Intellectual property

The WIPO-WTO Colloquium Papers is a peer-reviewed academic journal, published jointly by the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Trade Organization each year since 2010. Providing a uniquely representative and diverse showcase for emerging IP scholarship from across the globe, the journal aims to stimulate analysis and debate on intellectual property (IP) issues particularly of interest to developing countries. And it offers an avenue fo Read More

This handbook describes the historical and legal background to the TRIPS Agreement, its role in the WTO and its institutional framework and reviews the following areas: general provisions and basic principles; copyright and related rights; trademarks; geographical indications; patents; industrial designs, layout-designs, undisclosed information and anti-competitive practices; enforcement of IPRs; dispute settlement in the context of the TRIPS Agreement; Read More

Promoting Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation examines the interplay between public health, trade and intellectual property, and how these policy domains affect medical innovation and access to medical technologies. Co-published by the World Health Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the WTO, the study draws together the three Secretariats’ respective areas of expertise.

Trade has always been shaped by technological innovation. In recent times, a new technology, Blockchain, has been greeted by many as the next big game-changer. Can Blockchain revolutionize international trade? This publication seeks to demystify the Blockchain phenomenon by providing a basic explanation of the technology. It analyses the relevance of this technology for international trade by reviewing how it is currently used or can be used in the va Read More

The establishment of the WTO’s TRIPS (trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights) Agreement in 1995 changed the face of international intellectual property (IP) law and policy-making. TRIPS negotiators recognized that shortcomings and inconsistencies in IP protection can distort trade and impede its benefits. The TRIPS Agreement helps ease trade tensions about IP issues while leaving WTO members ample space to pursue diverse domestic po Read More

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 Read More

Extrait mis à jour : une approche intégrée englobant santé, commerce et propriété intellectuelle pour répondre à la pandémie de COVID-19, 30 août 2021. La pandémie de COVID-19 constitue une crise de santé publique mondiale extraordinaire. Elle a rendu nécessaire l’intensification de la coopération au niveau planétaire. Dès le début, elle a soulevé des questions à l’intersection entre la politique de santé publique, la politique commerciale ainsi que le cad Read More

Updated extract: integrated health, trade and IP approach to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, 30 August 2021. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic constitutes an extraordinary global public health crisis. It has created a pressing need for intensified global cooperation. The pandemic has from its outset raised issues at the crossroads of public health policy, trade policy and the framework for and management of innovation, including those r Read More

La pandémie de maladie à coronavirus 2019 (COVID 19) constitue une crise de santé publique mondiale extraordinaire. Elle a rendu nécessaire l'intensification de la coopération au niveau planétaire. Dès le début, elle a soulevé des questions à l'intersection entre la politique de santé publique, la politique commerciale ainsi que le cadre et la gestion de l'innovation, y compris pour ce qui est des droits de propriété intellectuelle. La deuxième Read More

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way we live, work, produce and trade. As it further develops, AI is expected to unlock unprecedented economic and societal opportunities. However, it is also a source of significant risks and challenges. This report examines the intersection of AI and international trade. It discusses how AI may shape the future of international trade by reducing trade costs, improving productivity and expanding economies' compar Read More

The invitation to contribute to this book was certainly a pleasant surprise. The question for me was what I should write about: I had not been one of the negotiators and the chapter on the TRIPS negotiations from the perspective of the GATT Secretariat is dealt with by Adrian Otten, who was the Secretary of the TRIPS Negotiating Group. Several suggestions were made by my co-authors and, upon reflection, I decided to contribute with just a short com Read More

The development of effective strategies to improve global health and react to changes in the global burden of disease (GBD) requires an understanding of the GBD and of GBD-related trends, coupled with an understanding of major health risks. These are introduced in this section.

Mes sincères remerciements vont à ma collègue Kenza Le Mentec pour ses précieux conseils. Mme Le Mentec m’a initiée au sujet et elle a apporté de précieuses contributions, en particulier pour les sections techniques décrivant la technologie et pour la section sur la facilitation des échanges. Cette publication n’aurait pas été possible sans son soutien.

Research published by the European Parliament in 2017 claimed that Blockchain could “change our lives” (Boucher, 2017). What the various blockchain applications that are being developed in areas as diverse as trade finance, trade facilitation, trade in services, intellectual property and government procurement show is that Blockchain has the potential to impact both the traders and the government agencies involved in international trade sig Read More

Against the background of the global burden of disease (GBD) and global health risks, this chapter outlines the fundamental imperative for collaboration. It demonstrates the need for a coordinated approach, taking into account health, intellectual property (IP) and trade variables, to ensure coherent decision-making in the area of public health at the international, regional and domestic levels.

Health is a fundamental and universal human right. The attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health is the foundational objective of the WHO.

TRIPS includes a set of transparency mechanisms, which require Members to furnish extensive information about their IP laws and policies, and details about how IPRs are administered and enforced in their territories; these laws are also reviewed in detail in the TRIPS Council. The operation of these transparency mechanisms in the years since 1995 has yielded a uniquely comprehensive and systematic body of information that now covers some 130 jurisdic Read More

El mundo, tal como lo conocemos, ha sido definido por las innovaciones tecnológicas. Muchas personas han acogido la aparición de una nueva tecnología, la cadena de bloques (una tecnología de registro distribuido), a la que consideran el próximo gran factor de cambio, con entusiasmo y optimismo. La cadena de bloques, que permite compartir registros digitales y datos de manera segura, transparente e inalterable sin necesidad de depender de un único t Read More

This chapter provides a general overview of the ongoing work in the TRIPS Council and other WTO bodies on other aspects of TRIPS and public policy as of the time of writing, focusing on the issues, which have been the most prominent

Hong Kong’s overall approach to the TRIPS negotiations was made clear to the other participants from an early stage: Hong Kong held itself out as the exemplar of free trade, with a mature, respected legal system, providing comprehensive protection across the range of IP to right holders.

