National Advisory Board calls for integrated management for climate-resilient agriculture (See 'Corp Brief') Arbitration - Where arbitration proceedings are meant for resolving civil & contractual disputes, they cannot be invoked to resolve penal offences under the Negotiable Instruments Act: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Centre of Excellence to advance Indigenous Telecom R&D (See 'Corp Brief') 102 Route Km Wadi-Raichur Section to be upgraded with 2×25 kV Electric Traction System (See 'Corp Brief') A & C Act - Private contractual confidentiality clause cannot override statutory or legal obligation to disclose documents directed by court of law: HC (See 'Legal Desk') CERT-In conducts 10 Cyber Security Exercises on AI-Driven Cyber Threats (See 'Corp Brief') Sonowal urges 'Faster Execution', calls for 'Speed & Scale' to meet 2030 maritime targets (See 'Corp Brief') NDPS - While mere non-compliance with procedural mandates of Sec 52A of NDPS Act is not automatically fatal to prosecution, it necessitates heightened scrutiny test of remaining evidence: HC (See 'Legal Desk') India Mobile Congress 2026 - scaling without boundaries forms goal (See 'Corp Brief') MoRD and PCI India ink MoU to bolster women-led enterprises through public procurement (See 'Corp Brief') 5.56 lakh recruitments done since 2014, Including 50,485 in Southern Railway: Vaishnaw (See 'Corp Brief') Trade Mark - Interim injunction allowed where plaintiff successfully satisfies triple test by a strong prima facie case, imbalance of convenience & irreparable injury: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Corporate Mitra Scheme Awareness Webinar organized by IICA Shillong (See 'Corp Brief') Assam Exports First International Consignment of Purabi Ice Cream to Bhutan (See 'Corp Brief') IPR - If plaintiff demonstrates prior adoption, statutory registrations, commercial reputation, and prima facie deceptive similarity between rival marks used for identical goods through common trade channels, ex parte injunction may be granted: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Common Service Centres increase from 83,950 to 5,01,731 (See 'Corp Brief') RM calls for tech-driven preventive healthcare to enhance combat readiness (See 'Corp Brief') A&C - Once claim is consciously and formally withdrawn by party, arbitrator completely loses jurisdiction to adjudicate upon it: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Railways approves Rs 163 Crore Electric Traction Upgradation in South Central Railway (See 'Corp Brief') Govt promotes indigenous Potash Production and Alternative Nutrient Sources (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - Personal guarantee expressly drafted as a continuing and irrevocable guarantee does not stand discharged merely because the guarantor resigns as director of the corporate debtor: NCLAT (See 'Legal Desk') CCI approves amalgamation of Go Digit Infoworks with Go Digit General Insurance (See 'Corp Brief') CCI okays acquisition of units of Oaktree capital group by Brookfield Asset Management (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - If IRP is allowed to perform only limited functions during period when CIRP is under substantial judicial restriction, IRP is not automatically entitled to full professional fees at minimum monthly rate: NCLAT (See 'Legal Desk') Amritsar becomes second spoke airport under India's International Aviation Hub Strategy (See 'Corp Brief') RRBs post Highest-Ever Net Profit of Rs. 10,177 Crore in FY 2025-26 (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - Retention or continued freezing of a person's property cannot be permitted solely or primarily on ground that investigation is ongoing: SAFEMA TRIBUNAL (See 'Legal Desk') NHAI Successfully defends Major Arbitration Case to Safeguard Public Funds (See 'Corp Brief') Companies Act - Coal beneficiation cannot per se be excluded from ambit of manufacturing process to justify quashing of criminal complaint at preliminary stage: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Digital India BHASHINI conducts Multilingual AI Workshop for Haryana Vidhan Sabha (See 'Corp Brief') MISC - RBI, possessing superior expertise in financial administration over cooperative authorities, has independent power to supersede board of a cooperative bank under the Banking Regulation Act - Principles of natural justice do not apply to Section 36AAA of Banking Regulation Act 1949: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Youth Unrest & CJP Agitation: Key Learnings (See CORP EINSICHT) IPR - Patent offices cannot rely on mere hypotheses or hindsight to dismiss technical advancement: HC (See 'Legal Desk') 'Corporate Mitra Scheme' Awareness Webinar Successfully Organized by IICA Shillong (See 'Corp Brief') Rajya Sabha organises Orientation Programme for newly elected Members (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - Service of insolvency petition on corporate debtor's registered email address available in MCA records constitutes valid service, if accompanied by attempts at service at registered office and publication in accordance with NCLT Rules: NCLAT (See 'Legal Desk') Coast Guard rescues 170 Persons in Flood Relief Operations across Daman, Dadra & Nagar Haveli (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - Prior or parallel proceedings under SARFAESI and before DRT do not bar Section 95 insolvency application: NCLT (See 'Legal Desk') Public Advisory: Beware of Fraudulent Air Suvidha 2.0 Websites (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - Liquidation application allowed where corporate debtor is not a going concern, has prima facie nil asset value & where requirements of Section 33 of IBC 2016 are met: NCLT (See 'Legal Desk')

