In order to place the 25 years in a historical context, the essay does, exceptionally, deal also with pre-1967 events and with post-1992 possibilities.

Consists of the text of the WIPO Copyright Treaty (1996), and the relevant provisions of the Berne Convention (1971).

In the last two decades, accelerating technological progress, increasing economic globalization and the proliferation of international agreements have created new challenges for intellectual property law. In this collection of articles in honor of Professor Joseph Straus, more than 60 scholars and practitioners from the Americas, Asia and Europe provide legal, economic and policy perspectives on these challenges, with a particular focus on the challenges facing the modern patent system. Among the many topics addressed are the rapid development of specific technical fields such as biotechnology, the relationship of exclusive rights and competition, and the application of territorially limited IP laws in cross-border scenarios.

A comprehensive commentary on the international framework concerned with the protection of copyright and neighbouring rights. The focal point of this commentary is the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works 1886, but the treatment extends beyond to the related conventions that have grown out of, or are based on, Berne.

Introduction -- Intellectual property rights basics -- Global intellectual property holdings -- Contribution of intellectual property to U.S. economy -- The organized structure of IPR protection -- U.S. trade law -- Issues for Congress.

The TRIPS Agreement is the most comprehensive and influential international treaty on intellectual property rights. It brings intellectual property rules into the framework of the World Trade Organization, obliging all WTO Member States to meet minimum standards of intellectual property protection and enforcement. This has required massive changes in some national laws, particularly in developing countries. This volume provides a detailed legal analysis of the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement, as well as elements to consider their economic implications in different legal and socio-economic contexts. This book provides an in depth analysis of the principles and of the substantive and enforcement provisions of the TRIPS Agreement, the most influential international treaty on intellectual property currently in force. It discusses the legal context in which the Agreement was negotiated, the objectives of their proponents and the nature of the obligations it created for the members of the World Trade Organization. In particular, it examines the minimum standards that must be implemented with regard to patents, trademarks, industrial designs, geographical indications, copyright and related rights, integrated circuits, trade-secrets and test data for pharmaceutical and agrochemical products. Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights: A Commentary on the TRIPS Agreement elaborates on the interpretation of provisions contained in said Agreement, in the light of the customary principles for the interpretation of international law. The analysis -which is supported by a review of the relevant GATT and WTO jurisprudence- identifies the policy space left to such members to implement their obligations in accordance with their own legal systems and public policy objectives, including in respect of complex issues such as patentability criteria, compulsory licenses, exceptions and limitations to copyright, border measures, injunctive relief and the protection of test data under the discipline of unfair competition.

Christopher Heath is a judge at the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office and former researcher of the Max Planck Institute in Munich. Anselm Kamperman Sanders is Professor of Intellectual Property Law and Director of the IPKM Master’s Programme at Maastricht University, the Netherlands. About this book: Intellectual Property and International Dispute Resolution, the first in-depth treatment of the interface between intellectual property rights and international dispute resolution. The book highlights the different mechanisms of international dispute settlement, having particular regard to cases involving intellectual property law. Investor dispute tribunals, as provided for in many bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, are suspected of intransparency, because proceedings are not public, of unequal treatment, because they give foreign investors a right of action where domestic investors would have none, and of undermining democracy, because they allow democratically enacted laws to be challenged with no possibility of appeal. What’s in this book: In this important book, a number of prominent legal scholars and practitioners examine the extent to which challenges against domestic legislation based on an alleged direct or indirect expropriation of intellectual property rights may be justified. The contributions cover such aspects as: history and current practice of international dispute resolution; direct application of international agreements by national courts; comparison of investor dispute settlement tribunals with other fora such as the WTO or domestic courts for determining compliance with international intellectual property standards; what can be considered ‘investment’ and ‘expropriation’ in the field of intellectual property; legislative freedom to operate when limiting intellectual property rights, particularly in the field of health and safety; and how societal interests could influence future legislation in the field of intellectual property law. One major focus of the book are the challenges against tobacco plain packaging legislation before domestic and international courts and tribunals and their outcome. How this book will help you: The book’s detailed analysis of the nature of investor dispute tribunals and how they may conflict with public interests – and its exploration of possible alternatives – is sure to be of great interest to internationally operating companies, policymakers, practitioners and scholars in both international trade law and intellectual property law.