TRIPs AGREEMENT

About TRIPs……

• The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property

Rights (TRIPS) is an international agreement administered by the

World Trade Organization

• TRIPS is the most important and comprehensive international

agreement on Intellectual Property rights

• It was formed at the end of the Uruguay Round of the General

Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1994.

• The TRIPS agreement introduced intellectual property law into the

international trading system for the first time

Contd…

• After the Uruguay round, the GATT became the basis for the

establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995

• WTO was established to supervise and liberalize trade

• Adoption of TRIPS is a compulsory requirement of World Trade

Organization membership

• 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

• There are now 153 WTO member nations and 29 observer nations

• When the TRIPs Agreement took effect on January 1, 1995, all

developed countries were given twelve months from the date of

signing the agreement to implement its provisions.

• Developing countries and transition economies (under certain

conditions) were given five years, until 2000.

• Least developed countries (LDCs) were given 11 years, until 2006, to

comply.

• For pharmaceutical patents in these LDCs, the term for compliance

has been extended to 2016.

• There are currently 30 LDCs within the WTO organization bound by

TRIPs and another 10 LDCs are waiting accession.

Intellectual Property Rights ( IPRs )• IPRs - the rights given to the persons over the creations of their

minds

• They usually give the creator an exclusive right over the use of

his/her creation for a certain period of time

• The TRIPS Agreement sets down minimum standards, which allows

members to provide more extensive protection of intellectual

property if they so wish.

• Members are left free to determine the appropriate method of

implementing the provisions of the Agreement within their own

legal system and practice.

Contd…

• 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 includes :

– Patented objects

– Trademarks

– Industrial Designs

– Trade Secrets

– Layout-designs of Integrated Circuits

– Geographical Indications

Forms of Intellectual Property : The TRIPs Agreement covers

• Copyright and related rights (i.e. The rights of performers,

producers of sound recordings and broadcasting organizations)

• Trademarks including service marks

• Geographical indications including appellations of origin

• Industrial designs

• Patents including the protection of new varieties of plants

• The layout-designs of integrated circuits

• Undisclosed information including trade secrets and test data.

Objectives of IPRs :

• To encourage and reward creative work

• To protects the investments in the development of technology

• To stimulate and ensure fair competition

• To protect consumer choices

• To facilitate transfer of technology in the form of FDI, joint

ventures and licensing• To achieve the balance of rights and obligations