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Intellectual Property Committee records

Creation: 1977-2003
 Collection
Accession: 2492

Abstract

The Intellectual Property Committee (IPC) was formed in 1986 as an ad-hoc coalition comprised of major U.S. corporations, such as IBM, Pfizer, and DuPont, to foster international support to improve and protect patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. The Committee's efforts resulted in the 1994 passage of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement at the Uruguay Round, thus introducing intellectual property law into the international trading system. The records of the IPC include administrative files and correspondence, subject files, committee proposals, meeting agendas and summaries - both domestic and international - as well as reports and publications.

Dates

  • Creation: 1977-2003

Creator

Extent

12 Linear Feet

Historical Note

Records regarding the Intellectual Property Committee (IPC), and its founding, were given to Hagley Museum and Library in 2010 by Jacques J. Gorlin (1944- ). Mr. Gorlin, an economic consultant in Washington, DC, was contracted in the 1980’s by IBM's chief executive John R. Opel (1925-2011) to draft a document detailing the importance of intellectual property in relationship to U.S. held copyrights which would be sent to the United States Trade Relations representatives.

In 1986, the IPC was formed as an ad-hoc organization to develop international support for improvement in protecting patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Founding corporate members were DuPont, FMC Corporation, Merck, Bristol-Myers, General Motors, Rockwell International, Warner Communications, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Monsanto, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and General Electric; membership was $25,000 annually. Gorlin worked closely with counterparts in Japan and Europe (including foreign governments) to support a multilateral intellectual property treaty. The document he produced was largely included in the TRIPS Agreement of 1994, which was then adopted by the World Trade Organization. It is the most important global intellectual property standard.

Its successful passage began with years of meetings with international intellectual property experts that lead to the first United States Trade Relations priority watch list. Known as USTR Special 301 and issued on May 25, 1989, the list was comprised of Brazil, People’s Republic of China, India, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and Thailand. In March of 1990 the European Union approved a draft agreement on trade related intellectual property issues, and in December Brussels released a draft of the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) agreement.

Implementation of the legislation and amendments was not easy. The GATT Uruguay Round Agreement, and its implementation, hinged on a combined vote for a budget waiver. The Intellectual Property Committee pressured members of the Senate and House of Representatives in a massive letter writing campaign with statistics that favored such legislation. Private sector views were also submitted for inclusion in the agreement, as is the case of the Motion Picture Association of America’s vice president and general counsel Fritz Attaway’s letter and resolutions. Alliance for GATT*NOW, a grassroots organization, prepared propaganda for IPC member companies in support of the Uruguay Round that contained cards employees could fill out and send to their members of congress. IPC’s mission was realized. When their document, known as the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) was approved by the World Trade Organization at the end of the Uruguay Round. December 8, 1994, H.R. 5110, “an act to improve and implement the trade agreements and trade negotiations concluded in the Uruguay Round of the multilateral,” became law, officially introducing intellectual property law into the international trading system. It remains one of the most comprehensive international agreements of its kind.

Organization of the Collection

The records of the Intellectual property Committee are divided into five series:

Series I: Administrative files, 1985-2002, are arranged chronologically.

Series II: Subject files, 1977-2003, are arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.

Series III: Meetings, 1986-2002, are arranged chronologically.

Series IV: Reports, 1985-1996, are arranged alphabetically by subject and then chronologically.

Series V: Publications, 1986-1997, are arranged alphabetically by document type or subject and the chronologically.

Scope and Content

The records of the Intellectual Property Committee documents the organization’s formation, growth, and its efforts to introduce intellectual property rights protection into the international trading system.

Included in the records are administrative files covering the Committee’s organization and other topics such as membership, marketing material, upcoming legislation, financial information, and yearly budgets; subject files, which also may be considered working files, cover the IPC’s progress in developing policy promoting intellectual property rights via international negotiations, presentations, and preliminary drafts of trade agreements, particularly the TRIPS agreement.

Material of particular note within the administrative files include founding documents identifying issues, solutions, and recommendations with regard to intellectual property law and legislation, both domestically and internationally. Problems and challenges with intellectual property in other countries, including China, are also discussed. Correspondence covers a number of issues related to membership fees and renewals, financial reports, as well as letters from member firms regarding progress made by the IPC on a number of issues, such as including intellectual property as a concern in future GATT negotiations. Also included is testimony from U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor before the House Ways and Means Committee regarding the Uruguay Round agreement.

Included within the subject files is correspondence discussing patent policies and disputes, particularly from those representing the pharmaceutical industry both domestically and abroad. There is also numerous correspondence and other files showing broad support for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by the IPC and its member firms. Numerous letters from political leaders and corporate executives discuss their views on the TRIPS legislation. Of interest are letters from New Jersey congressmen Robert Menendez and Robert Andrews detailing their opposition and support of legislation implemented in the Uruguay Round of negotiations. Files related to INTERPAT, an association of research-based pharmaceutical companies whose senior executives were responsible for patent and related intellectual property matters in member companies, include studies, correspondence, and analysis of the negotiating history of the TRIPS agreement. Reports include detailed synopses of the TRIPS agreement negotiations and the preliminary and succeeding findings of the Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiation’s task force on intellectual property.

Meetings files consist of agendas, travel itineraries, notes, and background research of meetings organized by the IPC in the United States, Europe, and Japan. The meetings discuss various aspects of intellectual property standards with regards to the Uruguay Round negotiations. Participants include such organizations as the Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE) and the Keidanren, a Japanese organization specializing in the economic development of Japan. Accompanying reports provide detailed information with regards to the outcome of the aforementioned meetings.

Lastly, a small series of publications includes various articles discussing copyright and intellectual property concerns and the ongoing TRIPS negotiations in the early 1990s.

Access to Collection

Select files subject to 25 year time seal. Access to collection requires at least 24 hours advance notice.

Language of Materials

English

Related Names

Source

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title:
Intellectual property Committee records
Author:
Marsha Mills
Date:
2018.
Description rules:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description:
English
Script of description:
Latin

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
PO Box 3630
Wilmington Delaware 19807 USA
302-658-2400