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Intellectual property rights and Trade related aspects of IPR: Objectives and important
provisions

Intellectual property (IP): Definition and objectives

Intellectual property, also known simply as IP, has become one of the most talked
about topics in business today,yet it is still one of the least understood. It is a legal concept
which refers to creations of the mind (product of human intellect, skill and labor) for which
exclusive rights are recognized and are given for a certain period of time. It is an intangible,
lacking physical substance. Like tangible property,intellectual property can be
bought,sold,and rented. Also like tangible property, it can used, sold, licensed, lost or
destroyed through carelessness or neglect or even abandoned like any other more tangible
assets. It may be the result of a momentary flash of inspiration or years of diligent and
painstaking labor. It may be lost in a moment or continue in perpetuity. Whatever its other
characteristics, however, intellectual property does have economic value—often, great
economic value—although this value is often overlooked, underestimated, and underreported.
In business, it may constitute either an opportunity or a threat, depending (in large part) on
who owns it. It has often been said that “knowledge is power.” Although unsaid, knowledge is
also wealth. Indeed,in today’s knowledge-based economy, intellectual property is often the
single most important asset of an enterprise. Those companies that fail to accord intellectual
property a position at the top of the corporate agenda are now,at best,doomed to lose
competitive advantage;at worst,they may face ruin. Intangible assets over which IPR are
given are musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases,
symbols, and designs. Common types of intellectual property rights include copyright,
trademarks, patents, industrial, trade dress, and in some jurisdictions trade secrets.

There are several compelling reasons to promote and protect intellectual property.
First, the progress and well-being of humanity rest on its capacity to create and invent new
works in the areas of technology and culture. Second, the legal protection of new creations
encourages the commitment of additional resources for further innovation. Third, the
promotion and protection of intellectual property spurs economic growth, creates new jobs
and industries, and enhances the quality and enjoyment of life. An efficient and equitable
intellectual property system can help all countries to realize intellectual property’s potential as
a catalyst for economic development and social and cultural well-being. The intellectual
property system helps strike a balance between the interests of innovators and the public

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interest, providing an environment in which creativity and invention can flourish, for the
benefit of all.

The protection of intellectual property rights differs greatly from country to country.
Although many countries have stringent intellectual property regulations on their books, the
enforcement of these regulations has often been lax. This has been the case even among many
of the 183 countries that are now members of the World Intellectual Property Organization,
all of which have signed international treaties designed to protect intellectual property,
including the oldest such treaty, the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property,
which dates to 1883 and has been signed by some 170 nations.

Benefits of IPR:

■ Encourage and reward creative work the main social purpose of protection of copyright and
related rights is to encourage and reward creative work. This is also relevant to protection in
other areas (e.g. industrial designs and patents).

■ Technological innovation Intellectual property rights are designed to provide protection for
the results of investment in the development of new technology, thus giving the incentive and
means to finance research and development activities.

■ Fair competition the protection of distinctive signs and other IPRs aims to stimulate and
ensure fair competition among producers.

■ Consumer protection the protection of distinctive signs should also protect consumers, by
enabling them to make informed choices between various goods and services.

■ Transfer of technology a functioning intellectual property regime should also facilitate the
transfer of technology in the form of foreign direct investment, joint ventures and licensing.

■ Balance of rights and obligations: It should be noted that the exclusive rights given to the
owners of intellectual property are generally subject to a number of limitations and
exceptions, aimed at balancing the legitimate interests of right holders and of users.

History of IPR

Although many of the legal principles governing intellectual property rights have evolved
over centuries, it was not until the 19th century that the term intellectual property began to be
used, and not until the late 20th century that it became commonplace in the majority of the

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world.  Intellectual property law dates at least as far back as medieval Europe. In those times,
“guilds,” or associations of artisans in a particular industry, were granted authority by the
governments to control the regulation and conduct of the various industries. These guilds
exercised control over what items could be imported, marketed and produced and the manner
in which new inventions, devices and procedures could be introduced to the stream of
commerce. Because the authorities for these guilds were given by the governments, and
because they concentrated the power to regulate an industry in a select few, and were not
earned by innovation, skill or creativity, these guilds did far more to stifle creativity and
invention than to encourage it.

