World Intellectual Property Organisation

INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS RELATED TO IPR

World Intellectual Property Organization

About WIPO

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations with 193 member states. The mission of WIPO is to develop a balanced and accessible international intellectual property (IP) system, which rewards creativity, stimulates innovation and contributes to economic development while safeguarding the public interest.

WIPO was established by the WIPO Convention in 1967 with a mandate from its Member States to promote the protection of IP throughout the world through cooperation among states and in collaboration with other international organizations. Its headquarters are in Geneva & Switzerland. The Director General is Daren Tang.

What does WIPO do?

WIPO cooperates with intellectual property (IP) offices, users and other stakeholders to develop shared IP tools, services, standards, databases and platforms.

This technical infrastructure is designed to help IP institutions collaborate more effectively and deliver more efficient services to their users; as well as enabling innovators and information-seekers worldwide to freely access the knowledge contained in the IP system.

WIPO provide human capacity building across the full spectrum of intellectual property (IP) rights: patents, trademarks, industrial designs, geographical indications and copyright. Training takes place through in-depth programs offered by the WIPO Academy or tailor-made technical workshops.

Legal Frameworks under WIPO:

There are 24 international treaties which are administered by world intellectual property organization. Some are:

·         Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): PCT under Paris Convention assists applicants in seeking patent protection internationally for their inventions, helps patent offices with their patent granting decisions, and facilitates public access to a wealth of technical information relating to those inventions. By filing one international patent application under the PCT, applicants can simultaneously seek protection for an invention in a large number of countries.

·         Madrid Protocol: The Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks is governed by the Madrid Agreement, concluded in 1891, and the Protocol relating to that Agreement, concluded in 1989. The system makes it possible to protect a mark in a large number of countries by obtaining an international registration that has effect in each of the designated Contracting Parties

·         Vienna Agreement: Vienna Agreement establishes an International Classification of the Figurative Elements of Marks called the Vienna Classification for marks that consist of, or contain, figurative elements.

·         Nice Agreement concerns the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks.

·         Locarno Agreement establishes an International Classification for Industrial Designs called the Locarno Classification.

·         WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) is a special agreement under the Berne Convention which deals with the protection of works and the rights of their authors in the digital environment. The Treaty also deals with two subject matters to be protected by copyright: (i) computer programs, whatever the mode or form of their expression; and (ii) compilations of data or other material ("databases").

·         WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) deals with the rights of two kinds of beneficiaries, particularly in the digital environment: (i) performers (actors, singers, musicians, etc.); and (ii) producers of phonograms (persons or legal entities that take the initiative and have the responsibility for the fixation of sounds).

·         WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore is, in accordance with its mandate, undertaking text-based negotiations with the objective of reaching agreement on a text(s) of an international legal instrument(s), which will ensure the effective protection of traditional knowledge (TK), traditional cultural expressions (TCEs) and genetic resources (GRs).

·         The Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) was set up in the 1998-1999 biennium to examine matters of substantive law or harmonization in the field of copyright and related rights.

·         Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs provides a practical business solution for registering up to 100 designs in 74 contracting parties covering 91 countries, through the filing of one single international application

·         Lisbon System for the International Registration of Appellations of Origin and Geographical indications offers a means of obtaining protection for an appellation of origin or a geographical indication in the contracting parties through a single registration procedure and one set of fees.

Main objectives of WIPO: 

·         For the promotion and protection of intellectual property worldwide and;

·         to safeguard administrative cooperation among the intellectual property Unions established by the treaties which are under WIPO administration. 

·         To integrate national laws and procedures related to intellectual property.

·         To provide an international registration service for the industrial property. 

·         To exchange information about intellectual property.

·         To provide legal and technical assistance to developing countries and others. 

·         To assist during the settlement of disputes related to intellectual properties among individuals. 

·         To keep a check on the use of information technology as an instrument for access and exploit valuable information about intellectual property. 

Rights are included in Intellectual Property Rights:

·         Literary, artistic and scientific works;

·         Performances of performing artists, phonograms and broadcasts;

·         Inventions in all fields of human behavior;

·         Scientific discoveries;

·         Industrial designs;

·         Trademarks;

·         Service marks;

·         Commercial names and designations;

·         Protection against unfair competition;

All other rights resulting from Intellectual activity in industrial scientific, literary or artistic fields; etc. 

India’s participation in WIPO:

India became an official member of WIPO on May 1, 1975. India is a member to several WIPO conventions and treaties. India has recently acceded to the some of the WIPO conventions. The accessions underline India’s strong multilateral engagement with World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and also India’s intent to create a strong regime for protection of IPs. The nodal activities related to WIPO were transferred to Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade from Department of Higher Education in 2005.


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