RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE IP/C/W/32
6August 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-3151)
Original: English Council forTrade-Related Aspects
ofIntellectual Property Rights
REMARKS ONREVOCATION OFPATENTS AND THE TRIPS AGREEMENT
BYTHE UNITED STATES OFAMERICA
TheUnited States delegation hasrequested thatthefollowing remarks, made atthemeeting
oftheCouncil forTRIPS thattookplace from 22to25July1996, becirculated.
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TheUnited States isoffering these remarks inanattempt toclarify theissueofrevocation of
patents under theTRIPS Agreement. These remarks havebeenprompted bydiscussions oftheissue
ofrevocation ofpatents thathaveoccurred inother bodies oftheWorld Trade Organization.
TheAgreement onTrade-Related Aspects ofIntellectual Property (TRIPS) addresses theissue
ofrevocation ofpatents through Articles 27,29and33:
- Pursuant toArticle 27,WTO Members must grant patents forthose inventions that
arenew, involve aninventive stepandarecapable ofindustrial application;
- Article 29requires asacondition forthegrant ofapatent thattheapplicant disclose
theinvention inamanner sufficiently clearandcomplete fortheinvention tobecarried
outbyaperson skilled intheart;
- Article 33provides thatapatent thathasbeengranted byaMember mustlastnotless
than20years from theearliest effective filing dateclaimed inthepatent.
Theeffect ofthese three provisions isclear; theonlybasis upon which aWTO Member canrevoke
apatent arethosegrounds thattheMember would havebeenjustified inrelying upontodenytheoriginal
grant ofapatent ontheapplication .Astheprovisions ofArticle 27and29indicate, those grounds
arethattheinvention forwhich patent protection issought isnotnew, lacks aninventive steporis
notcapable ofindustrial application, orthattheapplication doesnotdisclose theinvention inamanner
sufficiently clear andcomplete fortheinvention tobecarried outbyaperson skilled intheart.
Article 33serves todefine thetermofprotection thatWTO Members areobligated toprovide forthose
patents thatmeetthese standards ofpatentability.
Provisions existinArticle 27which permit WTO Members toexclude certain inventions from
eligibility forpatent protection. These provisions donotspeak totheissue ofrevocation ofpatents
butinstead permit aMember todenytheoriginal grant ofapatent forcertain categories ofinventions.
Article 32oftheTRIPS Agreement requires Members toprovide anopportunity forjudicial
review ofanydecision torevoke apatent. Thisobligation doesnotspeak tothegrounds forthe
revocation,butsimplyrequiresMemberstoprovideanavenueforreviewinganydecisionbytherelevant
authority torevoke thepatent.