These rights are outlined in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
which provides for the right to benefit from the protection of moral and material interests
resulting from authorship of scientific, literary or artistic productions. The importance of
intellectual property was first recognized in the Paris Convention for the Protection of
Industrial Property (1883) and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and
Artistic Works (1886). Both treaties are administered by the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO).

In 1623, the “Statute of Monopolies” and “The Statute of Anne” were passed and are
now seen as the origin of patent law and copyright respectively, firmly establishing the
concept of intellectual property. “Statute of Monopolies” halted the granting of monopolies
by the government. In addition, the act gave the “true and first inventor” of intellectual
property a period of 14 years in which he would have exclusive control over his invention,
subject to certain conditions, which can be found in the full text of Statute of Monopolies.
From that point forward, more specific statutes and British common law continued to develop
and refine intellectual property law. The Statute of Anne was enacted in 1710, granting an
initial 14 year protection period and a possible 14 year renewal.  Among other points of
interest, the statute did not protect authors against the import of foreign-language translations
of their works, and permitted people to make formal complaints if printers or booksellers
attempted to set their prices too high.

The innovations and creative expressions of indigenous and local communities are
also IP, yet because they are “traditional” they may not be fully protected by existing IP
systems. Access to, and equitable benefit-sharing in, genetic resources also raise IP questions.
Normative and capacity-building programs are underway at WIPO to develop balanced and

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appropriate legal and practical responses to these issues. Examples are Traditional
Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions/Folklore.

Forms of intellectual property:

Intellectual property is divided into two categories: industrial property and copyright.
Industrial Property includes patents for inventions, trademarks, industrial designs and
geographical indications. Copyright covers literary works (such as novels, poems and plays),
films, music, artistic works (e.g., drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures) and
architectural design.

So, to sum up, the forms of intellectual property that exist can be classified as:

 Copyright

Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of original
work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time. Generally, it is "the right to copy", but
also gives the copyright holder the right to be credited for the work, to determine who may
adapt the work to other forms, which may perform the work, which may financially benefit
from it, and other related rights. It is a form of intellectual property (like the patent, the
trademark, and the trade secret) applicable to any expressible form of an idea or information
that is substantive and discrete. Rights related to copyright include those of performing artists
in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings, and broadcasters in their
radio and television programs.

 Patent

A patent is an exclusive right granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee

for a limited period of time, in exchange for the public disclosure of the invention. An
invention is a solution to a specific technological problem, and may be a product or a process.
Protection is granted for a limited period, generally 20 year, after which the invention moves
into public domain. Patents are national in nature,having effect only within the territory of the
issuing country.

Patents provide incentives to individuals by recognizing their creativity and offering the
possibility of material reward for their marketable inventions. These incentives encourage
innovation, which in turn enhances the quality of human life. Patent protection means an
invention cannot be commercially made, used, distributed or sold without the patent owner’s
consent. Patent rights are usually enforced in courts that, in most systems, hold the authority

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to stop patent infringement. Conversely, a court can also declare a patent invalid upon a
successful challenge by a third party. As an adjunct to the patent system, some countries have
introduced utility models (or petty patents). To qualify for patent protection, inventions must
be new, non-obvious, and commercially applicable.

The patent law of the United States provides for three kinds of patents: plant patents,
design patents, and utility patents. Plant patents cover asexually reproduced plants and are
primarily of interest only to plant breeders.Design patents cover the ornamental design of an
article (i.e.,its appearance) to the extent that that design or appearance is dictated by aesthetic,
rather than functional, considerations.The majority of patents are of the third kind—utility
patents—and it is with these that we shall be mostly,but not exclusively,concerned. A utility
patent,generally speaking,may cover a device or an article, a composition of matter, a method
or a process of doing or making something,or,less commonly,a new application for an
existing device or material,or a product (otherwise known and,therefore,not patentable) made
by a particular new process.

