THE AGREEMENT ON TRADE-RELATED ASPECTS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (TRIPS)

The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), negotiated during the ruguay Round, introduced intellectual property rules for the first time into the multilateral trading system! The Agreement, "hile recogni#ing that intellectual property rights (IPRs) are pri$ate rights, esta%lishes minimum standards of protection that each go$ernment has to gi$e to the intellectual property right in each of the WTO &em%er countries! The &em%er countries are, ho"e$er, free to pro$ide higher standards of intellectual property rights protection! The Agreement is %ased on and supplements, "ith additional o%ligations, the Paris, 'erne, Rome and Washington con$entions in their respecti$e fields! Thus, the Agreement does not constitute a fully independent con$ention, %ut rather an integrati$e instrument "hich pro$ides ()on$ention*plus+ protection for IPRs! The TRIPS Agreement is, %y its co$erage, the most comprehensi$e international instrument on IPRs, dealing "ith all types of IPRs, "ith the sole e,ception of %reeders- rights! IPRs co$ered under the TRIPS agreement are. (a) Copyright a!" r#$at#" right % (&) Tra"# 'ar( % ()) G#ographi)a$ I!"i)atio! % (") I!"* tria$ D# ig! % (#) Pat#!t % (+) Layo*t "# ig! o+ i!t#grat#" )ir)*it % a!" (g) Prot#)tio! o+ *!"i )$o #" i!+or'atio! (tra"# #)r#t ), The TRIPS agreement is %ased on the %asic principles of the other WTO Agreements, li/e non-discrimination clauses - 0ational Treatment and &ost 1a$oured 0ation Treatment, and are intended to promote (technological inno$ation+ and (transfer and dissemination+ of technology! It also recogni#es the special needs of the leastde$eloped country &em%ers in respect of pro$iding ma,imum fle,i%ility in the domestic implementation of la"s and regulations! (a) Copyright a!" r#$at#" right The )opyright Act, 2345 came into effect from 6anuary 2347! This Act has %een amended fi$e times since then, i!e!, in 2378, 2379, 233:, 2339 and 2333 The )opyright Act protects original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic "or/s and cinematograph films and sound recordings from unauthori#ed use! nli/e the case "ith patents, copyright protects the e,pressions and not the ideas! There is no copyright in an idea! The general rule is that a copyright lasts for ;< years! In the case of original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic "or/s the ;<-year period is counted from the year follo"ing the death of the author! In the case of cinematograph films, sound recordings, photographs, posthumous pu%lications, anonymous and pseudonymous pu%lications, "or/s of go$ernment and "or/s of international organi#ations, the ;<-year period is counted from the date of pu%lication! (%) Tra"#'ar( In India, the Trade &ar/s Act, 2333 "as passed on 8<th =ecem%er 2333 and came into force on 24th Septem%er :<<8! A trademar/ is a distincti$e sign "hich identifies certain goods or ser$ices as those produced or pro$ided %y a specific person or enterprise! The system helps consumers identify and purchase a product or ser$ice %ecause its nature and >uality, indicated %y its uni>ue trademar/, meets their needs! A trademark provides protection to the owner of the mark by ensuring the exclusive right to use it to identify goods or services, or to authorize another to use it in return for a payment. The period of protection varies, but a trademark can be renewed indefinitely

