This is a study on the compliance of China to the World Trade Organization¡¦s (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) before and after China¡¦s accession to WTO. The study on pre-accession period focuses on the enactment of China¡¦s patent, copyright and trademark laws in the light of the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement. It also focuses China¡¦s adoption, revisions and amendments of the constitution, administrative, criminal, civil, judicial, and legal professional laws and procedures to make enforcements of the intellectual property rights law effective. It likewise shows how the enactment of these laws consistent with the TRIPS Agreement is contributing to the development of the institutions of private property and the rule of law. The result shows that while the pre-accession to WTO would indicate China¡¦s substantial compliance to the TRIPS Agreement, it also focuses on some weaknesses in the laws on the determination of what violation would constitute a criminal act. This problem would manifest later after accession. The post-accession period sharply focuses on the performance of China in the enforcement of their obligations under the TRIPS regime after 2001. The assessment of China¡¦s performance in enforcement focuses on the infringement cases, the complaints filed against China before the dispute settlement mechanisms of WTO, and the multilateral and bilateral reviews on China¡¦s laws and enforcement effort after its accession to WTO. The result shows the over-reliance of China on the administrative rather than the judicial remedies in its internal enforcement effort which resulted in the weak performance of infringement deterrence. The result also notes the shift from the reliance on internal to external measures in the enforcement of intellectual property rights by the trading partners headed by US. The result of the study which shows continuing reforms in the intellectual, civil, criminal and administrative laws after WTO accession to precisely address the issues raised against China in its enforcement effort is an indication of China¡¦s willingness to play by the international rules. While the reforms have not been met with optimism, the WTO¡¦s TRIPS regime provides a sufficient mechanism to deal with China¡¦s TRIPS violations, and more importantly China is positively responding to it.

The thesis analyses the provision of "Aid for Trade" as a specific form of state building intervention (SBI) in Laos and Vietnam, two countries that have received trade-related assistance as part of their global economic integration. The thesis uncovers how global economic and institutional reform agendas related to trade integration are accepted or contested within both states, as part of a highly political process characterised by strategic agency and structural selectivities of various actors involved. The thesis employs a theoretical framework to help analyse how global trade governance programmes intervene within targeted states, and how local socio-political contestation shapes the outcomes of such programmes. Drawing on Marxist state theory, SBIs are understood as contested processes which open up strategic opportunities for social forces to shape the transformation process and thereby to stabilise or challenge existing power relations. Special attention is directed towards the state as an arena of conflict in order to understand the specific forms and varying results that these interventions take. This framework allows us to grasp how dominant social forces within the Laotian and Vietnamese forms of state are able to modify or circumvent external reform imperatives, resulting in highly selective changes in trade governance, which often departs from the intention of "Aid for Trade" project managers. The thesis thereby changes conventional technocratic assumptions that believe that aid interventions are a matter of best practice and contributes to a growing research agenda which analyses development interventions within the wider political economy of the targeted state.

The abundance of wealth and technology in the North, and biological diversity and poverty in the South provokes an inquiry into an appropriate modality for the equitable harnessing and allocation of biodiversity dividends. Over the years, the traditional knowledge relating to biological diversity has been regarded as part of the "global intellectual commons", open to exploitation by all, and subject to validation by formal methods. That knowledge has remained the source of both increasing knowledge and critical discoveries of the therapeutic values of most components of biological diversity. There is a consensus between the North and the South that an effective biodiversity conservation strategy should be one capable of providing incentives to the traditional custodians of wild habitat. Intellectual property is generally recognised as an appropriate framework to implement this objective. However, as a perennial subject of North-South disagreement, there is no consensus on the relevant details or mechanisms for deploying intellectual property rights to effectuate the objective. The United Nations Framework Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) signifies a global regime embodying the ideals of incentivising the traditional custodians of the wild habitat as well as equitable sharing of the benefits of biodiversity. Arguably, it marks an end to the idea of regarding traditional knowledge as part of the global intellectual commons. This thesis contends that the CBD regime carries with it the burden of unresolved North-South perspectives on intellectual property rights. It argues that the heart of the conflict is the reluctance of the North to accord intellectual property status to traditional knowledge. This is partly because of the latter's informal nature but most importantly it derives from an inherent geo-political ideological conflict on the subject of intellectual property rights. Presently, the recognition of rights over traditional knowledge is approached on a sui generis basis. This thesis takes the position that the approach with its several limitations is not persuasive. It contends that on the merits, traditional knowledge is, and ought to be recognised as a subject matter of intellectual property rights. The recent elevation of intellectual property (a traditional subject matter of national law) to the international level under the WTO/TRIPs Agreement further undermines traditional knowledge. This has posed a setback not only to the global biodiversity conservation initiative, but also to the quest for equitable allocation of its dividends. It is my thesis that a national approach offers a better option for accommodating the intellectual property status of traditional knowledge and consequentially for advancing the quest for biodiversity conservation as well as equitable allocation of the dividends arising therefrom.

