TRADE-RELATED

INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY
RIGHTS
(TRIPs)

By AMIT RATHI
 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.
 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
 What is “Intellectual Property”?

• Intellectual Property comprises 2 distinct

forms:
* Literary & Artistic Works
* Industrial Property
“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.
“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
 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
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.
 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
 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.
 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)
 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
 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 artistic work.
• include Cinematographic films and Computer
programs and software original literary or
dramatic or musical
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.
 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
*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,
colors, figurative elements, shape of goods, or
their packaging. TMs include service marks,
collective marks, & may include certification
marks.
*Trade Secrets –
are information deriving its value from not being
known or available to the public competitors, or
other parties who might otherwise gain benefit
from its disclosure or use.
*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
 Something Special About TRIPS
TRIPS is the only GATT/WTO Framework
agreement that incorporates the provisions
of other essentially unenforceable
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.
THANK YOU