WTO Members witness trial launch of e-TRIPS gateway

Published: Jun 13, 2019

By TIOLCORPLAWS News Service

GENEVA, JUNE 13, 2019: THE WTO members recently saw the trial launch of the e-TRIPS gateway, the online information portal that allows members to search and extract the full range of TRIPS information managed by the WTO Secretariat, at the meeting of the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) on June 6. Under newly-elected chair Ambassador Lundeg Purevsuren of Mongolia, members also discussed IP policies on branding, creative industries and public-private partnerships under the theme of IP and innovation.

The WTO Secretariat provided an update on the e-TRIPS project, which aims to streamline and bring up to date the information services the Secretariat provides to WTO members. It comprises two separate but integrated online tools – first, the e-TRIPS Submission System, a means for submitting TRIPS notification and review material; and second, the e-TRIPS gateway, which provides a wide range of opportunities for delegates to access and make use of TRIPS information.

Regarding the e-TRIPS Submission System, launched after the previous meeting of the TRIPS Council on February 13, the Secretariat said it is now ready to be used in the three WTO official languages: English, French and Spanish. To date, over 35 members have requested login credentials and the Secretariat will continue assisting delegates in Geneva and capital-based officials in its practical use.

Concerning the e-TRIPS gateway, the Secretariat informed the Council that a beta version of the gateway will be released in the coming weeks for testing by delegations. Upon completion, the e-TRIPS gateway will be integrated into the WTO website and open to the public. The new portal will make it a lot easier for delegates (and eventually for the public) to quickly research, retrieve and analyze TRIPS-related data. A demonstration of the e-TRIPS gateway highlighted its key features.

The Secretariat acknowledged the helpful feedback and collaboration of many delegates who over an extended development process have helped to shape and refine the different elements of the e-TRIPS project.

IP and innovation

WTO members continued discussions on the role intellectual property (IP) plays as a driver for more inclusive innovation. They specifically reflected on IP and innovation in the context of branding and creative industries, taking into account various forms of public-private partnerships in IP promotion. Part of the series of TRIPS Council discussions on IP and innovation launched in 2012, this theme was put on the agenda at the request of Australia, Canada, Chile, the European Union, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, Chinese Taipei and the United States.

Proponents noted the importance of exploring the role of creative industries and branding in a context where it is widely recognized that 'innovation' is not limited to 'inventions'. Rather, as defined by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), it encompasses "the implementation of a new or significantly improved product (good or service), or process, a new marketing method, or a new organizational method in business practices, workplace organization, or external relations".

Acknowledging that developing economies' participation in trade in creative goods has increased, and that 68 per cent of the world population is projected to live in urban areas by 2050, proponents said that a resilient innovation policy should include specific regional and rural branding and promotion strategies to respond to changing economic and geographic contexts.

Examples were provided on how the public sector can support the private sector through branding and promotion strategies at national and regional level, on the role intellectual property rights (IPRs) should play in the context of local innovation and public-private collaboration, as well as on the experience of creating innovative business models utilizing local IPRs.

Several members highlighted that creative industries, including the performing and literary arts, and the design, media and entertainment industries, play an important role in contributing economic value and in enriching culture. However, since many artists and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are not familiar with their IPRs and how to use them to grow their businesses, this is where the public sector can support them in protecting and using IP, as well as through promotion strategies and IP management, proponents added.

Recognizing that IPRs provide an incentive to innovation, some members emphasized that they are only effective in certain contexts and stressed the need to strike an appropriate balance between providing incentives for innovation and ensuring that resulting advantages contribute to the societal benefit in an equitable manner.

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