Investment, ISDS, and Intellectual Property 2018

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of developments in investment, investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), and intellectual property (IP) in 2018. It has been an important year with new treaties including IP as investments, evolving perspectives on three earlier IP-ISDS cases, ISDS threats against states seeking to use the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) flexibilities for public health, and an important clarification of trademarks and licences as investments. Overall, developments in 2018 raise some expectation that there will be increasing inverment0-related pressures on states' intellectual property-related policies and court rulings.