1.1 On 6 May 1999, the United States requested consultations with Canada pursuant to Article 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (the "DSU") and, to the extent that it incorporates by reference Article XXII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, Article 64 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the "Agreement", "TRIPS" or the "TRIPS Agreement") regarding the term of protection granted to patents that were filed before 1 October 1989 in Canada.