By accessing/using the WIPO Lex Database, the User is agreeing to be bound by these Terms of Use.

1. Definitions

In these Terms of Use:

1.1 "WIPO Lex Database" refers to the WIPO database with search application made available on the WIPO website, containing information concerning Intellectual Property (IP) Legal Texts and Translated Texts, as well as IP Judgments.

1.2 "IP Legal Texts" refer to official language version(s) of IP laws, regulations, treaties and any other legal texts in the field of IP contained in the WIPO Lex Database. IP Legal Texts may come from any of the following sources: 

a. IP related treaties and relevant official texts, including WIPO administered treaties;

b. Notifications from WIPO Members under Article 15(2) of the Paris Convention and Article 24(2) of the Berne Convention, which provide that member States must communicate to the International Bureau of WIPO all new laws and official texts concerning the protection of industrial property and copyright and that the latter must assemble and publish this information;

c. Notifications from WTO Members under Article 63.2 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) which obliges WTO Members to notify their IP legislation to the TRIPS Council;

d. Direct submissions from national IP offices to WIPO of texts of IP laws and regulations;

e. The websites of national IP offices, governments and organizations;

f. Credible legal databases and third parties from which permission to reproduce the texts in the WIPO Lex Database has been sought.

1.3 "Translated Texts" refer to translated texts of IP Legal Texts contained in the WIPO Lex Database, which are without legal force and strictly for reference purposes only. Translated Texts are either:

a. retrieved from the public domain;

b. translated by WIPO;

c. notified by the Member States to WTO and WIPO;

d. provided by governmental agencies or organizations with permission to reproduce the texts provided the source is acknowledged;

e. reproduced with permission from third parties.

1.4 "IP Judgments" refer to judgments and legal decisions, rendered in the field of IP by judicial as well as quasi-judicial bodies, and any other related information contained in the WIPO Lex Database. IP Judgments are selected and provided to WIPO by the relevant national authorities of WIPO Member States, preferably following the non-cumulative criteria listed below:

a. final judgments on the merits given by the courts;

b. judgments establishing precedents or persuasive interpretations for future judgments;

c. judgments cited in other judgments, or otherwise praised by commentators, academics, or the legal community;

d. judgments with significant impacts in relation to the subject matter in dispute (i.e., issues raised by recent development of technologies, impact to the economic sector);

e. judgments deemed to be important by the relevant national authorities for any other reason.

1.5 "User" refers to any person using, free of charge, the information contained in the WIPO Lex Database.

2. Use of data

2.1 The WIPO Lex Database is a free-of-charge public service aimed at implementing WIPO's objective to assemble and disseminate information concerning the protection of intellectual property, as set forth in the Article 4(vi) of the Convention Establishing WIPO. In view of this objective, the WIPO Lex Database is provided for public information purposes and WIPO allows the User to access and make use of the information it contains under the conditions described herein.

2.1.1 IP Legal Texts and Translated Texts

The User is allowed to reproduce the IP Legal Texts and Translated Texts for academic, research and non-commercial purposes, provided that the original source and "WIPO Lex" are acknowledged.

Notwithstanding the above, depending on the source of the IP Legal Texts and Translated Texts subject to the reproduction, the User may be required to satisfy further conditions – e.g., to seek permission from the copyright holders for the reproduction of the IP Legal Texts from credible legal databases and third parties (see Article 1.2.f), or to refer to copyright notices of third parties websites for the reproduction of the Translated Texts which are published in the WIPO Lex Database with permission from third parties (see Article 1.3.e).

In case of any questions regarding the source(s) of data, please use our contact page.

2.1.2 IP Judgments

The User is allowed to reproduce, distribute and publicly perform the IP Judgments by crediting "WIPO Lex – Judgments", and where provided, the relevant national authority as the original source, but without making any commercial use, adaptation, modification or translation.

Notwithstanding the above, the User is not allowed to use independently and separately the copyright protected works reproduced in the IP Judgments (such as photographs, photograms, artistic works, among others) which are owned by third parties, without prejudice to the applicable copyright exceptions or limitations.

The express written permission of WIPO and the relevant national authority is required for any commercial use, adaptation, modification, or translation by the User.

