THE AGREEMENT ON TRADE-RELATED with international trade in

ASPECTS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY counterfeit goods;

RIGHTS
c. Intellectual property rights are
private rights;
1. An agreement that builds on the
existing multilateral systems for the d. Public policy objectives of national
protection of the various intellectual systems for the protection of
property rights covered by it, and intellectual property, including
many substantive provisions of the developmental and technological
main international instruments for the objectives;
protection of intellectual property are
included in the Agreement. e. Special needs of the least-
developed country Members in
Ans: The Agreement on Trade- respect of maximum flexibility in
Related Aspects of Intellectual the domestic implementation of
Property Rights (TRIPS) laws and regulations;

2. TRIPS recognizes the following: f. Importance of reducing tensions

by reaching strengthened
a. The need for new rules and commitments to resolve disputes
disciplines concerning: on trade-related intellectual
property issues through
1. The applicability of the basic multilateral procedures;
principles of GATT 1994 and of
relevant international g. Establish a mutually supportive
intellectual property relationship between the World
agreements or conventions; Trade Organization (WTO) and
WIPO as well as other relevant
2. Adequate standards and international organizations
principles concerning the
availability, scope and use 3. Provisions under TRIPS:
of trade-related intellectual
property rights; a. National Treatment- Each
Member shall accord to the
3. Effective and appropriate nationals of other Members
means for the enforcement of treatment no less favourable
trade-related intellectual than that it accords to its own
property rights, taking into nationals with regard to the
account differences in national protection of intellectual
legal systems; property, subject to the
exceptions already provided in,
4. Effective and expeditious Paris Convention (1967), the
procedures for the multilateral Berne Convention (1971), the
prevention and settlement of Rome Convention or the Treaty
disputes between on Intellectual Property in
governments; Respect of Integrated Circuits;

5. Transitional arrangements b. Most- Favoured-Nation-

aiming at the fullest Treatment- any advantage,
participation in the results of favor, privilege or immunity
the negotiations; granted by a Member to the
nationals of any other country
b. Need for a multilateral framework shall be accorded immediately
of principles, rules and disciplines and unconditionally to the
dealing nationals of all other Members.

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 Exceptions: producer, manufacturer or
trader.
i. Judicial assistance or law
enforcement deriving from b. To the mutual advantage of
international agreements not producers and users of
particularly to the protection technological knowledge and
of IP; in a manner conducive to social
and economic welfare, and to a
ii. Treatment accorded be a balance of rights and
function not of national obligations.
treatment but of the treatment
accorded in another country 5. TRIPS In relation to Berne Convention:
authorized by Rome and Berne
Conventions;
A. COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
iii. In respect of the rights of
performers, producers of i. Computer programs,
phonograms and broadcasting whether in source or
organizations not provided object code, shall be
under this Agreement; protected as literary works
under the Berne
iv. Protection of intellectual Convention;
property deriving from
international agreement which ii. Compilations of data or
entered into force prior to other material, whether in
the entry into force of the machine readable or other
WTO Agreement, form, which by reason of
provided that such agreements the selection or
are notified to the Council for arrangement of their
TRIPS and do not constitute an contents constitute
arbitrary or unjustifiable intellectual creations shall
discrimination against be protected as such, but
nationals of other such protection will not
Members. extend to the data or
material itself and without
c. Multilateral Agreements on prejudice to any copyright
Acquisition or Maintenance subsisting in the data or
of Protection- provision on material itself;
National Treatment and Most-
Favoured Nation Treatment do iii. In computer programs and
not apply to procedures in cinematographic works, a
multilateral agreements Member shall provide
concluded under WIPO authors and their
relating to acquisition and successors in title the right
maintenance of intellectual to authorize or to prohibit
property rights. the commercial rental to
the public of originals or
4. Objectives of TRIPS: copies of their copyright
The protection and enforcement of works unless such rental
intellectual property rights should has led to widespread
contribute: copying of such works
a. to the promotion of which is materially
technological innovation and impairing the exclusive
to the transfer and right of reproduction
dissemination of technology conferred in that Member
on authors and their