beyond the time limit on payment of additional fees. Trademark protection is enforced by the courts, which in most systems have the authority to block trademark infringement. (c) Geographical Indications (GI) In India, the Geographical Indications of Goods !egistration and "rotection# Act, $%%% came into force with effect from $& th 'eptember ())*. Geographical Indications of Goods are defined as that aspect of intellectual property which refers to the geographical indication referring to a country or to a place situated therein as being the country or place of origin of that product. Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of +uality and distinctiveness which is essentially attributable to the fact of its origin in that defined geographical locality, region or country. (d) Industrial Designs (ID) Industrial designs are an element of intellectual property. Industrial designs refer to creative activity, which result in the ornamental or formal appearance of a product. ,esign rights refer to a novel or original design that is accorded to the proprietor of a validly registered design. -ut it does not include any mode or principle or construction or any thing which is in substance a mere mechanical device. The essential purpose of the ,esigns Act, ())) is to promote and protect the design element of industrial production. .nder the ,esigns Act, the designs would not include any trade mark, as defines in the Trade /arks Act or property mark or artistic works as defined in the 0opyright Act. The duration of the registration of a design is initially ten years from the date of registration. (e) Patents A "atent is an exclusive right granted by a country to the inventor to make, use, manufacture and market the invention that satisfies the conditions of novelty, innovativeness and usefulness. Introduction of "atent 1aw in India took place in $2&3 whereby certain exclusive privileges to the inventors of new inventions were granted for a period of $4 years. "resently, the patent provisions in India are governed by the "atents Act, $%5). The Indian "atents Act is fully compatible with the T!I"' Agreement, following amendments to it6 the last amendment being in ())& by the "atents Amendment# Act, ())&. The term of every patent is now for () years from the date of filing. (f) Layout Designs of Integrated Circuits In India, layout designs of integrated circuits are governed by the 'emiconductor Integrated 0ircuits 1ayout7,esign Act, ())). .nder this Act, a layout7design shall be considered original if it is the result of its creator8s own intellectual efforts and is not commonly known to the creators of layout7

designs and manufacturers of semiconductor integrated circuits at the time of its creation. -ut a layout7design, which is not original, or which has been commercially exploited anywhere in India or in a convention country6 or which is not inherently distinctive6 or which is not inherently capable of being distinguishable from any other registered layout7design, shall not be registered as a layout7design. -ut if a layout7 design which has been commercially exploited for not more than two years from the date on which an application for its registration has been filed either in India or in a convention country shall be treated as not having been commercially exploited. The registration of a layout7design shall be only for a period of ten years counted from the date of filing an application for registration or from the date of first commercial exploitation anywhere in India or in any country whichever is earlier. 9o person shall be entitled to institute any proceeding to prevent, or to recover damages for, the infringement of an unregistered layout7design. (g) Protection of undisclosed information A Trade 'ecret or undisclosed information is any information that has been intentionally treated as secret and is capable of commercial application with an economic interest. The Agreement provides that natural and legal persons shall have the possibility of preventing information lawfully within their control from being disclosed to, ac+uired by or used by others without their consent in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices. :urther, parties are re+uired to protect against unfair commercial uses, undisclosed or other data obtained as a condition of approving the marketing of pharmaceutical or of agricultural chemical products.

What is Dumping ?
,umping is defined as the act of a manufacturer in one country exporting a product to another country at a price which is either below the price it charges in its home market or is below its costs of production A product is considered as dumped when, export price ; normal price The difference between the export price and normal value is known as margin of dumping expressed as < of export price of a product#

Types of Dumping
Intermittent ,umping = >hen production of a product is more than demand in home country , the stocks are piled up even after sales. In such situation, the producer sells the remaining stock in foreign countries at a lower price than in home country "ersistent ,umping = The monopolist sells the remaining production in foreign market at low price continuously "redatory ,umping= = The monopolist sells the product in a foreign market at low price to drive away competitors and increase the price once they leave the market.

Reasons of Dumping
To enter the 1oreign mar/et %y eliminating the competitors To sell Surplus Production, the producers dump their products To =e$elop Trade Relations, the manufacturers sell their output in foreign countries at lo"er price!

E++#)t O+ D*'pi!g
?9 I/"?!TI9G 0?.9T!@= ,ecline in sales and profits Affects the survival of industry "references of the consumers is changed which leads to forcible importation at high price if the dumping is stopped Increases the deficit of -alance ?f "ayments -?"# Importing country benefits because of anti7dumping tariffs ?9 AB"?!TI9G 0?.9T!@= The consumers of exporting country pay higher price whereas, the foreign market enCoys at a lesser price :inds market for its excess production Dearns foreign exchange

A!ti "*'pi!g '#a *r#

Tariff ,uty = Eigh rates of import tariff on dumping Import Fuota = !estricts the volume of imports Import Ambargo = -ans the import of particular goods or all goods from a country Goluntary Axport !estraint = Axporting countries realizes the negative effects and voluntarily come for -ilateral agreements. In I9,IA, anti7dumping actions are taken by , ,irectorate of Anti7,umping and Allied ,uties, /inistry of 0ommerce, as per 0ustoms tariff Act,$%5& as amended in $%%&,based on Article GI of GATT $%%4.