ABSTRACT

INTERNATIONALLY Intellectual property rights (IPRss) give the owners of ideas, inventions, and creative expression the right to exclude others from access to or use of their property for a certain period of time. International treaties and the laws of the various countries differ significantly in terms of the degree of protection and enforcement available. The United States provides a wide range of protection for intellectual property through the federal registration of trademarks and service marks; through federal patent protection and copyright protection; and, under state laws, through protection of trade secrets and marks. Federal protections extend only throughout the United States, its territories and possessions (US Government, Department of Commerce 2001), U.S. IPRs laws confer little or no protection in other countries. To secure full patent rights in another country, you must apply for a patent in that country. To learn

about the specific intellectual property laws and requirements of individual countries, visit the WIPO guide to Intellectual Property Worldwide. Some advantages and minimum standards for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property do exist under treaties or other international agreements. For example, copyright protection is automatic in all Berne and WTO countries without any formality (such as registration, copyright notice, etc.), and is extended on the basis of national treatmentthat is, a U.S. author suing in France under French copyright law is entitled to the same protection as a French author suing in France under French copyright law. The World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement on TradeRelated Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) upgraded standards of protection for a full range of IPRs. The agreement also provides for the effective enforcement of those standards both internally and at the border. The TRIPs Agreement is the first multilateral intellectual property agreement that is enforceable between governments. The agreement has a strong dispute settlement mechanism to resolve disputes. The question of whether to pursue international protection for your IP is not always clear cut: for example, there may be cases when it is advisable to forego patent protection to safeguard trade secrets and sensitive information that may need to be published in the patent process. In any case, the first step in determining if IP protection is right for your company is to secure the services of specialized legal counsel. It is important to note that in addition to obtaining patent protection, you should also protect your trade secrets through appropriate confidentiality provisions in employment, licensing, marketing, financing, distribution, and joint venture agreements. The majority of countries in the world have a system of intellectual property protection and enforcement because it encourages innovation

and creativity, which in turn leads to economic prosperity of the nation. The first intellectual property law was passed in Venice in the year 1474. This law protected the investor’s interest against copying of their creation. England soon followed suit and in the year 1624 passed the Statute of Monopolies, which granted intellectual property rights to the inventor for a limited period. However, the intellectual property system as we know today, commenced with the birth of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property in 1883. The Paris Convention made it easier for individuals in one nation to obtain protection globally. This convention was followed by the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. Broadly, intellectual property is divided into two categories: industrial property and copyright. Industrial property includes patents, trademarks, industrial designs and geographic indications while copyright includes creative works like novels, poems, plays, films, musical works, computer software and artistic works.