TNAG-1294-FCO40-1649-Visits-by-members-of-the-Office-of-the-Unofficial-Members-of-1984 — Page 15

CONFIDENTIAL

(III) World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)

However,

1.

Membership of WIPO is open only to States. WIPO Conventions and Treaties can be made applicable to a subordinate territory upon notification or declaration by the Member State responsible for the territory. The UK Government has made three such notifications with respect to Hong Kong, which are as follows:-

2.

(a) The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (as revised at Brussels on 26 June 1948) became applicable to Hong Kong wef 5 May 1973;

(b) The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (as revised at Stockholm on 14 July 1967) became applicable to Hong Kong wef 16 November 1977;

(c) The Patent Cooperation Treaty (done at Washington on 19 June 1970) became applicable to Hong Kong wef 15 April 1981.

China is a member of WIPO, but not of the two main Unions (Paris and Berne).

(IV) General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

1. Hong Kong participates in the GATT as part of the UK delegation. While the UK and other members of the Ten normally allow the European Commission to act as their spokesman, Hong Kong speaks for itself in the form of "The UK speaking on behalf of Hong Kong"

•

position is set out in GATT document L73800 which was circulated on 29 December 1972 immediately prior to UK Accession to the EC. China is not a contracting party to GATT, but has recently become an observer.

1

2. The Hong Kong Government Office in Geneva coordinates as it sees fit with developing country contracting parties and often has a very different position from the EC spokesman (particularly on textiles). Only in very exceptional circumstances (e.g. the trade embargo against Argentina during the Falklands campaign) has the UK instructed the Hong Kong Mission how to speak. In normal practice, the Hong Kong representative will alert the UK Mission in advance of any proposed statement which might be sensitive outside the purely trade field.

(V)

1.

International Telecommunications Union (ITU)

The ITU's membership is formally divided into three regions for most of its initial planning activities (Europe and Africa; Americas; Asia). The UK Government has absolute authority to negotiate on behalf of all its dependent territories and is consequently a member of all three regions. Occasionally, representatives from dependent territories, including Hong Kong, have joined the UK delegation as advisers.

FC040/1645

CONFIDENTIAL

/ It is

Page 15Page 16