With respect to the treatment under Article 16.5 (Non-discriminatory treatment and commercial considerations), Australia shall accord to an enterprise of the Union treatment no less favourable than the treatment it accords, in like situations, to an enterprise of any preferential trade agreement partner7.
Non-discriminatory treatment and commercial considerations
Each Party shall ensure that each of its state-owned enterprises, designated monopolies or designated oligopolies, when engaging in commercial activity:
acts in accordance with commercial considerations in its purchase or sale of a good or a service, except to fulfil any terms of its public service mandate that are not inconsistent with point (b) or (c);
in its purchase of a good or a service:
accords to a good or a service supplied by an enterprise of the other Party treatment no less favourable than it accords to a like good or a like service supplied by enterprises of the Party; and
7 This paragraph does not apply with respect to treatment accorded to an enterprise of New Zealand.
accords to a good or service supplied by a covered enterprise treatment no less favourable than it accords to a like good or a like service supplied by enterprises of investors of that Party in the relevant market of the Party; and
in its sale of a good or a service:
accords to an enterprise of the other Party treatment no less favourable than it accords to enterprises of the Party; and
accords to a covered enterprise treatment no less favourable than it accords to enterprises of that Party’s own investors in the relevant market in the Party.
Provided that such different terms or conditions referred to in point (a) or the refusal referred to in point (b) is undertaken in accordance with commercial considerations, paragraph 1 does not preclude state-owned enterprises, designated monopolies or designated oligopolies from:
purchasing or supplying goods or services on different terms or conditions, including relating to price; or
refusing to purchase or supply goods or services.
Regulatory framework
The Parties shall make best use of international standards related to state-owned enterprises.8
Each Party shall ensure that any administrative body that exercises a regulatory function over a state-owned enterprise, designated monopoly or designated oligopoly:
is operationally independent from, and not accountable to, any of the enterprises regulated by
8 For example, the OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises.
such a body; and
acts impartially9, in like circumstances, with respect to all enterprises regulated by such a body, including state-owned enterprises, designated monopolies and designated oligopolies.10
Each Party shall apply its laws and regulations to state-owned enterprises, designated monopolies and designated oligopolies in a consistent and non-discriminatory manner.
Information exchange
If a Party has reason to believe a state-owned enterprise, designated monopoly or designated oligopoly of the other Party (hereinafter referred to as "the entity" for the purposes of this Article) is not complying with Article 16.5 (Non-discriminatory treatment and commercial considerations), it may request in writing that the other Party provides information regarding the commercial activities of the entity.
The request referred to in paragraph 1 shall:
explain how the commercial activities of the entity may be affecting the interests of the requesting Party under this Chapter; and
indicate which of the following information is sought:
the ownership and the voting structure of the entity, indicating the percentage of shares that the requested Party, its state-owned enterprises, designated monopolies or designated oligopolies cumulatively own, and the percentage of voting rights that they cumulatively hold, in the entity;
9 For greater certainty, the impartiality with which such a body exercises its regulatory functions is to be assessed by reference to a general pattern of practice of that body.
10 For greater certainty, for those sectors in which the Parties have agreed to specific obligations relating to such a body exercising regulatory functions in other Chapters of this Agreement, the relevant provisions of those Chapters shall prevail.
a description of any special shares or special voting or other rights that the requested Party, its state-owned enterprises designated monopolies or designated oligopolies hold, where such rights are different from those attached to the general common shares of the entity;
the organisational chart of the entity and the composition of its board of directors or any other equivalent body;
a description of which government departments or public bodies regulate or monitor the entity, a description of the reporting requirements imposed on it by those departments or public bodies, and a description of the rights and general practices of those departments or any public bodies with respect to the appointment, dismissal or remuneration of senior executives and members of its board of directors or any other equivalent management body;
annual revenue and total assets of the entity over the most recent three-year period for which information is available;
any exemptions, immunities and related measures from which the entity benefits under the laws and regulations of the requested Party; and
any additional information regarding the entity that is publicly available, including annual financial reports and third-party audits.
The requested Party shall provide all the requested information to the requesting Party. If the requested information is not available, the requested Party shall provide the reasons for this in writing to the requesting Party.
DISCLAIMER: The Commission and Australia are publishing the texts of the Agreement following the announcement of conclusion of the negotiations on 24 March 2026. The texts are published in view of the public interest in the Agreement, for information purposes only and they may undergo further minor modifications, including as a result of the process of legal and linguistic revision. These texts are without prejudice to the final outcome of the Agreement between the EU and Australia. The texts will be final upon signature. The Agreement will become binding on the Parties under international law only after completion by each Party of its applicable legal requirements and procedures necessary for the entry into force of the Agreement.
