IPR and TRIPS

Am working hard on my essays. Have talked about IPR in one of my answers. This post contains the gist of all the groundwork I have done on IPR and TRIPS.

Intellectual property rights(IPR) are the rights given to 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. There are two types of IP rights.

Copyrights and Related Rights
These include artistic works, computer programs and films.These are covered by a copyright for at least 50 years after the death of the author.

Industrial Property Rights
These include Patents and Trademarks.Trademarks are used to ensure fair competition and guarantee a minimum level of quality for a particular product or service.Patents are generally of a limited nature, and protection in terms of patents is given for a period of 20 years.

TRIPS(Uruguay Session of WTO) is a way to ensure uniform protection of IPR around the world and bring them under a common set of rules.The agreement covers five basic 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.

The first part of the TRIPS agreement dealy with non-discrimination.This involves national treatment (treating one's own nationals and foreigners equally), and most-favoured-nation treatment (equal treatment for nationals of all trading partners in the WTO).

The second partlooks at different kinds of IPR and how to protect them.It includes

• Copyrights - This covers software, databases, music, literature and film.
• Trademarks - These cover marks used for goods as well as services.
• Geographical indications - These cover products which have special qualities due to their region of origin.Examples are Champagne, Basmati, Tequilla and Scotch.
• Industrial Designs - These cover a particular design and prevent the manufacture, sale or importation of articles bearing or embodying a design which is a copy of the protected design.Designs are protected for at least 10 years.
• Patents - These cover inventions in products and services for at least 20 years.A lot of flexibility has been built into the rules, that allow poor countries facing public health disasters to take measures to protect public health.The WTO has extended exemptions on pharmaceutical patent protection for least-developed countries until 2016.
• Undisclosed information and trade secrets - This covers trade secrets and other types of undisclosed information which have commercial value against breach of confidence and other acts contrary to honest commercial practices.

The third part deals with the enforcement of these laws. It states that all measures of enforcement must be fair but tough. It stipulates that wilful trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy on a commercial scale should be criminal offences.

The fourth part deals with Technology Transfer issues. Developing countries in particular, see technology transfer as part of the bargain in which they have agreed to protect intellectual property rights. The TRIPS Agreement includes a number of provisions on this. For example, it requires developed countries' governments to provide incentives for their companies to transfer technology to least-developed countries.

Links

• WTO