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論文名稱	TRIPS-plus Provisions in the EU New Generation of FTAs with Asian Countries
發表日期	2019-09-02
論文收錄分類	其他
所有作者	Su-Ju Kang
作者順序	第一作者
通訊作者	否
刊物名稱	LAwTTIP Working Papers series
發表卷數	2019/6
是否具有審稿制度	是
發表期數	June 2019
期刊或學報出版地國別/地區	NATEU-歐盟
發表年份	2019
發表月份	6
發表形式	電子期刊
所屬計劃案	無
可公開文檔
可公開文檔
可公開文檔
附件	LAwTTIP Working Paper_2019_6_Event 13(1).pdf

[摘要] :
In an era of knowledge-based economies, creativity, research and innovation are essential to technological development and industrial competitiveness. In this context, effective protection of intellectual property (IP) has been increasingly emphasized by different administrations around the world, including the United States, Japan and even China. Over many years, the European Union (EU) has built a harmonized legal framework and intellectual property system that contribute to the promotion of creativity and innovation. This harmonization of laws within the EU has been established by various legal instruments that aim to provide homogeneous protection for different types of IP, such as biotechnological inventions, designs, copyrights and related rights, geographical indications and trade secrets.
The IP protection is also characterized as a trade area of economic importance in European foreign trade policy, especially in view of the fact that the EU competiveness largely relies on strong export performance of the high-tech sector. However, intellectual property rights (IPRs) protection and enforcement are both governed by the principle of territoriality. In order to ensure appropriate levels of IP protection in non-EU countries, international trade deals have been defined by EU trade policy as one of the key external instruments. Pursuing the goals set out in the “Global Europe” strategy, EU’s future trade deals should include higher standards
of intellectual property. These new trade deals, taking the form of a new generation of FTAs, do not only deal with IP issues; they address various areas of trade as well. Since then, the EU– South-Korea FTA, the first new generation of free trade agreements (NGFTA) implemented by the EU, contains an extensive chapter with a broader scope and more comprehensive normsetting regarding IP, alongside other provisions on service, investment, public procurement, and sustainable development, etc.

Taking into account European economic interests in Asia, the EU is also engaged in
deepening and consolidating economic relationships with certain Asian countries through the bilateral trade deals. Since the publication of “Global Europe” strategy in 2006, the EU has indeed reached five main NGFTAs with respectively South-Korea, Canada, Singapore, Vietnam and Japan, in which four involve Asian countries. All of these NGFTAs incorporate the entire spectrum of IPRs, including copyright and related rights, patents, trademarks, geographical indications, etc. In particular, these trade agreements not only define IPRs protection rules but strengthen their enforcement as well. Since no significant progress has been made in the Doha multilateral trade negotiations within the World Trade Organization (WTO), it appears that the EU and its trading partners have expanded and intensified the use of bilateral trade agreements to achieve what cannot be agreed on in multilateral forums. These high levels of IP protection and enforcement standards represent further commitments beyond the WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), referred to as TRIPS-plus provisions.

With regard to EU’s recent FTAs with its Asian trading partners, the IP protection and enforcement has apparently become a crucial element. Although several research studies have been conducted to discuss the obligations derived from TRIPS-plus provisions in the EU and the US’s FTAs, this study examines specially how the EU NGFTAs are articulated with other international instruments related to IP, notably the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) treaties concluded post-TRIPS, such as the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) (1996) and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) (1996). The paper further aims to investigate if EU NGFTA is a relevant vector to reinforce its normative influence on international standards for IP protection, with specific focus on the provisions promoting stronger geographic indications (GIs) protection. Through the analysis of regulatory convergence on IP standards, this study allows the assessment of the EU’s impact or limits vis-à-vis its Asian trading partners.