It's Easily Done: The China-Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Dispute and the Freedom of Expression

Abstract:     
This paper examines the implications of the WTO China-IPR Enforcement Case for the relationship between human rights law and trade-related intellectual property law. It shows that despite the theory whereby international trade law can spontaneously support the freedom of expression and possibly other human rights, the parties and the Panel were in practice oblivious to the human rights context of the dispute. In the WTO, human rights considerations will be integrated with international trade law (and IP law within it) only if a party makes explicit arguments to this effect, and a Panel opts to consider such arguments on their merits, not through issue avoidance.

Keywords: freedom of expression, cultural life, access to information, copyright, Berne convention, public morals, TRIPS, China, censorship, public order, trade, IP, IP enforcement

JEL Classifications: IP law, IEL, international Public law, human rights law, public law, constitutional law

Working Paper Series