In order to achieve the above objectives, WTO members have reached six understandings on intellectual property rights: (omitted)
(2) General obligations and basic principles
1. MFN principle
Article 4 of the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights stipulates that "the benefits, preferences, privileges or immunities provided by any member to the nationals of another member in intellectual property protection shall be immediately and unconditionally granted to the nationals of all other members". This MFN treatment is unconditional, multilateral and permanent, just like the MFN treatment in GATT 1994. However, the most-favored-nation treatment in the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights only applies to the protection of intellectual property rights.
The WTO regards MFN treatment as an important cornerstone of economic and trade relations between countries, but it is a pity that almost none of the international conventions in the field of intellectual property rights have formulated MFN treatment clauses. Therefore, the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights of WTO requires that the principle of most-favored-nation treatment be included in the protection of intellectual property rights within its jurisdiction on the basis of the existing national treatment of four important international intellectual property conventions: Paris Convention, Berne Convention, Rome Convention and the Treaty on Intellectual Property Rights of Integrated Circuits. This is indeed a major change in international protection in the field of intellectual property rights, and it is implemented among WTO members.
(1) Bilateral or multilateral international agreements on judicial assistance and law enforcement signed by a member before joining the WTO. Such agreements are not specifically aimed at intellectual property protection, but generate preferences, benefits, exemptions or privileges according to such agreements. Licensing rights apply to countries or regions that have signed such agreements, but not to other WTO members.
(2) According to the optional clauses in Berne Convention (197 1) and Rome Convention, the protection obtained by authorization among some countries is not based on national treatment, but on the principle of reciprocity.
(3) The rights of performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasting organizations not specified in this Agreement are not bound by MFN treatment. If some member States recognize these rights and protect each other, it may be extended to other unprotected member States without enjoying MFN treatment.
(4) International agreements on intellectual property protection that came into effect before the entry into force of the WTO Agreement, and these agreements have been notified to the Council for Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights. If such agreements do not constitute arbitrary or unfair discrimination against nationals of other members, the preferences, privileges, exemptions and benefits arising from such agreements can be regarded as exceptions to MFN treatment.
(5) The benefits, preferences, privileges and immunities stipulated in the multilateral agreements concluded under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organization on the acquisition and maintenance of intellectual property rights can only take effect and apply among the signatories of these agreements, but not to all WTO members. This exception also applies to the principle of national treatment in the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights.
2. The principle of national treatment
The "members" of the WTO can be sovereign governments or separate customs territories. Paragraph 3 of Article 1 of the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights specifically states the specific meaning of "country" in the Agreement. The statement pointed out that "in the case that WTO members are separate customs territories, the term' national' mentioned in this agreement should be regarded as a natural person or legal person with domicile or actually effective industrial and commercial institutions". When WTO members are sovereign governments, the intellectual property agreement stipulates that "in terms of relevant intellectual property rights, the nationals of other members should be understood as natural persons or legal persons who meet the protection standards listed in the Paris Convention (1967), the Berne Convention (197), the Rome Convention and the treaty on intellectual property rights of integrated circuits. (The other four interpretations and exception clauses are omitted)
3. Exhaustivism principle
The Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights stipulates that the exhaustion of intellectual property rights shall not involve any provision of this Agreement, provided that the provisions on national treatment and MFN treatment are observed.
With regard to the exhaustion of intellectual property rights, intellectual property laws vary greatly from country to country, and there are different provisions on different aspects of intellectual property rights.
(1) Regarding the "exhaustion" of patent rights, the patent laws of most countries stipulate that after the patented product manufactured by the patentee or licensed by the patentee is sold, others can use or resell the patented product without permission.
(2) With regard to the exhaustion of trademark rights, most countries stipulate that after the goods of registered trademark owners and licensees are sold, the use of the trademark by a third party on these goods legally used or sold in their own countries does not constitute infringement, that is, the exhaustion of trademark owners. He can't prevent a third person from using the registered trademark on the goods.
(3) The exhaustion of copyright varies greatly from country to country. According to the copyright laws of some countries, if the copyright owner himself or with his authorization puts copies of his related works into domestic and foreign markets, the right holder has no right to interfere with the subsequent distribution and sales of the approved products, which is called "exhaustion of copyright".