Chapter 17. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
SECTION A
GENERAL PROVISIONS AND BASIC PRINCIPLES
Article ARTICLE 17.1
Objectives
The objectives of this Chapter are to:
facilitate the production and commercialisation of innovative and creative goods and the provision of innovative and creative services between the Parties; and
increase the benefits from trade and investment between the Parties through an adequate and effective level of protection of intellectual property rights, and the provision of measures for the effective enforcement of such rights.
The objectives set out in Article 7 of the TRIPS Agreement apply to this Chapter, mutatis mutandis.
1
Principles
The principles set out in Article 8 of the TRIPS Agreement apply to this Chapter, mutatis mutandis.
Taking into consideration the underlying public policy objectives of their respective domestic systems, the Parties recognise the need to:
promote innovation and creativity;
facilitate the diffusion of information, knowledge, technology, culture and the arts; and
foster competition and open and efficient markets;
through their respective intellectual property systems, while respecting the principles of transparency, and taking into account the interests of relevant stakeholders, including right holders, users and the general public.
The Parties recognise the importance of effective protection against acts of unfair competition in accordance with Article 10bis of the Paris Convention.
Nature and scope of obligations
This Chapter complements the rights and obligations of each Party under the TRIPS Agreement and other international agreements in the field of intellectual property.
Each Party shall give effect to this Chapter. A Party may provide more extensive protection for, or enforcement of, intellectual property rights under its law than is required by this Chapter, provided that such protection or enforcement is not inconsistent with this Chapter. Each Party shall
be free to determine the appropriate method of implementing this Chapter within its own legal system and practice.
Definitions
For the purposes of this Chapter, the following definitions apply:
"Berne Convention" means the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works of 9 September 1886 as revised at Paris on 24 July 1971 and amended on
28 September 1979;
"Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health" means the Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health adopted at Doha on 14 November 2001 by the Ministerial Conference of the WTO;
"Geneva Act (1999)" means the Geneva Act (1999) of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs, adopted at Geneva on 2 July 1999;
"intellectual property" means:
all categories of intellectual property that are the subject of Sections 1 to 7 of Part II of the TRIPS Agreement, namely:
copyright and related rights;
trademarks;
geographical indications;
industrial designs;
patents;
layout-designs (topographies) of integrated circuits; and
protection of undisclosed information; and
plant variety rights;
"national" means, in respect of the relevant intellectual property right, a person of a Party that would meet the criteria for eligibility for protection provided for in multilateral agreements concluded and administered under the auspices of WIPO, to which a Party is a contracting Party, or in the TRIPS Agreement;
"Paris Convention" means the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of 20 March 1883, as revised at Stockholm on 14 July 1967;
"Rome Convention" means the International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organisations done at Rome on 26 October 1961;
"WIPO" means the World Intellectual Property Organization;
"WCT" means WIPO Copyright Treaty adopted in Geneva on 20 December 1996; and
"WPPT" means the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty done at Geneva on 20 December 1996.
International agreements
Each Party affirms its commitment to comply with its obligations under the following international agreements:
the TRIPS Agreement;
the WCT;
the WPPT;
the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who are Blind,
Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled done in Marrakesh on 27 June 2013; and
the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks adopted at Madrid on 27 June 1989, as last amended on 12 November 2007.
Each Party affirms that it has acceded to, or will make all reasonable efforts to ratify or accede to, the following international agreements:
the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks, done at Singapore on 27 March 2006; and
the Geneva Act (1999).
Each Party shall ensure that the procedures provided under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, done at Washington on 19 June 1970, as amended on 3 October 2001, are available in its territory.
Exhaustion
Nothing in this Chapter prevents a Party from determining whether and under what conditions the exhaustion of intellectual property rights applies.
National treatment
In respect of all categories of intellectual property rights covered in this Chapter, each Party shall accord to nationals of the other Party treatment no less favourable than that it accords to its
own nationals with regard to the protection1 of intellectual property rights, subject to the exceptions already provided in, respectively, the Paris Convention, the Berne Convention, the Rome Convention, WPPT, or the Treaty on Intellectual Property in Respect of Integrated Circuits, done at Washington on 26 May 1989. In respect of performers, producers of phonograms and broadcasting organisations, this obligation only applies in respect of the rights provided for under this Agreement.
A Party may avail itself of the exceptions permitted under paragraph 1 in relation to its judicial and administrative procedures, including requiring a national of the other Party to designate an address for service of process in its territory, or to appoint an agent in its territory, only where such exceptions are:
necessary to secure compliance with laws and regulations of the Party that are not inconsistent with this Chapter; and
not applied in a manner that would constitute a disguised restriction on trade.