This chapter explains the provisions of Section 5 of Part II of the TRIPS Agreement entitled ‘Patents’. Section 5, which contains eight articles, from Article 27 to Article 34, sets out the obligations of members with respect to standards concerning the availability, scope and use of patents. Starting with a general explanation of terms, this chapter goes on to explain each specific provision in this Section of the TRIPS Agreement.

In this chapter, I share my recollections as a representative of India from 1989–90 in the TRIPS negotiations, focusing on India’s defensive interests with respect to the patent provisions of the TRIPS Agreement. I also include some relevant background information, as well as some recollections of my interaction with other parties to the TRIPS negotiations.

As a former official within the Secretariat of the GATT/WTO with responsibility for TRIPS matters, my aim in this chapter is to set the scene for the contributions to this book of the negotiators themselves, by outlining the origins and various stages of the negotiations that led to the TRIPS Agreement. I will also make some general observations on the negotiations, in particular on how it proved possible to negotiate an agreement as substantial as the Read More

This chapter explains the provisions of Section 2 of Part II of the TRIPS Agreement entitled ‘Trademarks’. This Section contains seven articles, from Article 15 to Article 21, and deals with the protection that members have to make available for trademarks.

Public health has been one of the most extensively discussed aspects of the TRIPS Agreement, both in terms of the treaty text itself and its implementation at the domestic level. Its significance is borne out by a proclamation at the ministerial level, the 2001 Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health (Doha Declaration), and by the ensuing amendment of the Agreement itself, the first amendment of any WTO multilateral trade agreemen Read More

This section reviews the challenges faced by today’s pharmaceutical industry, against the background of its evolution outlined in the previous section.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic constitutes an extraordinary global public health crisis. It has created a pressing need for intensified global cooperation. The pandemic has from its outset raised issues at the crossroads of public health policy, trade policy and the framework for and the management of innovation, including those relating to intellectual property (IP) rights.

This handbook describes the historical and legal background to the TRIPS Agreement, its role in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its institutional framework, and reviews the following areas: general provisions and basic principles; copyright and related rights; trademarks; geographical indications; patents; industrial designs, layout-designs, undisclosed information and anti-competitive practices; enforcement of intellectual property rights; dis Read More

As we mark the 20th anniversary of the WTO, it seems appropriate that we should put a spotlight on the TRIPS Agreement which also turns 20 this year. When the TRIPS Agreement came into being in 1995, it introduced substantive and comprehensive disciplines on intellectual property rights (IPRs) into the multilateral trading system.

Chapter II has described the main elements of the policy framework for innovation and access. This chapter considers how this policy framework applies to innovation in medical technologies. It reviews the factors that have spurred innovation in medical technologies in the past, identifies how current models of R&D are evolving, and charts the role of established and new participants in the innovation process, including in the context of neglected diseases, Read More

This chapter provides an overview of the TRIPS Agreement. It first explains the historical and legal background of the Agreement and its place in the World Trade Organization (WTO). It then turns to the general provisions and basic principles, as well as other provisions and institutional arrangements, that apply to all the categories of intellectual property rights (IPRs) covered by TRIPS. Chapters II to VII then discuss each of these categories in more detail.

The TRIPS Agreement includes a set of transparency mechanisms, which require members to furnish extensive information about their IP laws and policies, and details about how IPRs are administered and enforced in their territories; these laws are also reviewed in detail in the TRIPS Council. In addition, the TRIPS Council has itself established a series of reporting processes concerning specific aspects of members’ IP systems. The operation of these tr Read More

International cooperation on public health is inherently multi-dimensional, with a focus on building effective health systems. It is dynamic and responsive to the demands of countries around the globe. Towards this goal, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) have been working closely together for almost two decades to support global endeavours to improve health outcomes.

This chapter outlines the policy framework for public health, intellectual property (IP), international trade and competition, focusing on how they intersect with particular emphasis on medical technologies. The framework described comprises the policy, economic and legal features of IP and innovation systems, regulation of medical products, competition policy, and relevant trade policy measures, including import tariffs, rules on trade in services, govern Read More

Le monde tel que nous le connaissons aujourd’hui a été façonné par les innovations technologiques. Une nouvelle technologie, la chaîne de blocs – technologie de registres distribués –, a été accueillie par beaucoup avec enthousiasme et optimisme comme le prochain grand facteur de changement. La chaîne de blocs, qui permet de diffuser des données et des informations numériques de manière sûre, transparente et immuable sans avoir à rec Read More

This chapter provides an overview of the TRIPS Agreement. It first explains the historical and legal background of the Agreement and its place in the World Trade Organization (WTO). It then turns to the general provisions and basic principles, as well as other provisions and institutional arrangements, that apply to all the categories of intellectual property rights (IPRs) covered by TRIPS. Chapters II to VIII then discuss each of these categories, their essential pr Read More