4. Objectives and principles of the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights
The goal of the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights is to promote technological innovation, technology transfer and technology diffusion by protecting intellectual property rights and exercising rights, to promote mutual benefit between producers and users of technological knowledge in a way conducive to social and economic welfare, and to promote the balance of rights and obligations among WTO members. These goals reflect the basic goals of intellectual property legislation in developed and developing countries, and also illustrate the significance of intellectual property protection to technological development and rapid dissemination. Because technology has fundamentally changed the nature of competition. With the gradual weakening of the competitiveness of some developed countries in the traditional production field, intellectual property rights have become the basis for creating new competitive advantages. This intangible creative activity will become the most valuable property form in 2 1 century, and the development of economic globalization requires full protection of this creative activity.
The Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights defines WTO members. First of all, when formulating and amending domestic intellectual property laws and regulations, we can take necessary measures to protect the public's health and nutrition, so as to promote the public interests of departments that are vital to their socio-economic and technological development. Second, appropriate measures can be taken to prevent intellectual property rights holders from abusing intellectual property rights, or restricting trade by means of unfair competition, or adversely affecting international technology transfer. However, neither of the above two basic principles can conflict with the relevant provisions of the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights. These principles provide important guidance for WTO members to formulate or amend intellectual property laws in the future, and also put forward basic requirements for intellectual property laws of various countries. If these principles are not met, the WTO's trade policies and regulations review system requires its members to make legal adjustments to comply with the corresponding WTO laws, otherwise other members can submit their disputes to the WTO for arbitration.
5. The relationship between the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights and four important international conventions on intellectual property rights (omitted)
(3) The minimum standards and duration of patent protection
1. Patentable theme
Article 22 of the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights stipulates the "three characteristics" requirements of intellectual achievements that can be patented and intellectual achievements that cannot be patented, that is, intellectual achievements that can be patented. At the same time, the conditions for the realization of patent right are put forward.
The Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights adopts the "three-nature" requirements of countries for granting rights to intellectual achievements. Namely novelty, creativity and practicality. However, the specific provisions of the three elements are different from those of patent laws in various countries. (Specific expression omitted)
2. Intellectual achievements and requirements without patent right.
According to the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights, members can refuse to grant a patent right for an invention, or in some cases, some inventions cannot be granted a patent right. Specifically including:
(1) aims at protecting public order and social morality, including protecting the life or health of people, animals or plants, or avoiding serious damage to the environment.
(2) Diagnosis, treatment and surgical methods for human beings or animals.
(3) Plants and animals other than microorganisms; Especially animals and plants produced by microbial and non-microbial methods, are mainly produced by biological processes. However, members should take appropriate measures to protect plant varieties.
3. Scope of patent right
The rights granted to the patentee by the Intellectual Property Agreement include: (1) For an invention patent, when the subject matter of the patent is a product, the patentee has the right to prohibit a third party from manufacturing, using and offering for sale without its permission. Selling or importing patented products. In addition, the "import right" of the patentee is clarified. "Import right" means that the patentee has the right to prevent others from importing the patented product for which he enjoys a product patent or the product produced by the method for which he enjoys a method patent without his permission. The WTO defines the patentee's right to import, in fact, it also requires its members to incorporate this content into domestic laws.
(2) If the subject matter of a patent is a method, that is, a method patent, the obligee has the right to prohibit others from using the method, that is, to engage in using, offering for sale, selling or importing products directly obtained from the method patent for these purposes. The owners of invention patents and method patents have "import rights". Treat "method patent" and "invention patent" equally.
(3) In addition to the exclusive rights of the patentee mentioned above, the patentee has the right to transfer the patent right or sign a license contract through inheritance. This mainly makes it clear that the patent right can be transferred and inherited as property right, and the patentee can get paid by concluding a license contract.
4. Information disclosure requirements of patent applicants
(1) discloses its invention in a clear and complete way, so that people in the field can implement patents according to patent documents. This has brought convenience and a certain degree of protection to developing country members when importing patented technology and implementing it.
(2) On the filing date, or when priority is claimed, on the filing date, indicate the best way to implement the invention. This provision is to further emphasize the practicality and enforceability of patented technology. Using the existing raw materials, technicians with a certain technical level can successfully put the patented technology into practice and apply it to industrial production or economic activities in related industries.
(3) Members may require patent applicants to provide relevant foreign applications and authorization documents.
