A comparative analysis of the three-step tests in international treaties

Much of the literature on the three-step test focuses on its implementation in relation to one particular intellectual property regime only, usually copyright. That approach tends to limit analysis of the test to a comparison of the different steps of the test with each other. Such an approach is valuable, but it does not provide the full picture. What is missing is a comparison of the same step within the different versions of the test. This article helps to fill that gap, by undertaking a detailed comparison of each element of each step, across all implementations of the test. It focuses on the similarities and differences in the wording and structure of the fundamental components of the steps of the tests. It shows that each version of the test contains differences in meaning, and that these differences often have practical significance. As a result, it provides additional support for the view that there is no such thing as the three-step test – rather, there are eight three-steps tests, each of which is uniquely different