When the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) was annexed to the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1994, it set minimum standards for intellectual property (IP) protection, including protection of patent rights, that must be observed and enforced by all WTO Member States. On the one hand, stringent Intellectual Property protection as seen innovation in the field of science where medical innovation hasled to the creation of live saving vaccines which have reduced prevalence of diseases, ranging from polio to the human Papillomavirus, and invention of antiretroviral medicines which have greatly improved the lives of people living with the Huma Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). On the other hand, the fulfilment of the obligations under TRIPS has generated a lot of controversy especially as they have been seen as the cause of reduced access to essential medicines in developing countries. / Magister Legum - LLM (Mercantile and Labour Law)

The abundance of wealth and technology in the North, and biological diversity and poverty in the South provokes an inquiry into an appropriate modality for the equitable harnessing and allocation of biodiversity dividends. Over the years, the traditional knowledge relating to biological diversity has been regarded as part of the "global intellectual commons", open to exploitation by all, and subject to validation by formal methods. That knowledge has remained the source of both increasing knowledge and critical discoveries of the therapeutic values of most components of biological diversity. There is a consensus between the North and the South that an effective biodiversity conservation strategy should be one capable of providing incentives to the traditional custodians of wild habitat. Intellectual property is generally recognised as an appropriate framework to implement this objective. However, as a perennial subject of North-South disagreement, there is no consensus on the relevant details or mechanisms for deploying intellectual property rights to effectuate the objective. The United Nations Framework Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) signifies a global regime embodying the ideals of incentivising the traditional custodians of the wild habitat as well as equitable sharing of the benefits of biodiversity. Arguably, it marks an end to the idea of regarding traditional knowledge as part of the global intellectual commons. This thesis contends that the CBD regime carries with it the burden of unresolved North-South perspectives on intellectual property rights. It argues that the heart of the conflict is the reluctance of the North to accord intellectual property status to traditional knowledge. This is partly because of the latter's informal nature but most importantly it derives from an inherent geo-political ideological conflict on the subject of intellectual property rights. Presently, the recognition of rights over traditional knowledge is approached on a sui generis basis. This thesis takes the position that the approach with its several limitations is not persuasive. It contends that on the merits, traditional knowledge is, and ought to be recognised as a subject matter of intellectual property rights. The recent elevation of intellectual property (a traditional subject matter of national law) to the international level under the WTO/TRIPs Agreement further undermines traditional knowledge. This has posed a setback not only to the global biodiversity conservation initiative, but also to the quest for equitable allocation of its dividends. It is my thesis that a national approach offers a better option for accommodating the intellectual property status of traditional knowledge and consequentially for advancing the quest for biodiversity conservation as well as equitable allocation of the dividends arising therefrom. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

Yes / In this paper we study the determinants of the strength of patent enforcement in 43 member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) between 1998 and 2011, a period after the signing of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement. We do so by building on and expanding the seminal work of Ginarte and Park (1997) on the pre-TRIPS determinants of patent rights in the years 1960-1990. We find that in the years after TRIPS was signed, the strength of patent enforcement of a country is positively determined by two variables that signify the usage of the patent and intellectual property system, and the number of patent and trademark applications. We also find that the level of research and development expenditure, the quality of human capital, and the level of development of a country have positive effects on the strength of the enforcement of patent law in practice. Intellectual property rights enforcement is one of the key investment-related policies included in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development. Identifying the determinants of strong patent systems will help policymakers at the national and supranational levels to design and implement effective policies that strengthen national patent systems, thereby enhancing economic benefits such as greater levels of commercialization of intangible assets and greater levels of international trade and investment.

