international economic law chapter 8
what is presumed to be the downside of when intellectual property rights are not protected
it reduces incentive for innovation which in the long term can be problematic.
what was one of the major stumbling blocks to Russia's accession into the WTO
its inadequate IP regime
what does TRIPS require judicial authorities have the power to do in the domestic legal system
judicial authorities must have the power to award cash compensation for infringements of intellectual property rights and to enforce criminal prosecution
if a member state requires that a trademark be renewed whats the limit of how often they can do this
once every 7 years
what is one type of exception allowed under TRIPs in relation to geographical indicators
one is when the name has already become a generic term and it is too late to restrict the association to a particular location
what must those who reproduce copyrighted material show in order for them to fall within the exception
they must show that they have not caused an unreasonable loss of income to the copyright holder
what do member states promise to do under TRIPS
they promise to treat their own nationals and foreigners equally with respect to obtaining and protecting intellectual property rights
what products get higher levels of protection for geographical indicators under TRIPs
wine and spirits
in 2001 what did the WTO decide would be allowed under compulory licences
Decided to allow generic copies of drugs made under compulsory licenses to be exported to specific countries that lack production capacity.
what is one of the most widely cited problems with TRIPs
It is alleged that TRIPs fails to recognise the intellectual property traditions of non western cultures many of which are not formally recognised as legal rights
what is the value of the global market for illegal copied goods and service moving through internartional trade
$250 billion per year
what are the categories of intellectual property covered by the TRIPS
-copyright. -trademark. -patents
what are the two scenario's where a government may refuse to issue a patent
-if commercial exploitation is disallowed for reasons of public or morality -declining for plants and animals or for surgical or diagnostic methods
what is one large emerging Market WTO member that has responded well to WTO TRIPs obligations
Brazil
what was decided by the WTO panel in 1997 in the dispute between EU and India in relation to TRIPS and patent protection
Ruled in favour of the EU stating that indias interim system of mailbox patets was not sufficiently transparent and impartial, they also ruled that india had failed to provide a mechanism for granting future patent holders exclusive marketing rights that are mandated by TRIPs
in the TRIPS case that came before the WTO court involving the US and EU and the playing of music in public places what was the US's claim
They claimmed that the TRIPS special exemption applied to their law allowing the playing of music in places of a certain size
under TRIPs what must each member provide, through its own domestic legal system
They must provide enforcement mechanisms for the protected rights through its own domestic legal system
how long must patent protection be available for inventions
it must be available for twenty years
what is the requirement for compulsory licensiing
allowed if there is a serious emergency or public health crisis
how has the dilemma of the WTO not protecting indigenous peoples rights been suggested could be addressed
by encouraging indigenous peoples to take ownership of their traditional inventions in a manner that fits with the international understandiing of IP.
what does TRIPS establish about patent protection
it establishes that patent protection must be made available under the national laws of member states for both products and processes in almost all fields of technology
what is TRIPS and what is the basis of it
it is the agreement on trade related aspects of intellectual property rights and its basis is the concept of non-discrimination
TRIPS agreement is another exampe of what international lawyers call positive harmonisation, what is this
it is the attemot to ensure that each country in the world adopts the same type of standards within its national laws, not by imposing one set of laws directly at the international level
TRIPs does not have provisions safeguaerding the rights of indigenous peoples how is this viewed by many
it is viewed by many as a major gap in WTO policy and a source of continued tension between developed and developing world
TRIPS maintains a compulsary prohibition on what
maintains a prohibition on compulsory licensing of trademarks
what is a condition of TRIPS on WTO members in relation to place names
members must make sure that they prevent place names by competitors seeking to take an unfair advantage of goodwill associated with products from particular locations and misleading customers
to qualify for geographical indication status under a members national law, must it be shown that a product from a geographical area is in fact better than a different product from elsewhere
no iit is not necessary to show that a product from else where is better
does TRIPs have a mechanism for ensuring that its member countries make efforts to assist indigenous peoples in securing legal protection for their traditional inventions
no it does not have any such mechanisms
TRIPS sets minimum levels of protection for what
protection for various forms of intellectual property that must be provided under national laws of each member country
what has been argued as one of the true reasons for brazils strong intellectual property protections
that brazilians are now enjoying higher incomes as a consequence of overall improvements to their economy
TRIPS sets out that the holders of copyright must have what?
they must have the right to prevent the unauthorised reproduction of their work for at least fifty years after their death
what was the ruling by the WTO in the US v EU music in public places case
the WTO panel disagreed with the US assertion noting that the size specified under the US exemption was quite large meaning that substantial majority of premises were covered by it.
who determines how precisely the notion of similarity in TRIPS and copyright are determined
the domestic legal system of each member state will determine this
what exclusive rights must patents confer on the ppatent holder
the patent holder must be able to sell the relevent product or process and to assign or licence it to third parties
what is the rational for protecting intellectual property
the rationale is moral and economic, hard working, creative people should be rewarded for thier skill and effort
what does the agreement (TRIPs) provide for in realisation that it would be difficult for many non industrialized countries to bring their laws into conformity with the requirements of TRIPs
they agreement has provided for transitional periods for developing countries
in terms of TRIPS what are geographical indications
they are another important category of intellectual property
what are the minimum standards of protection for the chief forms of intellectual property founded on?
they are founded on common understandings of what constitutes intellectual property in the legal systems of the developed world
under what conditions is the reproduction of copyrighted works allowed outside of the time liimits set in TRIPS
they are permitted by TRIPS when the works are reproducedfor teaching purposes or for the reporting og current events.
what are trade marks
they are signs which distinguish certain goods and services from those produced by other companies
while india has been one of the major opponents of the WTO's IP regime what have some western firms said about India
they have complained that india has been too quick to instigate compulsory licenses for the reproductin of essntial drugs when they should be using price controls to ensure affordability
what may producers use to avoid use of a geographical indicator that misleads the public
they may use qualifying words like "immitation" or "like"
what must happen to trademarks for them to be legally protected
they must be registered with the government.
what do the critics of intellectual property rights laws say?
they say that it is simply not believable that weak intellectual property protection reduces incenntives for creatives and innovators because low disposable income in somoe countries meanss that they are really not significant markets for intellectual property and these countries lack technological capacity to reproduce.
why do trademarks registered in a member country grant the owner the exclusive right in all other member countries
this is done in order to prevent third parties from using the trademark without the owners consent
what is compulsary licensing
this is where the owner of the IP is forced by law to allow a third party to use it subject to payment
what is the key difference between trademarks and copyright
trademarks can be protected for an unlimited period once registered
