WTO and the TRIPS AgreementWTO and the TRIPS Agreement

Wolf R. MEIER-EWERT Wolf R. MEIER-EWERT

WTO SecretariatWTO Secretariat

A Business-oriented overview of Intellectual Property for Law Students

WIPO, Geneva 20 – 22 March 2006

Location: Geneva, SwitzerlandEstablished: 1 January 1995Created by: Uruguay Round negotiations (1986-94)   Membership: 149 countries (11.12.2005)Budget: 169m Swiss francs, 2005Secretariat staff: ~600Head: Director-General Pascal Lamy

Functions:• Administering WTO trade agreements• Forum for trade negotiations• Handling trade disputes• Monitoring national trade policies• Technical assistance and training for developing countries• Cooperation with other international organizations

WTO - FACT FILEWTO - FACT FILE

• • forum forforum fornegotiationsnegotiations

• agreed rules and

commitments

• … with basic principles for

trade

• … and dispute settlement

• member-driven

• supporting Secretariat

What is the WTO?What is the WTO?Somewhere to talk

Agreement on trade-related aspects of Agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS)intellectual property rights (TRIPS)

Annex 1C of WTO AgreementAnnex 1C of WTO AgreementCoverageCoverage– most comprehensive multilateral agreement most comprehensive multilateral agreement

on intellectual property to dateon intellectual property to date– incorporating substantive provisions of:incorporating substantive provisions of:

Paris Convention (1967)Paris Convention (1967)Berne Convention(1971)Berne Convention(1971)Rome Convention (1961)Rome Convention (1961)Treaty on IP in Respect of Integrated Circuits Treaty on IP in Respect of Integrated Circuits (1989)(1989)

Existing conventions Existing conventions

To avoid re-opening of To avoid re-opening of existing textsexisting textsTo negotiate the To negotiate the "plus""plus" elements elements

To have a short but To have a short but comprehensive textcomprehensive text

Conventions fully incorporated or Conventions fully incorporated or almost fully incorporatedalmost fully incorporated

Plus elementsPlus elements

Conventions with very few elementsConventions with very few elements

incorporatedincorporated

""IncorporationIncorporation"" Technique Technique

BerneParis

IPIC

Rome

TRIPS: Main features (1)TRIPS: Main features (1)

Coverage of TRIPSCoverage of TRIPSAreas of intellectual property covered:Areas of intellectual property covered:

copyright and related rights copyright and related rights

trademarks including service marks;trademarks including service marks;

geographical indications including appellations of origin;geographical indications including appellations of origin;

industrial designs;industrial designs;

patents including the protection of new varieties of plants;patents including the protection of new varieties of plants;

the layout-designs of integrated circuits; andthe layout-designs of integrated circuits; and

undisclosed information, including trade secrets and test undisclosed information, including trade secrets and test data.data.

TRIPS: Main features (2)TRIPS: Main features (2)

Enforcement ProvisionsEnforcement Provisions General Principles applicable to IPRsGeneral Principles applicable to IPRs

Specifies Procedures that must be Specifies Procedures that must be availableavailable

Dispute SettlementDispute Settlement Part of the integrated Dispute Settlement Part of the integrated Dispute Settlement System of the WTOSystem of the WTO

No unilateral action by Members allowedNo unilateral action by Members allowed

Freedom to determine the appropriate method of Freedom to determine the appropriate method of implementing the Agreement (Art. 1.1)implementing the Agreement (Art. 1.1)

National treatment (Art. 3)National treatment (Art. 3)

Most-favoured nation treatment (MFN) (Art. 4, 5)Most-favoured nation treatment (MFN) (Art. 4, 5)

Exhaustion of rights (Art. 6); see (WT/MIN(01)/DEC/2)Exhaustion of rights (Art. 6); see (WT/MIN(01)/DEC/2)

Objectives (Art. 7); see WT/MIN(01)/DEC/2Objectives (Art. 7); see WT/MIN(01)/DEC/2

