The TRIPS Agreement introduced intellectual property law into the multilateral trading system for the first time and remains the most comprehensive multilateral agreement on intellectual property. In 2001, developing countries, concerned that developed countries were insisting on too narrow an interpretation of TRIPS, launched a round table that resulted in the Doha Declaration. The Doha Declaration is a WTO declaration that clarifies the scope of TRIPS and states, for example, that the TRIPS Agreement can and should be interpreted in light of the objective of “promoting access to medicines for all”. According to the Panel, the need to address the “exceptionally serious” health effects of tobacco use and exposure to tobacco smoke, including by banning and regulating the appearance of brands, has provided sufficient support for the burdens imposed by plain packaging. The group also noted that the importance of public health reasons for the introduction of plain packaging is underscored by the fact that plain packaging has implemented the WHO FCTC, “which was `developed in response to the globalization of the tobacco epidemic` and ratified in 180 countries.” The Appellate Body upheld these findings on appeal and also upheld the Group`s use of the WHO FCTC in this passage. This reasoning suggests that any burden caused by bona fide measures to implement the Who-FcTC is generally likely to be justified under Article 20. 4. The nature of the goods or services to which a trade mark applies shall in no way constitute an obstacle to the registration of the trade mark. The TRIPS Agreement contains certain provisions on well-known marks that complement the protection required by Article 6bis of the Paris Convention, which has been incorporated by reference into the TRIPS Agreement and requires members to refuse or cancel registration and prohibit the use of a mark that is contrary to a mark with a reputation. On the one hand, the provisions of that article must also apply to services. Second, it is appropriate to require that knowledge in the relevant field of the public acquired not only through the use of the trade mark but also by other means, including its promotion, be taken into account.
In addition, the protection of registered well-known marks must extend to goods or services which are not similar to those for which the mark has been registered, provided that their use suggests a link between those goods or services and the proprietor of the registered trade mark and that the interests of the proprietor may be prejudiced by such use (Article 16, paragraphs 2 and 3). 3. Article 6a of the Paris Convention (1967) shall apply mutatis mutandis to goods or services which are not similar to those for which a trade mark is registered, provided that the use of that trade mark for those goods or services suggests a link between those goods or services and the proprietor of the registered trade mark and that the interests of the proprietor of the registered trade mark are likely to be prejudiced by such use. Were. The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) entered into force in 1995 under the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO). The TRIPS Agreement includes and builds on the latest versions of the main intellectual property agreements administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, agreements dating back to the 1880s. Another argument has been put forward with respect to Article 20 of the TRIPS Agreement, according to which the use of a mark in the course of trade “shall not be unjustified by particular requirements such as . in a particular form or in a manner prejudicial to its ability to distinguish the goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings. The importance of this provision was an integral part of the WTO dispute between Australia and Neutral Packaging (Panel Report; Appellate Body Report). 5.
Members shall publish each mark either before its registration or immediately after its registration and shall offer petitions the possibility of cancelling the registration. In addition, members may offer the opportunity to object to the registration of a trademark. The TRIPS Agreement is an agreement on minimum standards that allows Members to provide more comprehensive protection of intellectual property if they so wish. Members are free to determine the appropriate method for implementing the provisions of the Agreement in their own legal system and practice. Claims are also sometimes made in relation to other forms of intellectual property, most often geographical indications (the means of identifying the place of origin of a product and the characteristics it exhibits by reason of that place of origin) or industrial designs (which protect new or original designs). Like trademarks, these rights are expressed negatively under the TRIPS Agreement, nor do they grant their owners rights under government regulations. [*] In particular, the TRIPS Agreement requires WTO Members to grant copyrights that include authors and other copyright holders as well as holders of related rights, i.e. performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasting organizations; geographical indications; designs; Integrated circuit design schemes; patents; new plant varieties; Trademarks; Undisclosed or confidential trade names and information. The TRIPS Agreement also establishes enforcement procedures, remedies and dispute settlement procedures. The protection and enforcement of all intellectual property rights must be consistent with the objectives of promoting technological innovation and the transfer and dissemination of technology for the mutual benefit of producers and users of technological knowledge and in a manner conducive to social and economic well-being and the balance of rights and obligations; Contribute.
In addition, Article 20 applies only to charges caused by “special requirements”. The panel in Australia – Plain Packaging considered that a special requirement was “a condition that must be met; is closely related to the use of trademarks or deals specifically with the use of trademarks; and is limited in its application”. In the case of plain packaging, this definition included both prohibitions on figurative and figurative marks and requirements for the representation of word marks. The Panel did not specify the test of a specific requirement outside the plain packaging context, as all parties to the dispute recognized that general regulatory measures such as advertising bans did not fall within the scope of Article 20. However, it is clear from the Panel`s reasoning that a measure must be specifically linked to trademarks to be a “special requirement”, which means that it is likely that many tobacco control measures are not covered by Article 20. In this chapter, we describe the provisions of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) with respect to trademarks. Like the provisions on patents, copyrights and other rights, Section II of Part II of the TRIPS Agreement (Articles 15 to 21) imposes minimum trademark standards on members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), such as protection requirements, rights granted, the term of protection and requirements applicable to trademark transactions. In accordance with the general principles adopted under the TRIPS Agreement, Section II does not require WTO Members to apply specific mechanisms to transpose mandatory TRIPS standards on trademarks into their national law. .