 Trademark

Trademark refers to any visual symbol , logo , pictures or signs or combination of the above
used to identify a companies product from a competitor.Its origin dates back to ancient times
when craftsmen reproduced their signatures, or “marks”, on their artistic works or products of
a functional or practical nature. Over the years, these marks have evolved into today’s system
of trademark registration and protection. The system helps consumers to identify and
purchase a product or service based on whether its specific characteristics and quality – as
indicated by its unique trademark – meet their needs. The term of registration of Trademark is
valid for 10 years which could be extended. The trademark owner can be an individual,
business organization, or any legal entity. A trademark may be located on a package, a label, a
voucher or on the product itself. The use of trademarks has turned out to be of high
significance in certain consumer goods industries, such as clothing and watches.

 Design

Design is an idea as to features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament applied to an

article . It refers to the non-functional appearance of the product, which appeals solely to the
eyes and consists of the creation of a shape, configuration or composition of pattern or colour,
or combination of pattern and colour in three dimensional forms containing aesthetic value.
An industrial design can be a two- or three-dimensional pattern used to produce a product,

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industrial commodity or handicraft. Duration of protection is initially for 10 years and

extendable for another term of 5 years.

 Geographical Indications

Geographical Indications is a new concept. It is an indication used to identify the goods,

whether natural or manufactured goods emanating from a particular area or territory known
for particular quality or characteristics of the goods.

Geographical Indications:

A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on certain products which corresponds
to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g. a town, region, or country). The use of a GI
may act as a certification that the product possesses certain qualities, is made according to
traditional methods, or enjoys a certain reputation, due to its geographical origin.

 New Plant Varieties

The creation of New Plant Varieties and their use is a matter of great public interest.
Creation of such varieties has become possible by scientific research. To encourage the
creative efforts the organization or an individual producing such varieties should be rewarded
by granting them patent

There are also some emerging forms:

 Traditional Knowledge
 Digital copyright
 Domain Name

-----The TRIPS Agreement WIPO(World Intellectual Property Organization) It is an

international organization , formed for protecting and promoting IP.

agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This contains an Agreement on
Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) which came into force from
1st January 1995. It lays down minimum standards for protection and enforce/.ment of
intellectual property rights in member countries which are required to promote effective and
adequate protection of intellectual property rights with a view to reducing distortions and
impediments to international trade. The obligations under the TRIPS Agreement relate to
provision of minimum standard of protection within the member countries legal systems and
practices.

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To improve the Economic growth of countries.

184 countries are members of WIPO.

TRIPS

small, incremental innovations. Their term of protection is far shorter than for “regular”
invention patents (typically four to seven years). Similarly, industrial designs protect the
ornamental features of consumer goods such as shoes or cars. To be eligible for protection,
designs must be original or new. They are generally conferred for a period of five to fifteen
years.

Having intellectual property laws is not enough. They have to be enforced. This is covered in
Part 3 of TRIPS. The agreement says governments have to ensure that intellectual property
rights can be enforced under their laws, and that the penalties for infringement are tough
enough to deter further violations. The procedures must be fair and equitable, and not
unnecessarily complicated or costly. They should not entail unreasonable time-limits or
unwarranted delays. People involved should be able to ask a court to review an administrative
decision or to appeal a lower court’s ruling.

The agreement describes in some detail how enforcement should be handled, including rules
for obtaining evidence, provisional measures, injunctions, damages and other penalties. It
says courts should have the right, under certain conditions, to order the disposal or destruction
of pirated or counterfeit goods. Wilful trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy on a
commercial scale should be criminal offences. Governments should make sure that
intellectual property rights owners can receive the assistance of customs authorities to prevent
imports of counterfeit and pirated goods.

One can broadly classify the various forms of IPRs into two categories: IPRs that stimulate
inventive and creative activities (patents, utility models, industrial designs, copyright, plant
breeders’ rights and layout designs for integrated circuits) and IPRs that offer information to
consumers (trademarks and geographical indications). IPRs in both categories seek to
address certain failures of private markets to provide for an efficient allocation of resources.