5. Exceptions to patent grant and compulsory license.
(1) general rights restrictions and requirements
Article 30 of the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights stipulates general rights restrictions: members can make limited exceptions to the exclusive right to grant patents. This is a principled provision, not mandatory. Of course, in this case, members shall not make exceptions to the exclusive right to grant patents. If a member provides an exception in the patent law, it must meet certain conditions or requirements:
A this exception must be limited and cannot be stipulated indefinitely.
B. Considering the legitimate interests of the third party, this exception shall not conflict with the normal implementation of the patent.
Considering the legitimate interests of the third party, this exception will not unreasonably harm the legitimate interests of the patentee.
(2) Compulsory license
What should the patentee do if he refuses to grant permission to use the invention patent on unreasonable conditions? The legislation of many countries stipulates that if the patented product is unavailable or the price obtained is harsh, the government can authorize interested manufacturers to use the patent in the public interest and require users to pay reasonable patent fees. However, the agreement has made strict provisions on the implementation conditions of compulsory license, which can only be implemented under special or objective circumstances. The agreement also specifically stipulates that compulsory license can only be considered if the interested manufacturer cannot obtain the license under reasonable conditions through personal efforts (omitting the six conditions of compulsory license).
6. Duration of patent protection
The term of validity of patent protection shall not be less than the end of the 20th year from the date of application.
(four) the minimum protection standards of copyright and neighboring rights
1. Concept and classification of copyright and neighboring rights
Copyright, also known as copyright, refers to the rights enjoyed by the authors of literary, artistic and scientific works in accordance with the copyright law and related laws. Copyright belongs to the category of civil rights and is an important part of intellectual property rights. In the copyright laws of various countries, the connotation of copyright is divided into narrow sense and broad sense. In a narrow sense, copyright includes personal rights and property rights of works; Copyright in a broad sense includes personal rights, property rights and neighboring rights.
Neighboring right refers to the right adjacent to copyright. It mainly includes the rights enjoyed by record producers, performers and radio and television institutions on their recorded records.
The personal rights of works mainly include the right of publication, the right of signature, the right of modification, the right to protect the integrity of works and the property right of works. (Specific expression omitted)
2. Three principles of copyright and neighboring rights protection
(1) principle of national treatment.
The national treatment stipulated here is the same as that in the Basic Principles of Intellectual Property Agreement.
(2) the principle of automatic protection
Enjoy and exercise national treatment without going through any formalities and without relying on the protection of works in the country of origin. This is the so-called "automatic protection principle". According to this principle, nationals of WTO and Berne Convention member countries, as well as nationals of other non-Berne Convention member countries who have permanent residency in member countries, shall automatically enjoy copyright when their literary and artistic works are completed. If a non-member country does not have permanent residency in a member country, its works shall enjoy copyright when published in the member country.
(3) the principle of independence protection
In addition to the provisions of Berne Convention, the degree of protection of copyright and neighboring rights by WTO members and the way to protect authors' rights are fully applicable to the laws of countries that provide protection. However, no member state can argue that its domestic copyright law does not provide some protection for its nationals on the grounds of "independence principle" and is unwilling to provide similar protection for nationals of other member States.
3. The principle of minimum protection standards
The principle of minimum protection standard requires that all member countries, regardless of the level of copyright protection in their domestic legislation, must meet the following minimum protection levels (requirements): First, the protection of works must include all achievements in the fields of literature, science and art, regardless of their forms or expressions. Second, the rights in copyright laws of all countries are limited within a certain range. Specifically, for the purpose of providing information, copying and disseminating oral works such as lectures and speeches by printing and broadcasting without the permission of the author. However, the "assembly right" of such oral works still belongs to the author. Third, rights can only be restricted under certain conditions.
Regarding the protection period of works, the protection period of general works is not less than 50 years after the author's death. (1) The film works shall not be less than 50 years after meeting the audience. If the audience has not met for 50 years, the protection period shall be 50 years after the production of the work is completed. (2) The term of protection of an anonymous or pseudonym work shall not be less than 50 years before and after the author's death, provided that all aliases are sufficient to prove his identity through legal means. If an anonymous or pseudonym author identifies himself within the above-mentioned time limit, the protection period is still 50 years after the author's death. As long as it can be reasonably inferred that anonymous or pseudonymous authors have been dead for more than 50 years, they can no longer ask member States to protect their works. (3) Photographic works and practical works of art are protected as works of art in the member countries of Berne Convention, and their protection period can be decided by legislation, but the protection period will last for at least 25 years after the completion of the works. (4) Cooperative works or other works regarded as * * * cooperative works shall be protected for 50 years after the death of the last co-author of * * *.
