Intellectual Property Rights as Obstacles to Legitimate Trade helps to understand one of the underlying rationales of the TRIPS Agreement in light of some of the most pertinent IP issues. The WTO/TRIPS Agreement for the first time put IP rights in the context of trade rules, such as when does the exercise of IP rights become an unjustified burden to legitimate trade? Cases have arisen where IP rights are conferred, used, or enforced in a manner that arguably impedes trade, both in domestic and international contexts. This groundbreaking book is the first comprehensive assessment of this controversial area of trade law, shedding important new light on the underlying rationales of the TRIPS Agreement. With contributions by both practitioners and academics working in a range of countries, this book considers thorny issues in such areas as the following: – interpretation of ‘obstacles to legitimate trade’ in the context of GATT/ WTO jurisprudence; – separating markets by preventing parallel importation in the context of patents; – geoblocking – territorial separation of digital markets; – using trademarks to prevent competition; – geographical indications – protection of terms that are considered generic in certain domestic markets; – seizure of goods in transit; – ‘evergreening’ patents – attempts to extend the duration of patents; – rights to second-hand digital goods or content; – unjustified threats – towards appropriate standards of liability. Focusing on topical and under-researched areas of IP law, the contributors stimulate a discussion on an overarching concern that is not often addressed – how to assess whether the protection and enforcement of certain IP rights in particular situations should be classified as trade barriers. As an incisive analysis of the desirable balance between the exercise of IP rights and the demands of legitimate trade, this book will be welcomed by practitioners, lawmakers, policy advisers, and academics in both trade law and IP law.

Introduction -- Intellectual property rights basics -- Global intellectual property holdings -- Contribution of intellectual property to U.S. economy -- The organized structure of IPR protection -- U.S. trade law -- Issues for Congress.

The aim of this Guide is to present, as simply and clearly as possible, the contents of the Berne Convention and to provide a number of explanations as to its nature, aims and scope.

The TRIPS Agreement is the most comprehensive and influential international treaty on intellectual property rights. It brings intellectual property rules into the framework of the World Trade Organization, obliging all WTO Member States to meet minimum standards of intellectual property protection and enforcement. This has required massive changes in some national laws, particularly in developing countries. This volume provides a detailed legal analysis of the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement, as well as elements to consider their economic implications in different legal and socio-economic contexts. This book provides an in depth analysis of the principles and of the substantive and enforcement provisions of the TRIPS Agreement, the most influential international treaty on intellectual property currently in force. It discusses the legal context in which the Agreement was negotiated, the objectives of their proponents and the nature of the obligations it created for the members of the World Trade Organization. In particular, it examines the minimum standards that must be implemented with regard to patents, trademarks, industrial designs, geographical indications, copyright and related rights, integrated circuits, trade-secrets and test data for pharmaceutical and agrochemical products. Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights: A Commentary on the TRIPS Agreement elaborates on the interpretation of provisions contained in said Agreement, in the light of the customary principles for the interpretation of international law. The analysis -which is supported by a review of the relevant GATT and WTO jurisprudence- identifies the policy space left to such members to implement their obligations in accordance with their own legal systems and public policy objectives, including in respect of complex issues such as patentability criteria, compulsory licenses, exceptions and limitations to copyright, border measures, injunctive relief and the protection of test data under the discipline of unfair competition.