The Agreement provides for norms and standards in respect of following areas of intellectual
property

 Patents  Trade Marks  Copyrights  Geographical Indications  Industrial Designs

World Intellectual Property Organization

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The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is one of the 17 specialized agencies of
the United Nations. WIPO was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the
protection of intellectual property throughout the world."

WIPO currently has 185 member states, administers 24 international treaties, and is
headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The current Director-General of WIPO is Francis
Gurry, who took office on October 1, 2008. 184 of the UN Members as well as the Holy See
are Members of WIPO. Non-members are the states of South Sudan, Cook Islands, Kiribati,
Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Solomon Islands,
Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, and the states with limited recognition. Palestine has observer status.

WIPO was formally created by the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property
Organization, which entered into force on April 26, 1970. Under Article 3 of this Convention,
WIPO seeks to "promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world." WIPO
became a specialized agency of the UN in 1974. The Agreement between the United Nations
and the World Intellectual Property Organization.

The predecessor to WIPO was the BIRPI (Bureaux Internationaux Réunis pour la Protection
de la Propriété Intellectuelle, French acronym for United International Bureaux for the
Protection of Intellectual Property).The Agreement marked a transition for WIPO from the
mandate it inherited in 1967 from BIRPI, to promote the protection of intellectual property, to
one that involved the more complex task of promoting technology transfer and economic
development.

TRIPS agreement

The WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS),

negotiated in the year 1986-94 Uruguay Round, introduced intellectual property rules into the
multilateral trading system for the first time.

The TRIPS Agreement is a multilateral WTO agreement and, as such, applicable to all 158
members of the WTO. It is also binding for every country that accedes to the WTO. The
Agreement’s general obligations require countries to apply the principles of national treatment
(same treatment of foreign title holders and domestic title holders) and most favoured nation
treatment (same treatment of foreign title holders regardless of their country of origin).

Unlike most other international agreements on intellectual property, TRIPS sets minimum
standards of protection with respect to all forms of intellectual property: copyright,
trademarks and service marks, geographical indications, industrial designs, patents, layout

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designs of integrated circuits, and trade secrets. In respect of each of these areas of
intellectual property, the Agreement defines the main elements of protection, namely the
subject-matter to be protected, the rights to be conferred, and permissible exception to those
rights.

For the first time in an international agreement on intellectual property, TRIPS addresses the
enforcement of IPRs by establishing basic measures designed to ensure that legal remedies
will be available to title holders to defend their rights. The approach taken by the Agreement
is to set general standards on, among other things, enforcement procedures, the treatment of
evidence, injunctive relief, damages, and provisional and border measures.

Economic benefits and costs of TRIPS

The signing of TRIPS has generated much controversy about its economic implications for
developing countries. Proponents of the Agreement have argued that stronger IPRs will
stimulate creative industries in developing countries and promote foreign direct investment,
with an overall positive development outcome. Opponents of TRIPS have claimed that the
Agreement will forestall developing countries’ access to new technologies, lead to higher
prices and rent transfers from poor to rich countries, and impose high implementation costs in
resource-constrained environments. As always, the truth lies somewhere in between these
two polar views.

Developing countries indeed host inventive and creative industries that stand to benefit from
stronger IPRs. However, these industries can mostly be found in middle income countries,
rather than low income countries. The empirical evidence discussed above on the link
between FDI and IPRs, suggests that the mere strengthening of an intellectual property regime
is unlikely to result in a dramatic increase in inflows of foreign investment. At the same time,
past reform experiences suggest that stronger IPRs can positively impact on domestic
enterprise development and foreign investment, if they are complemented by improvements in
other aspects of the investment climate. By signalling a country’s commitment to
internationally binding rules, TRIPS can make a positive contribution in this regard—though
it is difficult to assess the quantitative importance of this contribution.

