TRIPS Agreement

TRIPS Agreement

The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) is an international legal agreement between all the member nations of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It sets down minimum standards for the regulation by national governments of many forms of intellectual property (IP) as applied to nationals of other WTO member nations.

History

The TRIPS Agreement was negotiated at the end of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1994. Its inclusion was the culmination of a program of intense lobbying by the United States, supported by the European Union, Japan and other developed nations.

Content

The TRIPS Agreement introduced intellectual property law into the international trading system for the first time and remains the most comprehensive international agreement on intellectual property to date. It covers five broad issues: copyright and related rights, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs, patents, and undisclosed information or trade secrets.

Implementation

The TRIPS Agreement is a minimum standards agreement, which allows members to provide more extensive protection of intellectual property if they so wish. Members are left free to determine the appropriate method of implementing the provisions of the agreement within their own legal system and practice.

Criticism and Controversies

The TRIPS Agreement has been a subject of criticism particularly from developing countries, non-governmental organizations, and academics. Critics argue that it creates a one-size-fits-all approach to intellectual property rights and does not take into account the varying levels of development in different countries.

See also

• World Trade Organization
• Intellectual property
• Uruguay Round
• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

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  Map showing the members of the World Trade Organization