The recent panel report in Saudi Arabia – Measures Concerning the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights, the first intellectual property dispute where a WTO panel examined the security exception in Article 73 of the TRIPS Agreement, has now been appealed by Saudi Arabia ‘into the void‘. This means that the WTO’s dispute settlement body cannot adopt… Continue reading Saudi Arabia’s appeal ‘into the void’ at the WTO
In this post, the last of a series on the recent decision of the WTO’s Appellate Body in the Australia – Plain Packaging case, I want to focus on how both the panel and the Appellate Body approached the issue of the legal status of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health of 2001. … Continue reading The Legal Status of the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health
This week, I continue with my analysis of the Appellate Body’s decision on the trademark issues in the Australia – Plain Packaging case. (For previous posts in this regard, see here and here). In this post, the focus will be on whether it is necessary to consider alternative measures when deciding whether an encumbrance is justifiable pursuant… Continue reading Is it Necessary to Consider Alternative Measures under Article 20 of the TRIPS Agreement?
Last week, I blogged about the recent decision of the WTO’s Appellate Body that upheld Australia’s tobacco plain packaging measures. While the Appellate Body largely agreed with the earlier interpretation of both Articles 16(1) and 20 of the TRIPS Agreement by a dispute settlement panel (hereinafter, panel), there are some notable differences in the way… Continue reading Does Article 20 of TRIPS require a Rigid & Exact Set of Factors to Determine Whether an Encumbrance is Unjustifiable?
This is a quick update regarding the Australia – Plain Packaging case. I have commented on the earlier decision of the WTO’s dispute settlement panel in a short piece available here. In its report, the panel upheld Australia’s tobacco plain packaging measures (TPP measures) as compatible with the TRIPS Agreement. However, two of the complainants… Continue reading NEWSFLASH: WTO’S Appellate Body Upholds Australia’s Tobacco Plain Packaging Measures
The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) recently released the ‘Draft version 2’ of its General Comment on Article 15(1)(b) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). This draft version is dated 2 January 2020. Article 15(1)(b) of the ICESCR recognises the right of everyone to ‘enjoy the… Continue reading The Draft General Comment on Science and Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
There is a prohibition on the registration of ‘trade marks which are contrary to public policy or to accepted principles of morality’ in the European Union (see Article 7(1)(f) of the Regulation (EU) 2017/1001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017 on the European Union trade mark). Until as recently… Continue reading ‘Immoral’ Trademarks and Freedom of Expression: The EU and the USA Compared
Towards the end of last year, I was invited by the editorial board of the National Law School of India Review (NLSIR) to make a contribution to NLSIR Online. I chose to write a short piece on the 2018 decision of the WTO Panel in the Australian Plain Packaging case and its implications for the principle… Continue reading Territoriality, Tobacco, Trademarks, and the TRIPS Agreement
There is a trend towards legal harmonization in Africa. Or so it seems. Only time will tell how the current events and developments will eventually play out. This trend towards harmonization is quite noticeable in the field of intellectual property law. In recent years, there have been two key initiatives aimed at the harmonization of… Continue reading The Harmonization of IP Law in Africa: A Human Rights Perspective
As you may already be aware, South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry has recently published the ‘Intellectual Property Policy of the Republic of South Africa Phase 1 2018‘ i.e. a new IP policy document. I believe that this document will be subject to critical analysis by other commentators in the coming weeks/months. In this… Continue reading South Africa’s New IP Policy: A Human Rights Perspective
Emmanuel Oke 