Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Foreword
- Table of cases
- Table of Treaties and International Agreements
- Table of abbreviations
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Economics and politics of PTAs
- Part III Relationship with WTO and international law
- Part IV Legal aspects of PTAs: A comparative analysis
- 7 Agriculture
- 8 Services
- 9 Investment
- 10 Government procurement
- 11 Intellectual property
- 12 Social issues: Labour, environment and human rights
- 13 Dispute settlement
- Index
- References
11 - Intellectual property
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 December 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Foreword
- Table of cases
- Table of Treaties and International Agreements
- Table of abbreviations
- Part I Introduction
- Part II Economics and politics of PTAs
- Part III Relationship with WTO and international law
- Part IV Legal aspects of PTAs: A comparative analysis
- 7 Agriculture
- 8 Services
- 9 Investment
- 10 Government procurement
- 11 Intellectual property
- 12 Social issues: Labour, environment and human rights
- 13 Dispute settlement
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS Agreement) forever changed the relationship between intellectual property (IP) and international trade. While there had always been a link between IP and international trade, the TRIPS Agreement formally integrated the two areas at the multilateral level for the first time. The TRIPS Agreement is comprehensive in its coverage of IP: it deals with copyright and related rights, trademarks, geographical indications (GIs), industrial designs, patents, layout-designs of integrated circuits and protection of undisclosed information, and contains further provisions relating to anti-competitive practices in contractual licences and enforcement of IP rights. Further, much like other covered agreements of the WTO, the most-favoured-nation (MFN) and national treatment (NT) principles lie at the heart of the Agreement.
Where the TRIPS Agreement is perhaps unusual is that it establishes standards of IP protection that each WTO Member must accord to nationals of other Members. Such a regulatory, harmonised approach is different from the approaches of the other covered agreements of the WTO and might have prevented further developments outside of the multilateral forum. However, Members are specifically permitted under the Agreement to apply higher levels of protection if they so desire, as long as the principles of MFN and NT are respected.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Bilateral and Regional Trade AgreementsCommentary and Analysis, pp. 308 - 341Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009
References
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