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 successors in title. But authorization: the fixation,
does not apply to rentals the reproduction of
where the program itself is fixations, and the
not the essential object of rebroadcasting by wireless
the rental. These rental means of broadcasts, the
rights shall apply mutatis communication to the
mutandis to producers of public of television
phonograms and any other broadcasts of the same.
right holders Where Members do not
grant such rights to
iv. Term of Protection- not broadcasting
less than 50 years (if not organizations, they shall
calculated based on the life provide owners of
of a natural person) from copyright in the subject
the end of the calendar matter of broadcasts with
year of authorized the possibility of
publication, if no preventing the above acts,
authorized publication, subject to the provisions of
within 50 years from the the Berne Convention
making of the work (50 (1971). (Last for at least 20
years from the end of the years from the end of the
calendar of making); calendar year in which the
broadcast took place.)
v. In respect of a fixation of
their performance on a
phonogram, performers
B. TRADEMARKS
shall prevent the fixation of
their unfixed performance i. Protectable Subject Matter
and the reproduction of -Any sign, or any combination of
such fixation, when signs, capable of distinguishing the
undertaken without their goods or services of one
authorization or the undertaking from those of other
broadcasting by wireless undertakings, shall be capable of
means and the constituting a trademark. Where
communication to the signs are not inherently capable of
public of their live distinguishing the relevant goods
performance; (Last at least or services. Members may make
until the end of a period of registrability depend on
50 years computed from distinctiveness acquired through
the end of the calendar use. Members may require, as a
year in which the fixation condition of registration, that signs
was made or the be visually perceptible. However,
performance took place) actual use of a trademark shall not
be a condition for filing an
vi. Producers of phonograms application for registration.
shall enjoy the right to
authorize or prohibit the ii. Rights Conferred
direct or indirect -The owner of a registered
reproduction of their trademark shall have the exclusive
phonograms; right to prevent all third parties
not having the owner’s consent
vii. Broadcasting from using in the course of trade
organizations shall have identical or similar signs for
the right to prohibit the goodsor services which are
following acts when identical or similar to those in
undertaken without their respect of which the trademark is

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 registered where such use would protection shall be accorded to
result in a likelihood of confusion. each indication, each Member shall
In case of the use of an identical
determine the practical conditions
sign for identical goods or services,
under which the homonymous
a likelihood of confusion shall be
indications in question will be
presumed.
differentiated from each other,
- In determining whether a
taking into account the need to
trademark is well-known,
ensure equitable treatment of the
Members shall take account of the
producers concerned and that
knowledge of the trademark in the
consumers are not misled.
relevant sector of the public,
including knowledge in the ii. Exceptions:
Member concerned which has
been obtained as a result of the a. The Council for TRIPS shall keep
promotion of the trademark. under review the application of the
provisions of this Section; the first
iii. Term of Protection- Initial such review shall take place
registration, and each renewal of within two years of the entry into
registration, of a trademark shall force of the WTO Agreement.
be for a term of no less than seven b. A Member shall not diminish the
years. The registration of a protection of geographical
trademark shall be renewable indications that existed in that
indefinitely. Member immediately prior to the
date of entry into force of the WTO
C. GEOGRAHICAL INDICATIONS Agreement.
c. Nothing in this Section shall
- indications which identify good as require a Member to prevent
originating in the territory of a continued and similar use of a
Member, or a region or locality in particular geographical indication
that territory, where a given of another Member identifying
quality, reputation or other wines or spirits in connection with
characteristic of the good is goods or services by any of its
essentially attributable to its nationals or domiciliaries who
geographical origin. have used that geographical
indication in a continuous
manner with regard to the same
i. Protection
or related goods or services in the
(a) Prevent the use of any means in territory of that Member either (a)
the designation or presentation of for at least 10 years preceding
a good that indicates or suggests 15 April 1994 or (b) in good
that the good in question faith preceding that
originates in a geographical area date;
other than the true place of origin
in a manner which misleads the d. Where a trademark has been
public as to the geographical origin applied for or registered in good
of the good; faith, or where rights to a
trademark have been acquired
(b) any use which constitutes an
through use in good faith either:
act of unfair competition.
(a) before the date of
Note: There is additional and more application of these provisions
strict protection for geographical in that Member as defined in
indications for Wines and Spirits. Part VI; or (b) before the
geographical indication is
In the case of homonymous protected in its country of
geographical indications for wines, origin;

