| It has been intensely debated whether the requirement of local working of patents under domestic lawof the WTO's member states is in conformity with the TRIPS agreement. This is exemplified by the recent conflict between the USA and Brazil over local working provisions under article 68 of Brazilian Intellectual Property Law. This paper first discusses the issue of local working in terms of legislative history, concluding that both the Paris Convention on the Protection of Intellectual Property and the TRIPS agreement do not prohibit member states from adopting the requirement of local working. It also examines the device of local working from the perspective of treaty hermeneutics, and concludes that the local working of patents is permissible if the relevant provisions of the Paris Convention and the TRIPS agreement are interpreted literally and purposively. In conclusion, the local working system is fully consistent with the requirement of the TRIPS agreement, thus it is the legal and reasonable protection of themselves by the developing countries. |
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