Intellectual property

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