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 Note: The protection is without design features. Members may provide that
prejudice eligibility for or the such protection shall not extend to designs
validity of the registration of a dictated essentially by technical or functional
trademark, or the right to use a considerations.
trademark, on the basis that such a
ii. Protection
trademark is identical with, or
similar to, a geographical a. Right to prevent third parties not having the
indication. owner’s consent from making, selling or
importing articles bearing or embodying a
e. Nothing in this Section shall design which is a copy, or substantially a copy,
require a Member to apply its of the protected design, when such acts are
provisions in respect of a undertaken for commercial purposes.
geographical indication of any other
Member with respect to goods or b. The duration of protection available shall
services for which the relevant amount to at least 10 years.
indication is identical with the term E. PATENTS
customary in common language as
the common name for such goods i. Patents shall be available for any inventions,
or services in the territory of that whether products or processes, in all fields of
Member. technology, provided that they are new, involve
an inventive step and are capable of industrial
f. Nothing in this Section shall application. Patents shall be available and
require a Member to apply its patent rights enjoyable without discrimination
provisions in respect of a as to the place of invention, the field of
geographical indication of any other technology and whether products are
Member with respect to products of imported or locally produced.
the vine for which the relevant
indication is identical with the Note: Non-patentable inventions, rights
customary name of a grape variety conferred, disclosure, term of patent under
existing in the territory of that TRIPS are the same with IPC.
Member as of the date of entry into
F. LAYOUT-DESIGNS (TOPOGRAPHIES) OF
force of the WTO Agreement.
INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
g. There shall be no obligation
i. Members shall consider unlawful the
under this Agreement to protect
following acts if performed without the
geographical indications which are
authorization of the right holder: importing,
not or cease to be protected in their
selling, or otherwise distributing for
country of origin, or which have
commercial purposes a protected layout-
fallen into disuse in that country.
design, an integrated circuit in which a
h. The provisions of this Section protected layout design is incorporated, or an
shall in no way prejudice the right article incorporating such an integrated circuit
of any person to use, in the course only in so far as it continues to contain an
of trade, that person’s name or the unlawfully reproduced layout-design.
name of that person’s predecessor
ii. Acts not requiring the authorization of the
in business, except where such
Right Holder- consider unlawful the
name is used in such a manner as to
performance of any of the acts referred to in
mislead the public.
that Article in respect of an integrated circuit
D. INDUSTRIAL DESIGN incorporating an unlawfully reproduced
layout-design or any article incorporating such
i. Requirements of Protection an integrated circuit where the person
a. New or original; performing or ordering such acts did not know
and had no reasonable ground to know, when
b. Designs are not new or original if acquiring the integrated circuit or article
they do not incorporating such an integrated circuit, that it
incorporated an unlawfully reproduced
significantly differ from known
layout-design.
designs or combinations of known

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iii. Term of Protection- 10 years counted from remunerations, damages, disposition of
the date of filing an application for registration goods)
or from the first commercial exploitation
wherever in the world it occurs.
Note: A Member may provide that protection
shall lapse 15 years after the creation of the
layout-design.
G. PROTECTION OF UNDISCLOSED
INFORMATION

Natural and legal persons shall have the

possibility of preventing information lawfully
within their control from being disclosed to,
acquired by, or used by others without their
consent in a manner contrary to honest
commercial practices so long as such
information:
(a) is secret in the sense that it is not, as a body
or in the precise configuration and assembly of
its components, generally known among or
readily accessible to persons within the circles
that normally deal with the kind of
information in question;
(b) has commercial value because it is secret;
and
(c) has been subject to reasonable steps under
the circumstances, by the person lawfully in
control of the information, to keep it secret.
H. ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY RIGHTS
1. Permit effective action against any act of
infringement of intellectual property rights
covered by this Agreement, including
expeditious remedies to prevent
infringements and remedies which constitute
a deterrent to further infringements.
2. Not be unnecessarily complicated or costly,
or entail unreasonable time-limits or
unwarranted delays.
3. Decisions on the merits of a case shall be
based only on evidence in respect of which
parties were offered the opportunity to be
heard.
4. Parties to a proceeding shall have an
opportunity for review by a judicial authority
of final administrative decisions and, subject to
jurisdictional provisions in a Member's law
concerning the importance of a case, of at least
the legal aspects of initial judicial decisions on
the merits of a case. (injunction,

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