The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has launched WIPO Lex-Judgments, a new database providing free-of-charge access to judicial decisions related to intellectual property (IP) domain around the world.

WIPO Lex-Judgments aims at a greater overall understanding of how courts are handling these issues, by making available judgments - selectively curated by the relevant authorities in participating member states - that establish precedent or offer a persuasive interpretation of IP law in their jurisdiction. At launch, the database contained over 400 documents from 10 countries.

“WIPO Lex-Judgments will provide an important support for the adjudication of IP disputes in a globalized world where courts and policy makers, challenged by the dynamic nature of the IP discipline, can use the information gained from foreign judgments and judicial practice to inform their own search for domestic judicial and policy solutions,” said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry.

By fostering accessibility of information on judicial decisions, WIPO Lex-Judgments will contribute to informing and strengthening courts’ analyses and reasoning, as well as to discerning both converging and contrasting national approaches to common IP questions.

In addition, WIPO Lex-Judgments provides information on the judicial structures for IP disputes in participating member states. This allows users to appreciate the spectrum of structures that include generalist and specialist courts, as well as administrative entities that carry out quasi-judicial functions, and their diverse features that respond to the technical nature of IP disputes.

WIPO Lex-Judgments may be useful not only to judges but also to policy makers, attorneys and academia, and contribute to a better understanding of how courts address the complex and demanding nature of IP disputes, as they endeavor to make IP adjudication more coherent, effective and accessible.

WIPO Lex-Judgments further enhances the offerings of WIPO Lex, which is the Organization’s portal to a comprehensive global collection of laws and treaties in the field of intellectual property.

The database can be accessed at the following address: https://wipolex.wipo.int/en/main/judgments.