Possible interpretations 645 Clause Samples

Possible interpretations 645 given Member. They respond to the particular facts of a specific case, and do not necessarily indicate a general line of action. Finally, IPR-related bilateral or regional agreements do not fall under the noti- fication requirement, because they are in any case not subject to a review by the Council. According to Article 71.1 of TRIPS, the Council’s review exercise is limited to TRIPS and domestic implementing legislation. Consequently, the notification requirement under Article 63.2 covers only such legislation. In order to ensure Members’ cooperation with the Council (and thus the lat- ter’s efficiency in reviewing the implementation of TRIPS disciplines), the second sentence of the paragraph seeks to reduce the administrative burden placed on Members by the requirement laid down in the first sentence. Direct notification to the Council for TRIPS is not required if a Member has already notified its IPR-related laws and regulations to the International Bureau (secretariat) of WIPO and if transmission of this notification from the WIPO secretariat to the Council is assured through the establishment of a common register. This register was set up in an Agreement between WIPO and the WTO,12 which lays down, inter alia, the right of the WTO to request free of charge copies of such notifications from WIPO.13 Consequently, Members will have met their obligation under Article 63.2 not only by direct communication of their laws and regulations to the Council, but equally by notifying the WIPO secretariat, thus avoiding a double effort. The last sentence of the paragraph relates to Article 6ter of the Paris Con- vention. Under this provision, countries must communicate state emblems and official signs and hallmarks, flags etc. that they wish to protect. There is also the possibility of receiving objections with regard to these. In sum, the WIPO- WTO Cooperation Agreement provides that WIPO will act as a registration office and that communications under Article 6ter shall constitute notification under Article 63.2.14