However, according to the Convention, the protection period stipulated in the above paragraphs may be provided by member States for a longer period.
4. Preferential arrangements for developing countries
It is believed that developing country members can enjoy certain preferential treatment when exercising the two rights of translation and reproduction of works of other convention member countries.
5. The scope of economic rights
According to Berne Convention, the copyright owner can enjoy at least eight economic rights, and each member can grant the author "the right to continue" according to the specific situation. These eight economic rights are: (1) translation right, (2) reproduction right, (3) public performance right, (4) broadcasting right, (5) recitation right, (6) adaptation right, (8) recording right and (9) copyright.
6. Intellectual property agreements do not grant moral rights to authors.
The Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights stipulates: "The rights obtained by members according to Article 6 bis of the Berne Convention (197 1 Edition) and the rights arising therefrom have no corresponding rights and obligations under this Agreement." The moral rights stipulated in article 6 bis of the Berne Convention include:
(1) right of publication. The right to decide whether a work is made public.
(2) the right to sign. The right to identify the author and sign the work.
(3) the right to modify. The right to modify or authorize others to modify a work.
(4) the right to protect the integrity of the work. The right to protect a work from distortion, tampering or other changes or degradation.
7. Articles protected by the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights
The Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights stipulates: "Copyright protection should extend to expression, but it does not include ideas, procedures and operations."
8. Protection of computer programs and databases in intellectual property agreements
The Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights stipulates that computer programs, whether source programs or object programs, must be protected as written works in accordance with the Berne Convention (197 1). At the same time, it also stipulates that databases or other materials, whether machine-readable or in other forms, must be protected, because the selection or compilation of content constitutes intellectual creation.
9. Recognize the right to rent computer programs and film works.
"Rental" is generally regarded as a way for the author or copyright owner to distribute works, and the right to rent is a form of "distribution right" in copyright. In view of the differences in the treatment of rental rights in copyright laws in different countries, the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights requires its members to recognize at least two kinds of rental rights-film works and computer programs.
10. Project protection period
Regarding the term of protection of works, the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights stipulates that, unlike photographic works and practical works of art, it is not based on the life of natural persons. The term of protection of a work shall be at least 50 years, counting from the end of the year in which it is authorized to be published. If a work has not been published within 50 years from the date of creation, the term of protection shall be 50 years.
1 1. Rights restriction and fair use in copyright protection
The Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights, like other international conventions and domestic legislation for the protection of intellectual property rights, not only gives the owners and holders of intellectual property rights, but also limits their rights and scope and stipulates the conditions for rational use.
12. Protection and restriction of neighboring rights (3 items, omitted)
(5) the minimum standard of trademark protection
The concept and purpose of 1. trademark
Trademark is a sign that industrial and commercial enterprises are different from other enterprises' products or services. This sign is a mixture of one or more special characters, letters, names, numbers, numerical symbols and colors. Trademarks may also be a combination of the above factors. Because the basic purpose of trademarks is to distinguish, the laws of most countries stipulate that protected trademarks must have two purposes: one is to help trademark owners promote their products by encouraging trust in their famous brands; The second is to help consumers choose from several possibilities, so as to urge the trademark owner to maintain or improve the quality of the products represented by the trademark.
2. Registration conditions, requirements and obligations of trademark protection
Identification and visual perception requirements of trademark registration: the agreement puts forward the requirements of "registration conditions" for trademark acquisition. That is to say, the protection of WTO members' trademarks must be based on their nationals' application for registration of their goods or services, rather than adopting the principle of "priority in use" adopted by some countries (that is, whether to "use" a certain mark as a condition for obtaining a trademark).
In view of the fact that a few countries have not implemented the system of obtaining trademark rights by applying for registration, the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights stipulates that members cannot be prevented from refusing to register certain trademarks on the grounds of obtaining trademark rights by implementing registration conditions, but these reasons should comply with the provisions in the Paris Convention 1967 text.
3. The scope and limitations of the rights granted to the trademark owner
The Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights stipulates that trademark owners "shall enjoy exclusive rights to prevent third parties from using registered identical or similar trademarks in the course of trading identical or similar goods or services without their authorization and causing confusion to the public". As can be seen from this provision, WTO emphasizes that trademark owners have the right to prevent others from using the same or similar marks as their registered trademarks to avoid confusion. This highlights the problem of trademark protection brought about by the expansion of the exchange of goods and services among WTO members. The WTO has made corresponding restrictions on the above rights of registered trademark owners, that is, the trademark owners shall not damage any existing prior rights when exercising the above rights, nor shall they affect the possibility of members obtaining rights based on use. The agreement does not specify which rights are included in the "prior rights". Generally speaking, it should at least include the following rights: (1) protected trade name right; (2) The exclusive right of industrial design that has been protected; (3) copyright; (4) the naming right of protected geographical indications of origin; (5) the right to name; (6) Portrait rights, etc.
4. Protection of well-known trademarks
The protection of well-known trademarks is an important part of trademark protection in domestic laws and international and regional conventions. The WTO requires that the legislation of each member country must prohibit the use of trademarks that are the same as or similar to any well-known trademarks in the member country, and reject the application for trademark registration of such trademarks. Those that have been registered shall be revoked. Well-known trademarks under special protection, whether registered or unregistered, should be protected.
5. Exceptions to trademark rights
According to the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights, WTO members can make limited exceptions to the granting of trademark rights, as long as such provisions take into account the legitimate interests of trademark owners and third parties.
6. Duration and renewal of trademark protection
According to the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights, the protection period of a registered trademark is not less than 7 years, and the number of renewals is unlimited. That is, the trademark owner has the right to renew unconditionally. In fact, this makes the term of protection of trademark right very different from that of copyright and patent right. The term of protection of copyright and patent right is the legal term of validity, and generally it is no longer protected after the expiration of the limited time. Even if it enters the public domain, anyone can use it for free, without infringement.
7. Use requirements
According to the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights, if a trademark is maintained by use, it can only be cancelled if it has not been used for three consecutive years. However, if the trademark owner has justified reasons to explain that it is reasonable not to use it, the registration cannot be revoked. The "just cause" here mainly refers to "the situation beyond the control of the trademark owner constitutes an obstacle to the use of the trademark". Generally speaking, it should include: (1) force majeure; (2) government ban; (3) Other government requirements can be regarded as "legitimate reasons" for not using them.
In terms of use requirements, the agreement holds that the use of trademark ownership should comply with the law. If the trademark owner does not use the trademark itself, but authorizes others to use the trademark, such use under the actual control of the owner should still be regarded as the trademark owner's use of the trademark, and the use of the registered trademark cannot be regarded as interrupted. This provision provides a good environment for the use of trademark ownership and is conducive to maintaining the exclusive right to use trademarks.
8. License, transfer and use of trademarks (3 items, omitted)
(six) the protection of geographical indications in intellectual property agreements (four, omitted)
(7) Protection of industrial designs
1. Conditions for obtaining design protection
Article 25 1 of the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights stipulates that WTO members must provide protection for industrial designs. It also stipulates that in order to obtain the protection of industrial designs, industrial designs should meet the following requirements: (1) independent creativity and novelty; (2) Independent creation and originality.
2. Focus on protecting "design" rather than the function itself.
The center of the legislation for the protection of industrial designs in various countries is to protect the function and technology of "design", not "product". The function and technical factors of products are very important to product quality and consumer satisfaction, but they are not the key problems to be solved in industrial design protection. They can be protected by patent law or other industrial property laws. Therefore, Article 25 of the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights stipulates that all members "must" protect industrial designs, which is a mandatory provision and an obligation that must be fulfilled. However, for the protection of designs, members have no obligation to extend the scope of protection to designs mainly composed of technical factors or functional factors.
3. Deal with the protection of textile design
According to the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights, members should ensure that their provisions on the protection of textile designs, especially in terms of costs, review or publicity, do not reasonably damage, seek and obtain opportunities for such protection.
4. Rights of industrial product design obligee
The Intellectual Property Agreement gives the owners of industrial designs the right to manufacture, sell and import. Among them, the right to manufacture and the right to sell are the basic contents of the rights that the obligee should enjoy in industrial property rights.
5. Protection period of industrial design
The Intellectual Property Agreement stipulates that the protection period of industrial designs shall not be less than 10 years. This is the shortest time for industrial product design and the lowest protection requirement. But this does not rule out that some countries can sign agreements to protect industrial designs for a long time.
(8) Other forms of intellectual property protection.
1. Unpublished information
For the first time, the provisions of the Agreement on undisclosed information explicitly require the protection of undisclosed information such as trade secrets and know-how in the form of public international law. Protection applies to secret information. Because secret information has commercial value, reasonable measures should be taken to keep it secret. The agreement does not require that undisclosed information be regarded as a form of property, but it does stipulate that the person who legally controls the information must be able to prevent others from violating honest business practices and require the disclosure, acquisition or use of the information without their consent. Moreover, the agreement also stipulates that the relevant government requires information such as undisclosed inspection data as a condition for selling drugs or products.
Member governments must protect these data from unfair commercial applications.
2. Layout design of integrated circuits
Unless otherwise specified, the agreement requires all members to provide protection for the layout-design of integrated circuits in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Washington Treaty on Intellectual Property of Integrated Circuits. Other provisions of the agreement stipulate that it is illegal to import or sell protected integrated circuits without the authorization of the legal rights holder. However, it is not illegal for people who don't know that it contains illegal integrated circuits to obtain a certain product. The "no-fault infringer" may still sell or dispose of the inventory products before knowing that the layout-design used is illegal, but it shall pay a certain royalty to the legitimate right holder. Another clause of the agreement stipulates that compulsory licensing of protected rights is prohibited unless it is for public non-commercial purposes or is judged by judicial or administrative authorities as a remedy to stop anti-competitive behavior. The implementation is clearly defined. It mainly includes: (1) the obligations that law enforcement requires all members to generally perform. There are great differences among WTO members in the enforcement of intellectual property law, and their enforcement procedures and related regulations are different for different intellectual property contents. Therefore, members should strive to:
(1) Take effective IPR enforcement procedures and actions to prevent and stop the occurrence of infringement.
(2) In order to prevent intellectual property infringement and curb further infringement, effective relief measures must be taken.
(3) Intellectual property law enforcement procedures should be fair and reasonable, should not be cumbersome and cause economic burden to the parties, and should not delay or require the parties to bear unreasonable time limits.
(4) It is best to make a judgment in writing on the case, and specify the reasons for the judgment.
(5) In any case, the parties to litigation or arbitration should have the opportunity to request judicial review of the final decision or judgment of the administrative department.
(6) The judicial judgment of first instance shall be given the opportunity of appeal and review if it meets the requirements of its normal procedure. However, members are not obliged to provide such review opportunities for cases that are acquitted in criminal cases.
3. Preferential arrangements for developing countries in the agreement
At present, the domestic legislation of many countries, especially developing countries and least developed countries, does not meet the above requirements. For example, in terms of patents, the agreement stipulates that patent rights should generally apply to all technical fields, while some countries exclude chemicals and food from patentability. Even if patents are granted for inventions related to fertilizers, pesticides and drugs, the time limit is generally much shorter than the 20 years stipulated in the agreement. Moreover, in medicine, some countries only grant process patents, not products. In the field of copyright, many countries do not think that computer software can be protected. Some countries do not provide protection for industrial designs. In order to adapt the industry and trade of developing countries to the changes in the requirements of the agreement, the agreement stipulates a transition period for these countries. During the transitional period, these countries should make their intellectual property legislation consistent with the requirements of the Agreement. These include:
Developed countries: 1 year, that is, to 1996 65438+ 10/day;
Developing countries: 5 years, that is, by 20001;
Countries with economies in transition: 5 years, that is, 1 in 2000 (if these countries encounter difficulties in reforming intellectual property legislation).
Least developed countries: 1 1 year, i.e. 2006 1 day.
In addition, those developing countries that only provide protection for products in the fields of food, chemicals and medicines at present can postpone the relevant requirements and provisions of the agreement until June 5, 2005+10/October 6.
During the transition period, the agreement requires members not to take any measures that will reduce the existing level of intellectual property protection. Since 1996, the agreement stipulates that all members have the obligation to implement the principle of most-favored-nation treatment and national treatment.
In addition, the agreement also stipulates the principle of transparency and dispute settlement mechanism, which is basically consistent with the obligations of other agreements. See other contents.