WIPO Lex-Judgment: Free Database of Judicial Decisions on Intellectual Property Launched
The database can be accessed through the portal WIPO LEX, which already contains various IP laws and treaties worldwide.
WIPO Lex-Judgments is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, French and Russian. So far, the database comprises over 400 decisions from the following ten countries:
• Australia (10 decisions)
• Brazil (36 decisions)
• Chile (50 decisions)
• China (30 decisions)
• Costa Rica (83 decisions)
• Jamaica (11 decisions)
• Mexico (76 decisions)
• Peru (72 decisions)
• Republic of Korea (20 decisions)
• Spain (34 decisions)
As technological innovation often outpaces the ability of legislature and government to create new rules and regulations, courts across the world are increasingly facing common issues of a highly sophisticated nature.
WIPO-Lex Judgments contributes to a greater overall understanding of how courts are handling these issues, by making the judgments available. “This will provide important support for the adjudication of IP disputes in a globalized world where courts and policymakers, challenged by the dynamic nature of the IP discipline, can use the information gained from foreign judgments and judicial practice to inform their own search domestic judicial and policy solutions,” said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry.
By fostering accessibility of information on judicial decision, WIPO-Lex Judgments will contribute to informing and strengthening courts’ analyses and reasoning, as well as to discerning both converging and contrasting national approaches to common IP questions
Moreover, WIPO-Lex Judgments provides information on the judicial structures for IP disputes in participating member states. This allows users to appreciate the spectrum of structures that include generalist and specialist courts, as well as administrative entities that carry out quasi-judicial functions, and their diverse features that respond to the technical nature of IP disputes.
WIPO-Lex Judgments furthermore enhances the offerings of WIPO-Lex, which is the Organization’s portal to a comprehensive global collection of IP laws and treaties.
The search criteria
WIPO-Lex Judgments allows searching for decisions as per the following criteria:
• Country
• Subject Matter (e.g. copyright, patents, trademarks, enforcement of IP, geographical indications, competition, traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions, transfer of technology
• Issuing Authority (e.g. specialized court on IP, court of appeal, supreme court)
• Level of Issuing Authority (first, appellate, and final instance)
• Type of Procedure (administrative, civil, commercial, constitutional, administrative [judicial], criminal)
• Relevant National Legislation
• Relevant Treaties
• Date of Judgment
• Relevant Keywords