Importance of flexibilities

Although the TRIPS Agreement lays the foundation toward higher standards of protection for
intellectual property rights on a global scale, it leaves its signatories with important
flexibilities in designing national IPRs regimes. It is important for governments to carefully

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consider alternative ways of implementing provisions in the TRIPS Agreement that only set a
broad standard of protection and choose the options that are most suited to domestic needs.

For example, the criteria used for determining the novelty, non-obviousness, and usefulness
of patentable inventions can be defined differently across countries. Thus, a WTO member
may deny patent protection for, say, business methods that are frequently claimed to involve
only a minor inventive step. TRIPS also do not require countries to extent patent protection
to computer software as well as plants or animals.

Countries are free to override the exclusive rights of patents by granting so-called compulsory
licenses (government authorizations to use a patent without the patent holder’s consent).
TRIPS only require that compulsory licenses be considered on their individual merits and that
compensation be paid to rights holders.

In the area of copyright, TRIPS allows for important leeway in defining fair use exemptions
to strike a balance between the interests of copyright producers and the interests of the general
public.

Violation of Property rights:

Property rights refer to the legal rights over the use to which a resource is put and over the use
made of any income that may be derived from that resource. 15 Countries differ in the extent
to which their legal systems define and protect property rights. Almost all countries now have
laws on their books that protect property rights. Even China, still nominally a communist state
despite its booming market economy, finally enacted a law to protect the rights of private
property holders in 2007 (the law gives individuals the same legal protection for their
property as the state has).16 However, in many countries, these laws are not enforced by the
authorities and property rights are violated. Property rights can be violated in two ways-
through private action and through public action.

Private Action

In this context, private action refers to theft, piracy, blackmail, and the like by private
individuals or groups. Although theft occurs in all countries, a weak legal system allows for a
much higher level of criminal action in some than in others. For example, in Russia in the
chaotic period following the collapse of communism, an outdated legal system, coupled with
a weak police force and judicial system, offered both domestic and foreign businesses scant
protection from blackmail by the "Russian Mafia." Successful business owners in Russia
often had to pay "protection money" to the Mafia or face violent retribution, including

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bombings and assassinations (about 500 contract killings of businessmen occurred in 1995
and again in 1996).17 Russia is not alone in having Mafia problems (and the situation in
Russia has improved significantly since the mid-1990s). The Mafia has a long history in the
United States (Chicago in the 1930s was similar to Moscow in the 1990s). In Japan, the local
version of the Mafia, known as the yakuza, runs protection rackets, particularly in the food
and entertainment industries.18 However, there was a big difference between the magnitude
of such activity in Russia in the 1990s and its limited impact in Japan and the United States.
This difference arose because the legal enforcement apparatus, such as the police and court
system, was weak in Russia following the collapse of communism. Many other countries
from time to time have had problems similar to or even greater than those experienced by
Russia.

Public Action and Corruption

Public action to violate property rights occurs when public officials, such as politicians and
government bureaucrats, extort income, resources, or the property itself from property
holders. This can be done through legal mechanisms such as levying excessive taxation,
requiring expensive licenses or permits from property holders, taking assets into state
ownership without compensating the owners, or redistributing assets without compensating
the prior owners. It can also be done through illegal means, or corruption, by demanding
bribes from businesses in return for the rights to operate in a country, industry, or location.19
Corruption has been well documented in every society, from the banks of the Congo River to
the palace of the Dutch royal family, from Japanese politicians to Brazilian bankers, and from
Indonesian government officials to the New York City Police Department. The government of
the late Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines was famous for demanding bribes from foreign
businesses wishing to set up operations in that country. 20 The same was true of government
officials in Indonesia under the rule of former president Suharto. No society is immune to
corruption. However, there are systematic differences in the extent of corruption. In some
countries, the rule of law minimizes corruption. Corruption is seen and treated as illegal, and
when discovered, violators are punished by the full force of the law. In other countries, the
rule of law is weak and corruption by bureaucrats and politicians is rife. Corruption is so
endemic in some countries that politicians and bureaucrats regard it as a perk of office and
openly flout laws against corruption.

