Chair,

1. I am taking the floor on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.
2. We thank the WIPO Secretariat for the preparation of the draft reference document on the exception regarding exhaustion of patent rights contained in SCP/34/3.
3. We believe that the document provides an excellent overview of the widespread exception regarding exhaustion of patent rights in national laws and regional instruments. We value the great amount of work undertaken by the Secretariat to highlight the similarities and differences in the implementation of this exception in different jurisdictions, specifically in some limitation of the patentee’s rights after the patented goods have been legitimately released to the market. The detailed analysis of the legal frameworks, conditions and scope of the exceptions is proving to be especially instructive.
4. We reiterate our appreciation for the compilation of legal provisions on the exception regarding exhaustion of patent rights in the annex to SCP/34/3. The detailed account of laws implementing said exception in numerous countries and regional patent organisations is very helpful in understanding the legal basis of the exception throughout the different jurisdictions. We also believe that highlighting the challenges faced and the results of the implementation of the exception provides useful information for other Member States.
5. The EU and its Member States are looking forward to hearing further interventions from other delegations and an interesting and fruitful discussion on this agenda item.

Thank you.