ILA Guidelines on Intellectual Property and Private International Law

Abstract This paper aims to analyze the International Law Association’s Guidelines on Intellectual Property and Private International Law (hereafter referred to as the “Kyoto Guidelines”) and to examine their significance and future challenges. As the number of cross-border intellectual property ( IP ) disputes has increased since the 1990’s, issues of conflict of laws (private international law) in IP disputes have become the subject of worldwide discussion. One of the most notable outcomes of this discussion has been the creation of soft-law typed principles or proposals dealing with conflict of laws issues. After some principles or proposals were drafted, the International Law Association Committee “Intellectual Property and Private International Law” was established in November 2010, and, after long discussions, the Kyoto Guidelines drafted by the Committee were approved by the ILA 79th Biennial Conference held (online) in Kyoto on December 13, 2020. What is the significance of these Guidelines and what challenges remain for the future? This paper will examine these questions.