INTRODUCTION

1. This General Report records the deliberations and decisions of the following 21 Assemblies and other bodies of the Member States of WIPO:

(1) WIPO General Assembly, twenty-third session (10th extraordinary)

(2) WIPO Conference, sixteenth session (3rd extraordinary)

(3) WIPO Coordination Committee, forty-second session (29th ordinary)

(4) Paris Union Assembly, twenty-eighth session (15th extraordinary)

(5) Paris Union Conference of Representatives, twenty-fifth session (12th extraordinary)

(6) Paris Union Executive Committee, thirty-fifth session (34th ordinary)

(7) Berne Union Assembly, twenty-fourth session (11th extraordinary)

(8) Berne Union Conference of Representatives, eighteenth session (5th extraordinary)

(9) Berne Union Executive Committee, forty-first session (29th ordinary)

(10) Madrid Union Assembly, thirtieth session (18th extraordinary)

(11) Hague Union Assembly, seventeenth session (6th extraordinary)

(12) Hague Union Conference of Representatives, seventeenth session (6th extraordinary)

(13) Nice Union Assembly, seventeenth session (4th extraordinary)

(14) Nice Union Conference of Representatives, sixteenth session (3rd extraordinary)

(15) Lisbon Union Assembly, fourteenth session (2nd extraordinary)

(16) Lisbon Union Council, twenty-first session (2nd extraordinary)

(17) Locarno Union Assembly, seventeenth session (5th extraordinary)

(18) IPC [International Patent Classification] Union Assembly, sixteenth session (5th extraordinary)

(19) PCT [Patent Cooperation Treaty] Union Assembly, twenty-sixth session (15th extraordinary)

(20) Budapest Union Assembly, fourteenth session (5th extraordinary)

(21) Vienna Union Assembly, tenth session (3rd extraordinary)

meeting in Geneva from September 7 to 15, 1998, where the deliberations took place, and decisions were made in joint meetings of two or more of the said Assemblies and other bodies (hereinafter referred to as "the joint meeting(s)" and "the Assemblies of the Member States," respectively).

2. In addition to this General Report, separate Reports have been drawn up on the sessions of the General Assembly (WO/GA/23/7), WIPO Conference (WO/CF/16/2), Coordination Committee (WO/CC/42/3), Berne Union Assembly (B/A/24/2), Hague Union Assembly (H/A/17/2), PCT Union Assembly (PCT/A/26/2), Paris Union Executive Committee (P/EC/35/1) and the Berne Union Executive Committee (B/EC/41/1).

3. The list of the States members of the Assemblies and other bodies concerned and the observers admitted to their sessions as of September 4, 1998, is set forth in document A/33/INF/1 Rev.

4. The meetings dealing with the following items of the Agenda (document A/33/1 Prov.2) were presided over by the following Chairs:

Items 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, second part of item 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 20 and 21	Ms. Sheila Batchelor (Canada), Chair of the General Assembly
Items 3, first part of 8, 18 and 19	Mr. Jean-Marie Noirfalisse (Belgium), Chair of the WIPO Coordination Committee and Mr. Leo J. Palma (Philippines), Vice-Chair of the Coordination Committee
Item 11	Mr. Ladislav Jakl (Czech Republic), Vice-Chair of the WIPO Conference
Item 15	Mrs. América Néstar Santos Riveras (Cuba), Acting Chair of the PCT Union Assembly
Item 16	Mr. Jan Nicaise (Netherlands), Chair of the Hague Union Assembly
Item 17	Mr. David Gabunia (Georgia), Vice-Chair of the Berne Union Assembly
Item 20	The Chair (or, in her absence, a Vice-Chair, or in the absence of the Chair and both Vice-Chairs, an ad hoc Chair) of one of the 21 Assemblies and other related Bodies concerned, that is, for the General Report, the Report of the General Assembly and the Report of the WIPO Conference, Ms. Sheila Batchelor (Canada); the report of the Coordination Committee, Mr. Leo J. Palma (Philippines); the Report of the Berne Union Assembly, Mr. David Gabunia (Georgia); the Report of the PCT Union Assembly, Mrs. América Néstar Santos Riveras (Cuba); the Report of the Hague Union Assembly, Mr. Alexandru Cristian Strenc (Romania); the Report of the Paris Union Executive Committee, Mr. Gorgi Filipov (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia); the Report of the Berne Union Executive Committee, Mr. Pronab Ranjan Dasgupta (India)
Item 21	Ms. Sheila Batchelor (Canada), Chair of the General Assembly

5. The list of participants appears in document A/33/INF/3.