As a component of the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) entered into force in 1995. TRIPS is a WTO agreement that outlines specific guidelines for intellectual property rights and was negotiated by the WTO members during the Uruguay Round of negotiations from 1986 to 1994. The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, both from the 1880s, are the two most important intellectual property agreements administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). They are both incorporated into and built upon by TRIPS. The Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement applies to all WTO Members.
The Agreement
TRIPS ensures that member nations receive national treatment and most-favored-nation status when it comes to intellectual property. Seven types of intellectual property are covered by TRIPS, including copyrights, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs, patents, layout designs for integrated circuits, and trade secrets. It outlines permitted restrictions and exclusions to strike a balance between intellectual property rights and interests in other fields, such as public health and economic development.
Purpose
The TRIPS agreement aims to provide a unified set of laws that would apply globally, provide acceptable standards of intellectual property protection, and increase predictability and stability in global economic ties. To join the World Trade Organization, a country had to change its intellectual property laws to comply with the rules outlined in the agreement, establishing a common international standard for the protection of intellectual property rights.
Historical background
The international protection of intellectual property rights hasn’t always been a top priority. In the second half of the 20th century, innovation was vital due to the development of high-tech equipment and the capacity to copy them cheaply. Industries that invested heavily in R&D, like the IT sector, saw their work stolen and sold for a fraction of what the founders had originally asked. This led to a situation where second movers were more profitable than first movers, limiting innovation. Before TRIPS, the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property handled international intellectual property rights. The Paris Convention included minimal laws controlling patents, no minimum length of patent protection, and no mention of exclusive patent rights. Economic and business circles agreed that this convention was insufficient to handle modern concerns in IT and biotech. TRIPS is the current fix for these difficulties. It used the Paris Convention and most of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works as its foundation and offered responses to the issues mentioned.
Requirements
TRIPS mandates that members guarantee robust intellectual property rights protection. For instance, according to TRIPS:
- copyright terms must last at least 50 years unless they are based on the life of the author
- copyright must be granted automatically without any formalities, such as registrations, as specified in the Berne Convention
- computer programs must be treated as “literary works” under copyright law and receive the same terms of protection
- National exceptions to copyright (such as “fair use” in the United States) are limited by the Berne standards
- patents must be issued for inventions in all technological sectors if they satisfy all other criteria for patentability (although there may be exceptions for certain public reasons) and must be valid for at least 20 years
- exceptions to exclusive rights must be kept to a minimum, provided that normal use of the work and normal use of the patent do not contradict
- no unjustified harm to the legitimate interests of those who own patents and computer programs is permitted
- patent rights take into account the legal interests of third parties
According to the principle of national treatment, no state’s intellectual property laws may grant residents any advantages that other TRIPS signatory countries’ citizens do not have (with certain limited exceptions). A most favored nation clause is included in TRIPS.
Post-TRIPS growth
Many countries have entered into bilateral agreements to adopt a higher degree of protection in addition to the baseline intellectual property requirements established under the TRIPS agreement. These TRIPS+ or TRIPS-Plus standards can be expressed in a variety of ways. The creation of anti-circumvention laws to safeguard Digital Rights Management systems and the fight for the adoption of a WIPO Broadcasting Treaty are some of the general goals of these agreements. WIPO Broadcasting Treaty would grant broadcasters (and possibly webcasters) exclusive rights over the copies of works they have distributed. Additional goals include stricter limitations on patent compulsory licenses and more vigorous patent enforcement. The recommendations for WIPO and European Union rules on intellectual property enforcement have been seen more generally in this endeavor.
