2. The agreement covers five broad issues
• How basic principles of the trading system and
other international intellectual property agreements
should be applied
• How to give adequate protection to intellectual
property rights
• How countries should enforce those rights
adequately in their own territories
• How to settle disputes on intellectual property
between members of the WTO
• Special transitional arrangements during the
period when the new system is being introduced.
3. WTO TRIPS Agreement
• It is the GATT Uruguay Round Agreement on
“Trade Related Intellectual Property”.
• It deals with the protection & enforcement of
“Trade-Related” intellectual property “rights”.
• It establishes minimum levels of protection that
each government has to give to the intellectual
property of fellow WTO members
4. What is “Intellectual Property”?
• Intellectual Property comprises 2 distinct
forms:
* Literary & Artistic Works
* Industrial Property
5. “Literary & Artistic Works”
* They are books, paintings, musical compositions,
plays, operas, movies, radio/tv programs,
performances, & other artistic works.
How are they Protected?
* Protected by “Copyright” which provides the
individual “author” or “artist” the exclusive right to
do certain things with an “original work”, including
the right to reproduce, publish, perform the work in
public, & to make adaptations of it & benefit
thereby.
6. “Industrial Property”
Industrial Property describes physical matter that is
the product of an idea or concept or that is
developed specifically for commercial purposes.
“Industrial Property” include?
* Patented objects
* Trademarks
* Industrial Designs
* Trade Secrets
* Layout-designs of Integrated Circuits
* Geographical Indications
7. Why Protect “Intellectual Property”?
1) Because one has expend a lot of investment into
production of new & innovative products & they have a
right, at least for a period of time, to:
* have their name associated with their product and/or their
authorship associated with it
* get paid for their efforts & to recover their investment, &
* frustrate the efforts of “free riders” to make money off
their efforts & investment whilst not having any input.
2) Protection stimulates creativity and innovation necessary
for productivity, competitiveness, and national economic
development
8. Relevancy of IPR to International Trade &
Investment
1) To ensure that IPR enforcement is consistent with
free trade principles of effective market access &
non-discrimination.
2) Trade will be inhibited (& foreign direct investment
frustrated) if the laws of a country do not protect the
IPR of its trading partners and/or prospective
investors.
9. Patent
• Patent is the right given to inventors to have
protected exclusive use for specified period of
time (“term”) for making, using, or selling a new,
useful, non-obvious invention.
• Patents are available for both products &
processes.
• Patent in the law is a property right and hence,
can be gifted, inherited, assigned, sold or
licensed
10. TRIPS : Main Provisions on Patents
Section 5, Part II contains the following standards:
• 1) Patents shall be granted for any inventions,
provided they are new, & are capable of
industrial application.
• 2) Patents shall be granted in all fields of
technology.
• 3) Members can exclude from patentability
diagnostic, therapeutic, & surgical methods of
treatment for humans or animals, as well as
plants & animals & biological process for the
production thereof.
11. TRIPS : Main Provisions on Patents
• 4) Plant varieties shall be protected by patents.
• 5) Exclusive rights conferred in the case of
product and process patents are defined, subject
in the case of imports.
• 6) Inventions shall be disclosed in a manner
which is sufficiently clear & complete for a skilled
person in the art to carry out the invention.
• 7) Limited exceptions to the exclusive rights can
be defined by national laws (TRIPS Art. 30)
12. TRIPS : Main Provisions on Patents
• 8) Conditions for granting other uses without
authorization of the patent-holder (compulsory
licenses) are set forth – Members can determine
the grounds to allow such uses.
• 9) Revocation/forfeiture of a patent is subject to
judicial review.
• 10) The term of protection shall be at least 20
years from the date of application
13. Copyright
• Copyright is the exclusive right to do certain
things with an original work, including the right to
reproduce, publish, perform the work in public, &
to make adaptations of it.
• Copyright is a right, which is available for creating
an original literary or dramatic or musical or
artistic work.
• include Cinematographic films and Computer
programs and software
14. TRIPS: Main Provisions on Copyright
• 1) Protection of works covered by the Berne
Convention excluding moral rights to the expression
• 2) Protection of computer programs as literary
works & of compilations of data.
• 3) Recognition of rental rights, at least for
phonograms, computer programs, & for
cinematographic works.
15. TRIPS: Main Provisions on Copyright
• 4) Exceptions to exclusive rights must be limited
to special cases which do not conflict with
normal exploitation of the work & do not
unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests
of the rights-holder.
