AGREEMENT ON TRADE RELATED

ASPECTS OF IPR

-PRESENTED BY
NISHANTHI.M
Created by Nishanthi.M 12/08/2021
 TRIPS

 An international agreement administered by the World Trade

Organization (WTO) .

 Sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual

property (IP) regulation.

 TRIPS agreement introduced intellectual property law into the

international trading system for the first time.

 Remains the most comprehensive international agreement on

intellectual property to date.

Created by Nishanthi.M 12/08/2021
 TRIPS contains requirements
for
 copyright rights, including the rights of performers,
 producers of sound recordings and broadcasting
organizations;
 geographical indications, including appellations of origin;
 industrial designs;
 integrated circuit layout-designs;
 patents;
 monopolies for the developers of new plant varieties;
 trademarks;
 trade dress; and
 undisclosed or confidential information
Created by Nishanthi.M 12/08/2021
 Background and History

 TRIPS was negotiated at the end of the Uruguay

Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT) treaty in 1994.
 Any country seeking to obtain easy access to the
numerous international markets opened by the
World Trade Organization must enact the strict
intellectual property laws mandated by TRIPS.
 Unlike other treaties on intellectual property,
TRIPS has a powerful enforcement mechanism.

Created by Nishanthi.M 12/08/2021

 Requirements of TRIPS

 Member states to provide strong protection

for intellectual property rights.
 Copyright terms must extend to 50 years after the
death of the author, although films and photographs
are only required to have fixed 50 and to be at least 25
year terms, respectively.(Art.7(2),(4))
 Copyright must be granted automatically, and not
based upon any "formality", such as registrations or
systems of renewal.

Created by Nishanthi.M 12/08/2021

 Controversy
 It has received a growing level of criticism from
developing countries, academics, and Non-
governmental organizations.
 Some of this criticism is against the WTO as a whole,
but many advocate of trade liberalization also regard
TRIPS as bad policy.
 The most visible conflict has been over AIDS drugs in
Africa.
 Access to essential medicines.
 Software and business method patents.

Created by Nishanthi.M 12/08/2021

Implementation in Developing
Countries
 Obligations under TRIPS
 Transition period for developing countries expired in
2005.
 For least developed countries was extended to 2016, and
could be extended beyond that.
 Developing countries are massive net-exporters of
copyright-, patent- and trademark-related royalties.
 A 2005 report by the WHO found that many
developing countries have not incorporated TRIPS
flexibilities.

Created by Nishanthi.M 12/08/2021

Post-TRIPs Expansionism

 Creation of anti-circumvention laws to

protect Digital Rights Management systems.
 The 2001 EU Copyright Directive was to
implement the 1996 WIPO Copyright treaty.
 The campaign for the creation of a WIPO
Broadcasting Treaty that would give
broadcasters (and possibly webcasters)
exclusive rights over the copies of works they
have distributed.
Created by Nishanthi.M 12/08/2021
 Structure of Agreement on
Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights
 The TRIPS Agreement builds on the main
international conventions on intellectual
property rights by incorporating (by reference)
most of their provisions.
 It further provides that countries may in
pursuance of these conventions guarantee higher
protection than is required by the TRIPS
Agreement, as long as it does not contravene the
Agreement’s provisions.
Created by Nishanthi.M 12/08/2021
 Main provisions of the
Agreement
 Basic principles and general obligations.
 Minimum standards of protection covering:
 The subject matter protected,
 The rights conferred,
 Permissible exceptions to those rights, and
 The minimum duration of protection.
 Anti-competitive practices in contractual licenses.
 Domestic procedures and remedies for the enforcement of
intellectual
 Property rights.
 Transitional arrangements for the implementation of the rules
at the National level.
Created by Nishanthi.M 12/08/2021
 Challenges

 Obligations to change IPR systems.

 Difficulties in using reverse engineering.
 Issues relating to traditional knowledge.

Created by Nishanthi.M 12/08/2021

 Advantages

 The encouragement of creativity and

innovation;
 The transfer of technology on commercial
terms to business enterprises in developing
countries;
 The protection of consumers by controlling
the trade in counterfeit goods; and
 Both the export and the import trade.

Created by Nishanthi.M 12/08/2021

 Conclusion

 If trade-related IPR friction is to be avoided, it

is necessary for all business enterprises
engaged in foreign trade not only to
familiarize themselves with the system set up
by the Agreement but to be fully aware of the
obligations it imposes and the rights it
creates in their favor.
 Briefing governments to meet some of the
concerns of the business community.
Created by Nishanthi.M 12/08/2021
Created by Nishanthi.M 12/08/2021