The July 23, 1990 Draft WTO text on TRADE IN COUNTERFEIT AND PIRATED GOODS

The July 23, 1990 draft of the TRIPS Agreement contained the following proposal to deal with trade in counterfeit and pirated goods.

PART IX: TRADE IN COUNTERFEIT AND PIRATED GOODS

1. Preamble
MTN.GNG/NG11/W/76
Page 33

1B.1 Desirous of providing for adequate procedures and remedies to discourage international trade in counterfeit and
pirated goods while ensuring an unimpeded flow of trade in legitimate goods;

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Program for WTO TRIPS Council (June 8-9) including discussion on Paragraph 6 implementation and TRIPS plus enforcement trends

The following WTO aerogram contains the agenda for the upcoming WTO Council for TRIPS meeting to be held in Geneva from 8 June 2010 to 9 June 2010. Paragraph 2 and agenda items l and m will be of interest to readers of this blog. It should be noted that in the original document, the text is capitalized.

WTO/AIR/3562/Rev. 1

1. The next meeting of the Council for TRIPS will be held in the Center William Rappard on 8-9 June 2010. The meeting will start at 11 A.M. Tuesday, 8 June.

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

WTO TRIPS Council (June 8-9) to deliberate on Paragraph 6 implementation and TRIPS plus enforcement measures

The upcoming WTO Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Council) meets on 8-9 June 2010 (next Tuesday and Wednesday); Martin Glass (Hong Kong) is the current chair of the TRIPS Council. Access to attend WTO TRIPS Council meetings is only granted to WTO Members and organizations with observer status to the TRIPS Council (such as the World Health Organization); consequently, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are not permitted to observe the proceedings of the TRIPS Council. Continue Reading

Uncategorized

KEI statement on possible WTO disputes against the EU seizures of goods in transit

12 May 2010

Statement of Knowledge Ecology International on possible WTO disputes against the EU seizures of goods in transit

Thiru Balasubramaniam, Geneva Representative

“In a world with territorial patent rights, it is important that the rules for ‘goods in transit’ permit the transport of medicines from places where they can be made to places where they will be used. The EU’s systematic seizure of at least 17 drug consignments is indefensible and undermines the very principle of free trade, the raison d’être of the World Trade Organization.

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Rethinking compulsory licensing for export: WTO members hold informal consultations on Paragraph 6 implementation

Friday, 12 February 2010

Around 100 Members of the World Trade Organization attended informal consultations today in Room E (a mainstay of the green room consultations) to discuss the implementation of Paragraph 6 mechanism which was created to be an “an expeditious solution” for “WTO members with insufficient or no manufacturing capacities in the pharmaceutical sector” that faced difficulties in in “making effective use of compulsory licensing under the TRIPS Agreement”.

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Seventh WTO Ministerial will take decision on IPR ‘non-violation’ violations and ‘ecommerce’

The Seventh WTO Ministerial Conference is taking place in Geneva, Switzerland from November 30, 2009 to December 2, 2009. Unlike previous Ministerial Conferences in Seattle (1999), Doha (2001), Cancun (2003) and Hong Kong (2005), the Geneva Ministerial is a non-negotiation. This hum drum affair is being held only because of the obligations of Article IV, paragraph 1 of the WTO Agreement which states that

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Flurry of upcoming meetings at international organizations in Geneva (WHO, WIPO and WTO)

The final stretch of 2009 ushers in a host of meetings at Geneva based institutions including the WIPO Advisory Committee on Enforcement, the WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property, the WTO Ministerial, the WHO Expert Working Group and the Standing Committee on Copyright. To keep abreast of the hive of activity emanating from WIPO, WHO and WTO, here is a roadmap to keep track of the various meetings.

November 2, 2009
African-Arab Seminar on Copyright Limitations and Exceptions: Addressing the Needs of Affected Constituencies

Continue Reading

Uncategorized