Principles (Art. 8); see WT/MIN(01)/DEC/2Principles (Art. 8); see WT/MIN(01)/DEC/2

TRIPS Basic Principles (1)TRIPS Basic Principles (1)

TRIPS: Basic principles (2)TRIPS: Basic principles (2)

National treatmentNational treatment– forbids discrimination between a Member's forbids discrimination between a Member's

own nationals and the nationals of other own nationals and the nationals of other MembersMembers

Most-Favoured-Nation TreatmentMost-Favoured-Nation Treatment– forbids discrimination between the nationals forbids discrimination between the nationals

of other Membersof other Members

TRIPS - Transitional arrangementsTRIPS - Transitional arrangements

1 Jan. 1995: entry into force1 Jan. 1995: entry into force1 Jan. 2005: developing countries 1 Jan. 2005: developing countries extend product patent protection to extend product patent protection to areas of technology not previously areas of technology not previously covered covered 1 July 20131 July 2013: least-developed countries: least-developed countries1 Jan. 2016: least-developed countries 1 Jan. 2016: least-developed countries provide pharmaceutical patentsprovide pharmaceutical patentsOther provisionsOther provisions– non-backsliding provisionnon-backsliding provision– special transitional arrangements in special transitional arrangements in

certain casescertain cases– mail-box and exclusive marketing mail-box and exclusive marketing

rightsrights

2001 Doha Declaration: TRIPS2001 Doha Declaration: TRIPS

Emphasized that TRIPS Emphasized that TRIPS should be supportive of should be supportive of public healthpublic health– See separate declarationSee separate declaration

September 2003 deadline for September 2003 deadline for negotiations on wine and negotiations on wine and spirit GI registration spirit GI registration TRIPS Council reviews to TRIPS Council reviews to consider biological diversity, consider biological diversity, traditional knowledge and traditional knowledge and development objectivesdevelopment objectives

TRIPS in the WTOTRIPS in the WTO

General Council

TR

IPS

Co

un

cil

TRIPS Council Special Session

Neg Group onMarket Access

Neg Groupon Rules

SpecialSessions

Trade Negotiating Committee

Doha Development Agenda

TRIPS Council – Regular Session TRIPS Council – Regular Session and Special Sessionand Special Session

TRIPS COUNCIL

REGULAR SESSIONReview of legislation,

public health, Biotech./TK/biodiversity, etc.

Chair: Trevor Clarke, Barbados

SPECIAL SESSIONNegotiations /mult. System

of notif. & reg. of GIs for wines and spirits

Chair: Manzoor AHMAD, Pakistan

Notifications by Members under various Notifications by Members under various provisionsprovisions

Notifications under Article 63.2 (laws, regulations Notifications under Article 63.2 (laws, regulations and practices)and practices)

Review of national legislation (laws, regulations Review of national legislation (laws, regulations and practices), including process of questions-and practices), including process of questions-replies, presentations in the meeting, follow-up replies, presentations in the meeting, follow-up questions-repliesquestions-replies

Merits of the process in general: transparency (dispute Merits of the process in general: transparency (dispute prevention effect); valuable source of information; right of prevention effect); valuable source of information; right of allall Members to pose questions Members to pose questions

TRIPS Council: Regular ActivitiesTRIPS Council: Regular Activities

Public health Finding a solution for countries with no or insufficient manufacturing capacity in the pharmaceutical sector to make effective use of compulsory licensing (Decision of 6 December 2005; IP/C/41)

Geographical indications multilateral register for GIs for wines and spirits

discussions on "extension“

„clawback“ proposal by the EC in Agriculture

Biotechnology/traditional knowledge/biodiversity discuss the relationship between the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the TRIPS Agreement

Introduction of a disclosure requirement for patent applicants proposed by Brasil, India and others.

TRIPS Council: Current IssuesTRIPS Council: Current Issues

www.www.wtowto.org.org

For more information:For more information:

wolf.meier-ewert@wto.orgwolf.meier-ewert@wto.org

Tel.: +41 22 739 63 44Tel.: +41 22 739 63 44