EU experts explain importance of the TRIPS Agreement

By Bufete Mejía & Asociados

Honduras, along with several Latin American countries, participated in a virtual workshop on enforcement of Intellectual Property, which had the purpose of countering counterfeiting and piracy in compliance with international conventions.

The workshop, held by experts from the European Union, was focused on empowering Latin American public institutions by guaranteeing the defense of IP rights through the training of their employees. Among the topics addressed were: border measures, traffic abuse, tools to protect intellectual property rights in foreign trade and merchandise susceptible to infringment of trademark rights.

The workshop specifically talke about the TRIPS Agreement, which came into effect on 1 January 1995 and is to date the most comprehensive multilateral agreement on intellectual property.

The areas of intellectual property that the TRIPS Agreement covers are: copyright and related rights (i.e. the rights of performers, producers of sound recordings and broadcasting organizations); trademarks including service marks; geographical indications including appellations of origin; industrial designs; patents including the protection of new varieties of plants; the layout-designs of integrated circuits; and undisclosed information including trade secrets and test data.