ICTSD » Research http://ictsd.org International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:35:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 en Border Measures Concerning Goods Allegedly Infringing Intellectual Property Rights http://ictsd.org/i/publications/53747/ http://ictsd.org/i/publications/53747/#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:31:17 +0000 Andrew Aziz http://ictsd.org/?p=53747 Recent seizures of generic medicines in transit have attracted wide attention in view of their implications for efforts to promote greater access to medicines, particularly in developing countries.

In this context, the Working Paper, Border Measures Concerning Goods Allegedly Infringing Intellectual Property Rights: The Seizures of Generic Medicines in Transit, by Xavier Seuba, provides an in depth analysis of the complex legal issues raised by some border measure which go beyond the minimum standards set by the Agreement on Trade related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

The paper examines the nature and scope of the existing EC custom border regulations and their relationship with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the TRIPS Agreement and subsequent WTO instruments, particularly the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health (2001) and the General Council Decision of 30th August 2003.

The author points out that the power granted to WTO members to set higher standards of enforcement than those stipulated by Articles 51 and 52 of the TRIPS Agreement has to be consistent with other TRIPS provisions and balanced with the key legal principle of territoriality of IPRs. The principle of free trade in the GATT Agreement and the aim of the TRIPS Agreement to reduce any “distortion and impediments to international trade” should also be respected.

This paper was commissioned under the ICTSD Programme on IPRs and Sustainable Development.  It is made available as a working paper in order to facilitate dialogue, broader understanding, consultation and further inputs into this critical debate.

The paper is work in progress and interested persons and institutions are welcome to provide comments or inputs to the author directly or via ICTSD (aabdellatif@ictsd.ch or proffe@ictsd.ch).

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]]> http://ictsd.org/i/publications/53747/feed/ Launch of UNEP-EPO-ICTSD Joint Study on Patents and Environmentally Sound Technologies http://ictsd.org/i/research/51361/ http://ictsd.org/i/research/51361/#comments Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:23:13 +0000 Andrew Aziz http://ictsd.org/?p=51361
The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), the European Patent Office (EPO) and ICTSD are jointly collaborating on the development of a study that aims to enhance understanding of the role of patents vis-à-vis access to environmentally sound technologies (ESTs). As an initial analysis the study is focusing particular attention on energy generation technologies. This analysis will provide useful input into ongoing discussions on technology transfer in the context of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and result in concrete recommendations for consideration at COP-15 in Copenhagen in December 2009.

Contact: Ahmed Abdel Latif

]]> http://ictsd.org/i/research/51361/feed/ 2008年12月农业模式草案 对中国的影响 http://ictsd.org/i/publications/50496/ http://ictsd.org/i/publications/50496/#comments Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:16:31 +0000 Ammad Bahalim http://ictsd.org/?p=50496 本研究旨在探求模式草案的国内和国际影响,强调如下问题:前两部分概述中国农业现状,农业政策和中国在多哈回合的谈判 地位。第三部分总结了中国国内支持政策,并详细讨论了在WTO 模式草案下中国向WTO通报的国内支持情况。第四部分从包括和排除例外规则两种情况分析模式 草案对中国市场准入产生的影响,最后,综述模式草案对中国产生的影响及中国农业政策未来的发展方向。

]]> http://ictsd.org/i/publications/50496/feed/ Climate, Equity and Global Trade http://ictsd.org/i/research/44/ http://ictsd.org/i/research/44/#comments Mon, 10 Dec 2007 10:46:16 +0000 Andrew Aziz http://ictsd.org/climate-equity-and-global-trade/ The steadily growing volume of global trade is forcing policymakers to start taking a hard look at its climate impact, while keeping equity and development issues as top priority.

The climate implications of export-led growth in emerging economies, the potential barriers that intellectual property may pose for access to clean technologies in developing countries, the possibility of carbon leakage between countries with stringent versus lax climate regulations, and the carbon footprint of the emerging trade opportunities in niche markets for low income countries are at the core of the debate. In the WTO, climate change concerns have also been explicitly referred to in the context of ongoing negotiations on environmental goods and services.

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