Treaty on Intellectual Property in Respect of Integrated Circuits 1

(4) [Ordinary Sessions] The Assembly shall meet in ordinary session once every two years upon convocation by the Director General.

(5) [Rules of Procedure] The Assembly shall establish its own rules of procedure, including the convocation of extraordinary sessions, the requirements of a quorum and, subject to the provisions of this Treaty, the required majority for various kinds of decisions.

 

Article 10
International Bureau

 

(1) [International Bureau]

(a) The International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization shall:

(i) perform the administrative tasks concerning the Union, as well as any tasks specially assigned to it by the Assembly;

(ii) subject to the availability of funds, provide technical assistance, on request, to the Governments of Contracting Parties that are States and are regarded as developing countries in conformity with the established practice of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

(b) No Contracting Party shall have any financial obligations; in particular, no Contracting Party shall be required to pay any contributions to the International Bureau on account of its membership in the Union.

(2) [Director General] The Director General shall be the chief executive of the Union and shall represent the Union.

 

Article 11
Amendment of Certain Provisions of the Treaty

 

(1) [Amending of Certain Provisions by the Assembly] The Assembly may amend the definitions contained in Article 2(i) and (ii), as well as Articles 3(1)(c), 9(1)(c) and (d), 9(4), 10(1)(a) and 14.

(2) [Initiation and Notice of Proposals for Amendment]

(a) Proposals under this Article for amendment of the provisions of this Treaty referred to in paragraph (1) may be initiated by any Contracting Party or by the Director General.

(b) Such proposals shall be communicated by the Director General to the Contracting Parties at least six months in advance of their consideration by the Assembly.

(c) No such proposal shall be made before the expiration of five years from the date of entry into force of this Treaty under Article 16(1).

(3) [Required Majority] Adoption by the Assembly of any amendment under paragraph (1) shall require four-fifths of the votes cast.

(4) [Entry Into Force]

(a) Any amendment to the provisions of this Treaty referred to in paragraph (1) shall enter into force three months after written notifications of acceptance, effected in accordance with their respective constitutional processes, have been received by the Director General from three-fourths of the Contracting Parties members of the Assembly at the time the Assembly adopted the amendment. Any amendment to the said provisions thus accepted shall bind all States and Intergovernmental Organizations that were Contracting Parties at the time the amendment was adopted by the Assembly or that become Contracting Parties thereafter, except Contracting Parties which have notified their denunciation of this Treaty in accordance with Article 17 before the entry into force of the amendment.

(b) In establishing the required three-fourths referred to in subparagraph (a), a notification made by an Intergovernmental Organization shall only be taken into account if no notification has been made by any of its member States.

 

Article 12
Safeguard of Paris and Berne Conventions

 

This Treaty shall not affect the obligations that any Contracting Party may have under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property or the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.

Article 13
Reservations

 

No reservations to this Treaty shall be made.

 

Article 14
Settlement of Disputes

 

(1) [Consultations]

(a) Where any dispute arises concerning the

interpretation or implementation of this Treaty, a

Contracting Party may bring the matter to the attention

of another Contracting Party and request the latter to

enter into consultations with it.

(b) The Contracting Party so requested shall provide

promptly an adequate opportunity for the requested

consultations.

(c) The Contracting Parties engaged in consultations

shall attempt to reach, within a reasonable period of

time, a mutually satisfactory solution of the dispute.

(2) [Other Means of Settlement] If a mutually

satisfactory solution is not reached within a reasonable

period of time through the consultations referred to in

paragraph (1), the parties to the dispute may agree to

resort to other means designed to lead to an amicable

settlement of their dispute, such as good offices,

conciliation, mediation and arbitration.

(3) [Panel]

(a) If the dispute is not satisfactorily settled through