Intellectual Property Rights
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
The character of world trade has undergone significant changes in the last decade. Many issues have come to the fore to influence the trade patterns. The concerns of environment, assertions on human rights the sympathy (?!), for child labour, to mention a few, have, been exerting dominant influences. Transfer of polluting industries to the developing nations, using poor economies for pollution control are all totally new issues defying the relevance of the traditional theories of trade.
On another front, the measures of protecting intellectual property rights and its trade related aspects gained momentum in the meanwhile. It is not that these were not dealt with in the international trade earlier, but the scope and coverage of the trade-linked intellectual property rights got enlarged at the behest of the developed nations and the measures such as the protection of geographical indications got place in the WTO charter.
To understand the underpinnings better, let us have an overview what incorporates the intellectual property rights:
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Loosely defined, intellectual property is a "product of mind". It is similar to any property consisting of movable or immovable things wherein the proprietor or owner may use his property as he wishes and nobody else can lawfully use his property without his permission.
The convention establishing the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) in 1967, one of the specialized agencies of the United Nation system, provided that intellectual property rights shall include "rights relating to: • Literary, artistic and scientific work • Performance of performing artists, phonograms and broadcasts • Inventions in all fields of Human endeavor • Scientific discoveries. (No national laws or International treaties, as on date, give any property rights to scientific discoveries.) • Industrial designs • Trademarks, service marks, and
The character of world trade has undergone significant changes in the last decade. Many issues have come to the fore to influence the trade patterns. The concerns of environment, assertions on human rights the sympathy (?!), for child labour, to mention a few, have, been exerting dominant influences. Transfer of polluting industries to the developing nations, using poor economies for pollution control are all totally new issues defying the relevance of the traditional theories of trade.
On another front, the measures of protecting intellectual property rights and its trade related aspects gained momentum in the meanwhile. It is not that these were not dealt with in the international trade earlier, but the scope and coverage of the trade-linked intellectual property rights got enlarged at the behest of the developed nations and the measures such as the protection of geographical indications got place in the WTO charter.
To understand the underpinnings better, let us have an overview what incorporates the intellectual property rights:
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Loosely defined, intellectual property is a "product of mind". It is similar to any property consisting of movable or immovable things wherein the proprietor or owner may use his property as he wishes and nobody else can lawfully use his property without his permission.
The convention establishing the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) in 1967, one of the specialized agencies of the United Nation system, provided that intellectual property rights shall include "rights relating to: • Literary, artistic and scientific work • Performance of performing artists, phonograms and broadcasts • Inventions in all fields of Human endeavor • Scientific discoveries. (No national laws or International treaties, as on date, give any property rights to scientific discoveries.) • Industrial designs • Trademarks, service marks, and