The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is the most far-reaching and comprehensive legal regime ever concluded at the multilateral level in the area of intellectual property rights (IPR). Compared to prior IPR conventions, TRIPS constitutes a major qualitative leap which radically modifies not only the context in which IPR are considered internationally, but also their substantive content and the methods for their enforcement and dispute settlement. This much-welcomed treatise, now in its third edition, thoroughly updates its comprehensive analysis of the substantive provisions of the Agreement and their actual interpretation and application in different jurisdictions, with new material on the burgeoning case law and on major changes in plant variety protection. As in previous editions, the book may be relied upon for in-depth clarification of such matters as the following: • standards established under the agreement; • enforcement measures; • social and legal issues; • legal and policy possibilities offered; • legislative latitude allowed to WTO Member States; • incorporation of TRIPS into domestic law; • protection of integrated circuit design; • protection of innovation and R&D for diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries; • challenges raised by ongoing technological changes; • access to medicines; • protection of confidential (undisclosed) information; and • interface between competition law and intellectual property protection. With fifteen chapters contributed by a distinguished panel of experts representing diverse parties — international organisations, legal practice, government policy, and academia — the third edition offers an incomparable framework for understanding the background, principles, and complex provisions of the TRIPS Agreement. Thoroughly revised and updated, the third edition will be of great value to all professionals and business people concerned with international trade. It stimulates further discussion and analysis in this area of growing importance to international law and international economic relations, particularly regarding the possibilities offered by the Agreement and the loose ends that may need consideration in the future at the national or international level.

The fast-evolving relationship between the promotion of welfare-enhancing competition and the balanced protection of intellectual property (IP) rights has attracted the attention of policymakers, analysts and scholars. This interest is inevitable in an environment that lays ever greater emphasis on the management of knowledge and innovation and on mechanisms to ensure that the public derives the expected social and economic benefits from this innovation and the spread of knowledge. This book looks at the positive linkage between IP and competition in jurisdictions around the world, surveying developments and policy issues from an international and comparative perspective. It includes analysis of key doctrinal and policy issues by leading academics and practitioners from around the globe and a cutting-edge survey of related developments across both developed and developing economies. It also situates current policy developments at the national level in the context of multilateral developments, at WIPO, WTO and elsewhere.

The history of patent harmonization is a story of dynamic actors, whose interactions with established structures shaped the patent regime. From the inception of the trade regime to include intellectual property (IP) rights to the present, this book documents the role of different sets of actors – states, transnational business corporations, or civil society groups – and their influence on the structures – such as national and international agreements, organizations, and private entities – that have caused changes to healthcare and access to medication. Presenting the debates over patents, trade, and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), as it galvanized non-state and nonbusiness actors, the book highlights how an alternative framing and understanding of pharmaceutical patent rights emerged: as a public issue, instead of a trade or IP issue. The book thus offers an important analysis of the legal and political dynamics through which the contest for access to lifesaving medication has been, and will continue to be, fought. In addition to academics working in the areas of international law, development, and public health, this book will also be of interest to policy makers, state actors, and others with relevant concerns working in nongovernmental and international organizations.

This Commentary on the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) provides a detailed textual analysis of TRIPS _ a pivotal international agreement on intellectual property rights. TRIPS sets minimum standards

In recent years, developing nations have pushed for international copyright and other intellectual property regimes to expand protection over the cultural heritage and collective knowledge of particular indigenous groups. These “traditional knowledge” protections have been justified by factors like economic protection, equity in intellectual property ownership, cultural protection, and economic development. These motivating factors are a far cry from the underpinnings of traditional Western intellectual property law - and in particular, U.S. copyright law - which focuses on incentivizing the creation of new content for the promotion of “the Progress of Science and useful Arts.” Because of these differing justifications, traditional knowledge protections at the international level have generated some degree of friction between the developed and the developing world. So far, much of the debate focuses on the “political” and “real” costs and benefits of traditional knowledge rights, but there is little discussion of the legal consequences of current protections. Given the underlying ideological conflict, some legal dissension is likely to occur regarding enforcement and protection of traditional knowledge rights. This paper examines “positive” traditional knowledge protections, which provide copyright-like rights over content, including the right exclude, license, and profit from these works. In many cases these protections regulate works that Western eyes would view as in the public domain. Initiatives to provide international protection for traditional knowledge expressions have blithely proceeded without much regard for the potential consequences under existing international law. This paper makes the point that at least some existing traditional knowledge protections not only conflict with IP-policy norms of the United States and the European Community, but also that these protections violate the very terms of TRIPS and GATT. As work toward international protection of traditional knowledge progresses, policy makers should be aware of these legal incompatibilities and how they evidence the deep conflict between expansive traditional knowledge protections and Western IP policy.