Intellectual Property And International Trade: Trips Agreement

The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), completed within the framework of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, is the most far-reaching and comprehensive legal regime ever concluded at the multilateral level in the area of intellectual property rights. It supplements and modifies the earlier conventions governing intellectual property rights, which were periodically revised to promote the quasi-uniform regulation of industrial property and copyright in a gradual and incremental manner. The TRIPS Agreement constitutes a major qualitative leap which radically modifies not only the context in which intellectual property rights are considered internationally, but also their substantive content, methods for enforcement, and dispute settlement mechanisms. Comprised of chapters contributed by a distinguished panel of experts, Intellectual Property and International Trade offers a framework for understanding the background, principles, and complex provisions of the TRIPS Agreement. It highlights the context in which the TRIPS Agreement was elaborated and adopted and the way to interpret and apply it. The book also extensively analyses the new standards established under the TRIPS Agreement, particularly as compared to the rules contained in pre existing intellectual property conventions. Finally, Intellectual Property and International Trade stimulates further discussion and analysis in this area of growing importance to international law and international economic relations, particularly regarding the possibilities offered by the TRIPS Agreement, the legislative latitude it leaves its Member States, and the loose ends that may need consideration in the future at the national or international level. The importance of the TRIPS Agreement and the comprehensiveness and quality of these contributions make Intellectual Property and International Trade a key new component in one s intellectual property library.