American Society of International Law: International intellectual property law is a patchwork area of intersecting multilateral and bilateral agreements and their resulting harmonization of national laws. It has become an increasingly important and frequently litigated area, particularly in the patent, copyright, and trademark arenas. In addition, in the past few decades, there have been louder calls for the protection of domain names, databases, software, and traditional knowledge. Many of these cutting edge intellectual property issues are addressed on an international level through the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Along with new forms of protection, the trend towards globalization in the trade arena has had a direct effect on the harmonization of national intellectual property laws through the World Trade Organization (WTO) and regional trade organizations. With increased interest in international intellectual property law, there are now numerous high quality electronic resources that cover various facets of this ever-changing area.
GLOBALEX (Hauser Global Law School Program, New York University School of Law) Provides tools to do International Law Research, Foreign Law Research and Comparative Law Research.
WestLaw Intellectual Property (Subscription Service)
The WIPO is one of the 16 specialized agencies of the United Nations and has its intergovernmental organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Its main mission is to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world through cooperation among nations. (Intellectual property includes inventions, trademarks, industrial designs, and copyrights.) As of February 20, 1997, the WIPO membership includes 161 countries.
WIPO
34, chemin des Colonbettes
CH-1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland
phone: 22 7309111
fax: 22 7335428