Magister Legum - LLM / Access to medicines is an essential component of the basic human right to health and a key determinant of the importance attached to the health care system of a country. It essentially entails the availability and acceptability of the essential medicines on the market and the ability of patients to afford such medicines when needed. Globally, countries face access to medicine challenges partly because of patents which undoubtedly accounts for excessive pricing of medicine. As such, efforts have been made to ensure the accessibility of medicines through the Trade-Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) flexibilities of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Beyond these interventions, it is incumbent on Members of the WTO to domesticate the flexibilities of the TRIPS Agreement before their utilisation because by their very nature, they cannot be self-executed. With an estimated population of 29.6 million, about 310 000 people in Ghana are living with HIV. The country’s health facilities record 40 per cent of outpatient visits each year and about 14 550 per 100 000 of the population are infected with tuberculosis with cancer on the rise. These diseases require medicines which are mostly patented yet Ghana has access to medicine problems despite the existence of a national health insurance system. Ghana has however not fully incorporated the TRIPS flexibilities in its national legislations and therefore unable to fully utilise the flexibilities as an option to access essential medicines. Questions therefore remain as to why and how Ghana can utilise the flexibilities to improve access to medicines. Based on an examination of the WTO’s patent system and legislations of Ghana, this mini- thesis contends that, the extent of incorporation of the flexibilities are inadequate due to the existence of lacunas in the Ghanaian legislations. Furthermore, a comparative assessment with South Africa supports an understanding that conditions are not ripe for full utilisation of all the flexibilities. It further argues that the utilisation of the TRIPS flexibilities by Ghana has been rendered ineffective due to administrative, political, economic and social challenges which adversely affects the full utilisation of the flexibilities incorporated and those yet to be incorporated. It is therefore important that Ghana adopts holistic approaches taking into consideration best practices if the TRIPS flexibilities must be effectively utilised. This mini-thesis concludes that, the TRIPS flexibilities are necessary for accessing essential medicines in Ghana to promote the right to health and that a review of Ghana’s current legislations to fully incorporate the TRIPS flexibilities and addressing other non-legal challenges are the required linchpin for effective utilisation of the TRIPS flexibilities.

China¡¦s behavior towards the intellectual property rights (IPR) regime is a reflection of the tug-of-war between regime and national interest. IPR, a concept foreign to Chinese culture, began to influence China following the reforms of 1978 through both external and internal pressures. This paper attempts to show how the power of international rules and national interests impacts China¡¦s IPR behavior by analyzing its attitude towards IPR negotiations, trends related to its IPR legal framework and enforcement. This analysis can be broken down into three different periods. 1. 1979-1990: Interaction between national interest and international norm. China¡¦s action of both participating in the world IPR regime and the building of a domestic IPR system was to large extent motivated by self-interest. China needed a systematic IPR framework in place to meet its new economic conditions: attracting FDI and technology transfers while protecting indigenous infant industries. However, there is little evidence that China¡¦s actions during this period showed compliance with the global IPR regime. 2. 1990-2000: Moving towards compromise. China¡¦s negotiations with the United States dominated trends in its IPR reform and reoriented China¡¦s national interests. As China¡¦s largest trade partner and hegemon in the IPR issue area, the U.S. played a strong role in making Chinese IPR laws more transparent and aligned with the international standard. For sustaining economic development, China realized it needed to create an environment friendly to foreign investors and protect its growing export industry of patented products, and Chinese leaders therefore conceded to a large part of U.S.¡¦s demands. Nonetheless, the reform mostly focused on the legal system while enforcement was overlooked, continuing the rampant IPR infringement. 3. 21st century: Compliance under the WTO regime. Through its experience in the 1990s, and its membership in the WTO, China¡¦s IPR policies in the 21st century have become more proactive and globalized, implying that China is willing to accept higher degrees of interdependence. In this period, China has strived to conform to TRIPS (Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) and has tackled its enforcement problem with a number of practical administrative and judicial policies to help reassure foreign investors and a growing amount of local IPR holders of the security of their IP. In the end however, the analysis in this paper still shows that China¡¦s current IPR protection policies still favor China¡¦s national interests over the interests of the global IPR regime. This paper finds that the global IPR regime has helped to influence a new agenda for the PRC: to pursue a knowldege-based economy as a development goal. China now intends to follow the rules of the global IPR regime. The central government's capability of enforceing IPR policy at every level of government is an important benchmark in examining China's response to the global IPR regime in the future.

No description available.

International Protection of Industrial Rights Abstract The aim of thesis is to analyse international protection of industrial rights. Emphasis is placed on theoretical aspects of international law, specifics of functioning of international system, reasons explaining why the protection of industrial rights is included into international law and consequences of that. On the contrary thesis avoids detailed analysis of relevant international treaties which does not apply to TRIPS Agreement for its underlying significance of current system of international protection of industrial rights. Thesis is composed of nine chapters, including introduction and conclusion. Just after introduction the chapter dedicated to a brief introduction to basic terms of industrial rights is included. The introduction to the international level is represented in chapter three, this chapter tries to map the evolution and reasons of creation the protection of industrial rights on the international level from the half of 19th century to the present. Some current issues are also discussed here. Chapter four consists of two parts. First part focuses on international treaties, the crucial source of law on protection of industrial rights. Not only multilateral agreements but also bilateral agreements are discussed here. Second part deals...