Reliance on Investment Treaty Standards to Claim for Failures to Recognize or Protect Intellectual Property Rights

Abstract

This article explores novel situations in which investment protection treaties might provide relief to foreign investors with respect to their intellectual property rights. In particular, the article considers circumstances in which foreign investors might have answerable claims when their intellectual property rights are not recognized—through, for example, a refusal to register—or are interfered with by third parties in a manner that could or should have been prevented by the national authorities. The potential role and impact of political motivation in state action or inaction is considered. In exploring these issues, reference is made to the case of Anheuser-Busch Inc. v. Portugal brought before the European Court of Human Rights, as well as other hypothetical scenarios.