2.2 Any abusive use of the WIPO Lex Database is prohibited and the User is therefore forbidden to:

a. perform more than 10 search related actions per minute from a single IP address;

b. perform automated queries;

c. perform bulk acquisition, bulk downloading and bulk storing of data;

d. perform bulk copying, bulk reformatting, bulk sharing and bulk redistributing of data;

e. perform web scraping;

f. perform any other abusive use degrading or circumventing the service.

2.3 Under no circumstances may the data made available through WIPO Lex Database be sold or sublicensed by the User in any way without WIPO's permission.

2.4 WIPO reserves the right to intervene and block access to the WIPO Lex Database in case of unauthorized or abusive use of the service.

3. Level of Service

The WIPO Lex Database is provided by WIPO on a "best effort" basis, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. This service may be unavailable from time to time for scheduled maintenance or due to unforeseen circumstances.

4. Disclaimers

4.1 WIPO makes every effort to ensure, but cannot guarantee, the accuracy, integrity and completeness of the data contained in the WIPO Lex Database. The data contained in the WIPO Lex Database is provided on a strictly "as is" basis and the User is fully and solely responsible for the use of the data and for any results and consequences of this use.

4.2 WIPO cannot guarantee that a text in the database is an exact reproduction of the officially adopted text, especially in view of formatting features which have been added to facilitate viewing and use of the text as well as maximize its accessibility to a wide audience. WIPO will endeavor to promptly deal with any errors brought to its attention (please see contact page).

4.3 WIPO Lex Database is general in character and is not meant to address specific issues or problems of any particular individual or entity. No legal advice or recommendation is implied in its content nor should any be inferred therefrom.

4.4 The selection of IP Judgments provided to WIPO by the relevant national authorities as described in Article 1.4 above is provided as a courtesy and on an indicative basis, and does not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the national authorities or on the part of WIPO.

4.5 The User is solely responsible for identifying any relevant source(s) of the data contained in the WIPO Lex Database, for crediting said source(s), where required, and, as appropriate, for seeking the required permission from the right holders prior to any use of the data.

4.6 Disclaimer on Names and Designations: The names and the designations used by WIPO on its website and online services do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of WIPO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area.

5. Modifications of Data

WIPO reserves the right to modify, remove or correct any data contained in the WIPO Lex Database at any time, in its sole discretion and without prior notification.

6. Liability

6.1 WIPO shall not be held liable for any or all uses of the data contained in the WIPO Lex Database that may affect or violate any patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, other intellectual property right or any legal right of any third party.

6.2 WIPO shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, liquidated, special, punitive or exemplary damages or penalties to the User, including, but not limited to, losses of business, revenue or profits, as a consequence of using any of the data contained in the WIPO Lex Database.

6.3 WIPO shall not be liable or deemed to be in default for any delays or failure in performance or interruption of service resulting directly or indirectly from any cause or circumstance beyond its reasonable control.

7. User Login Information (where applicable)

The User may create a WIPO Account. As part of the registration process, the User is asked to choose a login name and a password ("login information") for identification purposes. The User's login information is personal and confidential. The User shall be responsible for any damages arising out of, or in connection with, the disclosure of his/her login information to anyone. The User agrees to notify WIPO of any unauthorized use of his/her login information as soon as he/she is aware thereof.

8. Use of Logo

The User does not have the right to use the WIPO logo.

9. Intellectual Property

The User recognizes that a particular form of compiling data, the presentation and design of the WIPO Lex Database are protected by applicable IP laws.

10. Personal Data and Privacy

The User acknowledges that WIPO may use his/her personal data according to WIPO's Personal Data and Privacy Policy, which is incorporated herein by this reference.

11. Amendments to the Terms of Use

WIPO reserves the right to amend these Terms of Use at any time. Any amendments will be posted on WIPO's website. Amendments shall take effect immediately following posting of the new Terms of Use.

12. Privileges and immunities

Nothing in or relating to these Terms of Use shall be deemed or interpreted as a waiver of any privileges and immunities accorded to WIPO as international organization and specialized agency of the United Nations.

13. Settlement of Disputes

Any dispute between WIPO and the User arising out of or relating to these Terms of Use that cannot be resolved amicably shall be referred to arbitration in accordance with the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules then in force. The parties shall be bound by any arbitration award rendered as a result of such arbitration as the final adjudication of such a dispute.