Cuardaigh

From 12 to 17 June 2022, the World Trade Organization (WTO) held an extended 12th ministerial conference (MC12), after it had been postponed twice owing to the pandemic. Although the outcome of the MC12 was the result of hard-won compromises, it covers a wide range of key agenda items and may be said to provide new momentum for the WTO, which critics have often portrayed as moribund. The WTO has proved its centrality for crafting multilateral solutions for global challenges, notably against the backdrop ...

The coronavirus pandemic has rekindled the global debate on whether the multilateral trade regime for intellectual property rights (IPR) protection limits access to essential medical products. Despite embedded flexibilities in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), India and South Africa, co-sponsored by a large number of developing countries, submitted an initial proposal for a temporary waiver in response to Covid-19 in October 2020, ...

A number of important debates were held during the May 2021 plenary session, in particular on Parliament's rights to information regarding the ongoing assessment of the national recovery and resilience plans, on a revised industrial strategy for Europe and on recent migrant deaths in the Mediterranean. Members also held a debate on possible waiving of the WTO TRIPS agreement on Covid 19 vaccines to help developing countries fight the pandemic; on business taxation; and on Roma equality in the EU. ...

Supply chains are increasingly international, but many of EU's trade partners fail to meet both the labour standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and international human rights norms. EU trade policy is designed to ensure that economic development complies with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, while upholding human rights and high labour standards. WTO rules require members to comply with a set of basic free trading principles, in particular national treatment and most-favoured ...

On 6 November 2019, the EU and China concluded negotiations on a standalone agreement on cooperation on, and protection of, geographical indications (GIs), i.e. distinctive signs attached to (mainly) agricultural products that have a given quality, reputation or other characteristics that are attributable to their specific geographic origin. GIs are a type of intellectual property right (IPR) protected at multilateral level under the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights ...

This study, commissioned by the European Parliament Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs upon request by the PETI Committee, provides an analysis of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Copyright Works for the Blind or Print-Disabled. It explains the background and movements that led to its proposal, negotiation and successful adoption. It then considers the Treaty’s current situation in relation to its content and issues around its ratification, particularly ...

At its plenary session on 6 October 2015, the European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution on the possible extension of protection of geographical indications (GIs) to non-agricultural products. The report adopted by the EP stressed the opportunity and need to create a uniform European framework of protection for GIs for non-food products.

Recent studies demonstrate the important contribution of intellectual property rights (IPR) to the American and EU economies. The differences between the respective IPR systems are comparatively small, yet seen as hard to overcome. The negotiation of the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) may present the opportunity for a step change in EU-US relations in respect of IPR.

This document provides an analysis of the nature of a trade secret, its legal protection and the European Commission's recent proposal. While protection is afforded under several jurisdictions, such as EU law, international law, criminal law, civil law, labour law or simply tort law, no uniform instrument exists. As case law is very important for that kind of a relatively new concept, some examples from jurisprudence are provided.

The ACTA was motivated by a desire to establish equivalent provisions in international trade agreements containing rules on anti-counterfeiting. This is important at a time when free trade agreements are being negotiated by different parties. For the European Union it is also of importance to protect EU intellectual property rights (IPR) as future EU competitiveness depends on its ability to move into higher value added activities such as those for which IPRs are important. At the same time international ...