Introduction

1 In May 2000, the World Intellectual Property Organization (“WIPO”) published a Primer on Electronic Commerce and Intellectual Property Issues aimed at broadly defining the questions raised by the Internet for the exploitation and protection of intellectual property. Many developments have occurred in the areas concerned since its publication. These developments are reflected in this publication, “Intellectual Property on the Internet:

A Survey of Issues” (the “Survey”).

2 Many of the questions covered by the Survey are still unsettled and are likely to remain so, at least for the next few years. Rather than attempting to predict what the future will hold, or prescribe what it should look like, the Survey describes current issues and developments that are of relevance to intellectual property on the Internet, as they are experienced and debated in industry and among consumers, as well as in policy-making bodies. In line with WIPO’s role and mandate, the Survey’s focus is on the international dimension of the issues concerned.

3 In light of its object and purpose, the Survey is primarily addressed to those who would benefit from a general introduction to, and overview of, the topic of intellectual property in the digital environment. It assumes, however, a basic understanding of the fundamentals of the various branches of intellectual property law and the role of certain multilateral institutions, including WIPO, in that context.

4 The Survey is organized into seven chapters:

- Chapter I, relying on a number of statistical indicators, outlines the recent evolution of certain aspects of the Internet and provides background to the discussion of the topics covered in the remainder of the Survey.

- Chapter II describes how the Internet has evolved from a technical infrastructure into a virtual market for intellectual property, providing concrete illustrations of this development, as those are occuring in the private sector and public sectors.

- Chapter III addresses the impact of the Internet on the various branches of intellectual property, namely, copyright and related rights, trademarks and other rights in distinctive signs, and patents, as well as the responses that have been developed to date. The Chapter also includes a topic that is integral to any discussion of intellectual property on the Internet: domain names and their relationship to distinctive signs.

- Chapter IV discusses intellectual property dispute resolution on the Internet, and the role of private international law and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in that connection.

- Chapter V examines certain Internet issues as they relate to developing countries, including the challenges raised by disparities in infrastructure development and the resulting differential levels of participation in electronic commerce (‘e-commerce’), as well as the opportunities that e-commerce offers. It also highlights WIPO’s initiatives in this regard.

- Chapter VI discusses progress in the electronic delivery of intellectual property services by intellectual property public authorities, both at national levels and by WIPO.

- Chapter VII closes with a status report on the WIPO Digital Agenda, a set of guidelines and goals first outlined by the Director General of WIPO at the first International Conference on Electronic Commerce and Intellectual Property in September 1999, and which subsequently received the approval of WIPO’s Member States at their annual Assemblies.