The Old Sheriff and The Vigilante: World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement and Section 301 Investigations into Intellectual Property Disputes

Abstract

The current systems available for addressing unfair trade practices involving intellectual property are ineffective. While the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement process suffers from issues relating to monitoring and compliance when dealing with application of laws, the domestic process for resolving trade disputes, Section 301, suffers of unilateralism that is not supported by the international community. The current accusations by the United States that China is stealing intellectual property presents an opportunity to reconsider the issue of intellectual property dispute settlement. Ideally, both unilateral and multilateral methods of dispute settlement should be utilized. Alternatively, a new method of intellectual property dispute settlement, being bilateral negotiations, may be considered.