• 5) Recognition of the 50 year minimum
exclusivity term for works
• 6) Recognition of rights of performers, producers
of phonograms, & broadcasting organizations
17. *Trademark –
consists of any sign, or combination of signs,
capable of distinguishing the goods or services of
one person from those of another, including
personal names, designs, letters, numerals,
colours, figurative elements, shape of goods, or
their packaging. TMs include service marks,
collective marks, & mayinclude certification marks.
*Trade Secrets –
are information deriving its value from not
beingknown or available to the public competitors,
or other parties who might otherwise gain benefit
from its disclosure or use.
18. *Geographical Indications –
(sometimes called appellations of origin) are any
indication that identifies a product as originating in
the territory of a Member, or a region or locality
therein, for reason of which a particular quality,
reputation, or other characteristic of the product is
essentially attributable to geographical origin.
*Industrial Design –
is the shape, configuration, pattern or
ornamentation of a useful article but not a method
or principle of construction
19. Something Special About TRIPS
TRIPS is the only GATT/WTO Framework agreement
that incorporates the provisions of other essentially
uneforceable international agreements & makes
them enforceable under the GATT/WTO Dispute
Settlement process
TRIPS goes beyond the Paris & Berne Conventions
to provide additional protection by establishing
minimum standards for the protection of intellectual
property rights.
Editor's Notes
It is an attempt to narrow the gaps in the way these rights are protected around the world, and to bring them under common international rules.
IPR have fixed term except trademark and geographical indications, which can have indefinite life provided these are renewed after a stipulated time specified in the law by paying official fees. Trade secrets also have an infinite life but they don’t have to be renewed.
These rights are awarded by the State and are monopoly rights implying that no one can use these rights without the consent of the right holder. It is important to know that these rights have to be renewed from time to time for keeping them in force except in case of copyright and trade secrets. IPR can be assigned, gifted, sold and licensed like any other property. Unlike other moveable and immoveable properties, these rights can be simultaneously held in many countries at the same time.
A patent in the law is a property right and hence, can be gifted, inherited, assigned, sold or licensed Indian Patent Act 1970.
Section 5, Part II contains the following standards: 1) Patents shall be granted for any inventions, whether products or processes, provided they are new, involve an inventive step, & are capable of industrial application. 2) Patents shall be granted in all fields of technology. No discrimination is allowed with respect to the place of invention, or based on whether the products are locally-produced or imported. 3) Members can exclude from patentability diagnostic, therapeutic, & surgical methods of treatment for humans or animals, as well as plants & animals & biological process for the production thereof.
4) Plant varieties shall be protected by patents, an effective sui generis regime, or a combination of both. 5) Exclusive rights conferred in the case of product and process patents are defined, subject in the case of imports, to the principle of exhaustion. Exclusive right implies that no one else can make, use, manufacture or market the invention without the consent of the patent holder 6) Inventions shall be disclosed in a manner which is sufficiently clear & complete for a skilled person in the art to carry out the invention. Indication of the best ode of carrying out the invention, as well as information concerning corresponding patent applications & grants, may be required. 7) Limited exceptions to the exclusive rights can be defined by national laws (TRIPS Art. 30)
8) Conditions for granting other uses without authorization of the patent-holder (compulsory licenses) are set forth – Members can determine the grounds to allow such uses. 9) Revocation/forfeiture of a patent is subject to judicial review. 10) The term of protection shall be at least 20 years from the date of application.
Copyright does not protect ideas as such, but only the original expression of ideas Cinematographic films including sound track and video films and recordings on discs, tapes, perforated roll or other devices are covered by copyrights. Computer programs and software are covered under literary works and are protected in India under copyrights.
1) Protection of works covered by the Berne Convention, excluding moral rights to the expression but not the ideas, procedures, methods of operation, or mathematical concepts as such. 2) Protection of computer programs as literary works & of compilations of data. 3) Recognition of rental rights, at least for phonograms, computer programs, & for cinematographic works (except if rental has not led to widespread copying that impairs the reproduction rights).
4) Exceptions to exclusive rights must be limited to special cases which do not conflict with normal exploitation of the work & do not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the rights-holder. 5) Recognition of the 50 year minimum exclusivity term for works (other) than photographic or applied artworks) owned by juridical persons & for performers & phonogram producers. 6) Recognition of rights of performers, producers of phonograms, & broadcasting organisations
