IP QUARTERLY UPDATE: FIRST QUARTER 2005

The report analyzes the impact of bilateral trade agreements on copyright and access to knowledge, noting that agreements involving the U.S. often impose protections (such as 70-year terms and anti-circumvention of TPMs) that exceed multilateral standards. It also summarizes IP disputes in the WTO regarding pharmaceutical compulsory licensing and genetic resource disclosure, as well as tensions at WIPO over the Substantive Patent Law Treaty.

• Bilateral trade agreements, especially those involving the United States, are increasing copyright protection levels beyond the requirements of multilateral rules. These agreements often include provisions for the ratification of copyright treaties, database protection, and government software regulation, which the document suggests may enhance the "knowledge gap" between developed and developing nations.
• Many bilateral trade agreements extend the term of copyright protection to 70 years, exceeding the minimum standard of the life of the author plus 50 years established by the Berne Convention and the TRIPS Agreement. The document argues that longer terms slow the growth of the public domain and can restrict the dissemination of works due to higher royalties and permission costs.
• Technological Protection Measures (TPMs) are being used to create "virtual fences" around digital content, which can prevent the public from exercising legal exceptions to copyright. While the TRIPS Agreement is silent on TPMs, the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and WIPO Performers and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) require legal protection against the circumvention of these measures. Some U.S. bilateral agreements implement a maximalist regime based on the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which prohibits the circumvention of access controls even for non-infringing uses.
• Within the WTO Council for TRIPS, there is a significant stalemate regarding a permanent solution for Paragraph 11 of the 30 August 2003 Decision, which addresses pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity and compulsory licensing. The African Group and several developing countries (including Brazil, India, and the Philippines) oppose the requirement that the amendment include the Chairman’s Statement, while the U.S., EU, Switzerland, Japan, and Canada insist upon it.
• Developing countries are pushing for the introduction of disclosure requirements in the TRIPS Agreement to ensure benefit-sharing regarding genetic resources and traditional knowledge, aligning TRIPS with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). While countries like Brazil, India, and Peru support these measures to prevent "bio-piracy," the U.S., Canada, Japan, and the EU oppose them, citing concerns over costs.
• At WIPO, the future work program of the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) is highly contested. A "Group of Friends of Development" (including Argentina, Brazil, and South Africa) issued a counter-statement to a Casablanca meeting proposal, arguing that any work on the draft Substantive Patent Law Treaty (SPLT) must be holistic and include provisions on technology transfer and anticompetitive practices.
• The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) working group has seen debates over contradictions between the CBD and the TRIPS Agreement. A UNEP representative stated that "Private monopoly" under TRIPS could suspend national sovereignty over genetic resources, a view supported by Brazil and Ethiopia but rejected by the U.S., EU, Japan, and Australia.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2005). IP QUARTERLY UPDATE: FIRST QUARTER 2005. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IP_Update_1Q05.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. IP QUARTERLY UPDATE: FIRST QUARTER 2005. 2005. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IP_Update_1Q05.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=IP QUARTERLY UPDATE: FIRST QUARTER 2005 |date=2005 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IP_Update_1Q05.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2005quarterly, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{IP QUARTERLY UPDATE: FIRST QUARTER 2005}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2005}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IP_Update_1Q05.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }