The World Trade Organization (WTO) Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) met on 8 June 2009, but saw little progress towards resolving TRIPS issues in the context of the Doha negotiations.

These issues include an amendment to the TRIPS Agreement to require that patent applicants disclose the origin of any genetic resources or traditional knowledge used in the inventions. Originally supported by a number of developing countries, such a proposal has drawn the support of more than 100 WTO Members, including the EU and Switzerland. The US, joined by Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, New Zealand and Taiwan, reaffirmed their opposition, with the US noting that the disclosure requirement is not essential and bringing the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) into the TRIPS Agreement would not make sense. According to the report, Australia, Canada and New Zealand suggested the possibility of shifting discussions on the TRIPS Agreement and the CBD to another forum, possibly the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Link to further information
Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest, 17 June 2009