Paragraph 1 does not apply to procedures provided in multilateral agreements concluded under the auspices of WIPO relating to the acquisition or maintenance of intellectual property rights.
TRIPS Agreement and public health
The Parties recognise the importance of the Declaration on TRIPS Agreement and Public Health. This Chapter shall be interpreted and implemented consistently with that Declaration.
1 For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "protection" shall include: (a) matters affecting the availability, acquisition, scope, maintenance and enforcement of intellectual property rights as well as matters affecting the use of intellectual property rights specifically addressed in this Chapter; (b) measures to prevent the circumvention of effective technological measures set out in Article 17.21 (Protection of technological measures); and (c) measures concerning rights management information set out in Article 17.22 (Obligations concerning rights management information).
This Chapter does not, and should not, prevent a Party from taking measures to protect public health and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner that promotes access to medicine for all.
Each Party shall implement Article 31bis of the TRIPS Agreement, and the Annex and the Appendix to the Annex to the TRIPS Agreement.
Nothing in this Chapter shall limit a Party's rights and obligations pursuant to Article 31 and Article 31bis of the TRIPS Agreement, and the Annex and the Appendix to the Annex to the TRIPS Agreement.
Article Article 17.9
Indigenous knowledge of Australian First Nations peoples
The Parties recognise the value, for Australia, of enabling the involvement of Australian First Nations peoples in international trade and in the protection of indigenous knowledge of Australian First Nations peoples. Furthermore, the Parties acknowledge the cultural significance, for Australia, of such knowledge, including knowledge about traditional foods, language, song, dance, works of art and the names and uses of plants. To this end, the Parties shall endeavour to cooperate on activities related to such knowledge, including activities on geographical indications, where relevant for the implementation of this Chapter, through the Committee on Investment, Services, Digital Trade, Government Procurement and Intellectual Property Rights, including Geographical Indications.
Article Article 17.10
Genetic resources, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions
The Parties recognise the importance and value of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, including when related to intellectual property systems.
The Parties affirm the importance of working towards a multilateral outcome on intellectual property related aspects of genetic resources, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, including through WIPO.
SECTION B
STANDARDS CONCERNING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
SUB-SECTION 1 COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
Article ARTICLE 17.11
Definitions
For the purposes of this Sub-Section, the terms "broadcasting", "communication to the public of a performance or a phonogram", "performers", "phonogram", "producer of a phonogram" and
"publication" shall be interpreted according to the definitions of those terms in the WPPT.
Authors2
Each Party shall provide authors with the exclusive right to authorise:
the temporary or permanent reproduction in any manner or form, in whole or in part, of their
2 The Parties understand that the term "original and copies", as used in this Sub-Section, refers exclusively to fixed copies that can be put into circulation as tangible objects.
works3;
any form of distribution to the public of the original and copies of their works through sale or other transfer of ownership;4 and
any communication to the public of their works, by wire or wireless means, including the making available to the public of their works in such a way that members of the public may access them from a place and at a time individually chosen by them.5
Performers
Each Party shall provide performers with the exclusive right to authorise:
the fixation of their unfixed performances;
the direct or indirect, temporary or permanent reproduction of their performances fixed in phonograms, in any manner of form, in whole or in part;
the distribution to the public of the original and copies of their performances fixed in phonograms through sale or other transfer of ownership;6
3 For greater certainty, for the purposes of this Chapter, the term "work" includes a cinematographic work, photographic work and computer program.
4 For the purposes of the implementation of this Sub-Section, each Party may interpret the term "distribution" as synonymous with the term "making available" pursuant to Article 6 of the WCT.
5 This point is without prejudice to point (ii) of Article 11(1), points (i) and (ii) of Article 11bis(1), point (ii) of Article 11ter(1), point (ii) of Article 14(1) and Article 14bis(1) of the Berne Convention.
6 For the purposes of the implementation of this Sub-Section, each Party may interpret the term "distribution" as synonymous with the term "making available" pursuant to Article 8 of the WPPT.
the making available to the public of their performances fixed in phonograms, by wire or wireless means, in such a way that members of the public may access them from a place and at a time individually chosen by them;
the broadcasting by wireless means and the communication to the public of their unfixed performances, except where the performance is already a broadcast performance; and
the commercial rental to the public of the original and copies of their performances fixed in phonograms as determined in the law of a Party, even after distribution of them by, or pursuant to, authorisation by the performer.
Producers of phonograms
Each Party shall provide producers of phonograms with the exclusive right to authorise: