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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: INFORMATION

Procedures for notifying and sharing information: contact points

The TRIPS Agreement says WTO members must set up contact points on intellectual property and notify these to the TRIPS Council — in other words the WTO’s membership. This allows member governments to contact each other on issues such as trade in counterfeit or pirated goods.

Notification procedures
1. Introduction
2. Laws and regulations
3. Beneficiaries/national treatment
4. Most-favoured nation
5. Contact points
6. Berne/Rome provisions
7. State emblems
 

See also:
> Transparency toolkit
> The notifications
> TRIPS Council
> Reviews of members’ implementing legislation

Notifications under Article 69   back to top

TRIPS Article 69 says members agree to cooperate with each other to eliminate international trade in goods that infringe intellectual property rights.

In order to achieve this member governments have agreed to set up contact points, to announce these to other members through the WTO, and to share information. Members have also agreed to encourage their customs authorities to cooperate and share information with each other, particularly on counterfeits, which infringe trademarks, and pirated products, which violate copyright.

The contact points   back to top