthatthismight mostsensibly bestructured
onasubject-by-subject basis following essentially themain headings ofParts IIandIIIoftheTRIPS
Agreement (IP/C/M/2, paragraph 14). TheCouncil agreed thattheSecretariat beasked toprepare
suchadraftschedulefortheconsiderationofnationallegislationonasubject-by-subjectbasis(IP/C/M/2,
paragraph 23).
2. Accordingly, adraftschedule canbefound intheAnnex tothisnote. Thisdraftwould concern
thelegislation ofMembers obliged toapply thecorresponding provisions oftheTRIPS Agreement
from 1January 1996.
3. Itwillbeseenthatitissuggested that,asageneral rule,lawsandregulations should benotified
bytheendofMarch 1996, withtwoexceptions. Thefirstofthese isthat,withrespect tothefirst
subject areatobetaken up,copyright andrelated rights, Members might submit their lawsand
regulations bytheendofJanuary 1996, soastoavoid toomuch delay intheinitiation ofthisaspect
oftheworkoftheCouncil. Thesecond concerns lawsandregulations which would needtobetranslated
intoaWTO language. These could besubmitted laterthanMarch 1996 where translation required
extra time, provided thiswasstillatleastthree fullmonths inadvance ofthescheduled discussion
intheTRIPS Council. Theperiod ofatleastthree fullmonths hasbeenchosen sofartogiveone
month forthecirculation ofthetexttoMembers bytheSecretariat, onemonth forgiving advance
notice ofquestions andathirdmonth forthepreparation ofreplies andofthediscussion generally.
4. Thelawsandregulations thatwould benotified bythedateindicated inthesecond column,
andthewayinwhich each notification should bemade, would depend ontheoutcome ofthe
consideration being given totheWorking Hypothesis (IP/C/W/6).
5. Thedateinthefourth column isthatforthefirstfulldiscussion oflegislation intherelevant
subject area. Itistobeexpected, onthebasisofexperience withGATT/WTO processes ofthiskind,
thattherewould beoutstanding points thatwould havetobepursued atsubsequent meetings, alongside
anynewsubject areas thatwould betaken atthose meetings.
./.IP/C/W/7
Page2ANNEX
DRAFT SCHEDULE FOR CONSIDERATION OF
NATIONAL IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION IN1996
SUBJECT AREA DATE FOR SUBMISSION OF
THE LAWS AND
REGULATIONS
(REQUIRING TRANSLATION)DATE BYWHICH ADVANCE
NOTICE OFQUESTIONS TO
BEGIVENDATE FOR DISCUSSION IN
COUNCIL
Copyright andRelated Rights EndJanuary 1996 EndMarch 1996 May1996
Trademarks
Geographical Indications
Industrial DesignsEndMarch 1996 EndMay1996 July1996
Patents
Layout-Designs ofIntegrated
Circuits
Undisclosed Information
Control ofAnti-competitive
Practices inContractual LicensesEndMarch 1996
(End May1996)EndJuly1996 September 1996
Enforcement EndMarch 1996
(End July1996)EndSeptember 1996 November 1996