The most recent world trade agreement, signed in 1994, for the first time extends the scope of
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade to cover intellectual property. Under the new

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agreement, known as the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (or TRIPS), as
of 1995 a council of the World Trade Organization is overseeing enforcement of much stricter
intellectual property regulations. These regulations oblige WTO members to grant and
enforce patents lasting at least 20 years and copyrights lasting 50 years. Rich countries had to
comply with the rules within a year. Poor countries, in which such protection generally was
much weaker, had five years of grace, and the very poorest have 10 years. In addition to
lobbying governments, firms can file lawsuits on their own behalf. For example, Starbucks
won a landmark trademark copyright case in China against a copycat (see the accompanying
Management Focus for details). Firms may also choose to stay out of countries where
intellectual property laws are lax, rather than risk having their ideas stolen by local
entrepreneurs. Firms also need to be on the alert to ensure that pirated copies of their products
produced in countries with weak intellectual property laws don't tum up in their home market
or in third countries. U.S. computer software giant Microsoft, for example, discovered that
pirated Microsoft software, produced illegally in Thailand, was being sold worldwide as the
real thing For now, other things being equal, a nation with democratic political institutions, a
market-based economic system, and strong legal system that protects property rights and
limits corruption is clearly more attractive as a place in which to do business than a nation that
lack democratic institutions, where economic activity is heavily regulated by the state, and
where corruption is rampant and the rule of law is not respected. On this basis, for example,
Poland is a better place in which to do business than the Venezuela of Hugo Chavez {see the
opening case and the Country Focus on Venezuela). That being said, the reality is often more
nuanced and complex. For example, China lacks democratic institutions, corruption is
widespread, property rights are not always respected, and even though the country has
embraced many market-based economic reforms, there are still large numbers of state-owned
enterprises, yet many Western businesses feel that they must invest in China. They do so
despite the risks because the market is large, the nation is moving toward a market-based
system, economic growth is strong, legal protection of property rights has been improving,
and in the not too distant future China may become the largest economy in the world. Thus,
China is becoming increasingly attractive as a place in which to do business, and given the
future growth trajectory, significant opportunities may be lost by not investing in the country.
We will explore how changes in political economy impact the attractiveness of a nation as a
place in which to do business in the next chapter

Protecting Intellectual Property Another issue that has become increasingly important to the
WTO has been protecting intellectual property. The 1995 Uruguay agreement that established

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the WTO also contained an agreement to protect intellectual property (the Trade-Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, or TRIPS, agreement). The TRIPS regulations oblige
WTO members to grant and enforce patents lasting at least 20 years and copyrights lasting 50
years. Rich countries had to comply with the rules within a year. Poor countries, in which
such protection generally was much weaker, had five years' grace, and the very poorest had
10 years. The basis for this agreement was a strong belief among signatory nations that the
protection of intellectual property through patents, trademarks, and copyrights must be an
essential element of the international trading system. Inadequate protections for intellectual
property reduce the incentive for innovation. Because innovation is a central engine of
economic growth and rising living standards, the argument has been that a multilateral
agreement is needed to protect intellectual property. Without such an agreement it is feared
that producers in a country, let's say India, might market imitations of patented innovations
pioneered in a different country, say the United States. This can affect international trade in
two ways. First, it reduces the export opportunities in India for the original innovator in the
United States. Second, to the extent that the Indian producer is able to export its pirated
imitation to additional countries, it also reduces the export opportunities in those countries for
the U.S. inventor. Also, one can argue that because the size of the total world market for the
innovator is reduced, its incentive to pursue risky and expensive innovations is also reduced.
The net effect would be less innovation in the world economy and less economic growth.
Something very similar to this occurred in the pharmaceutical industry, with Indian drug
companies making copies of patented drugs discovered elsewhere. In 1970, the Indian
government stopped recognizing product patents on drugs, but it elected to continue
respecting process patents. This permitted Indian companies to reverse-engineer Western
pharmaceuticals without paying licensing fees. As a result, foreigners' share of the Indian
drug market fell from 75 percent in 1970 to 30 percent in 2000. For example, an Indian
company sold a version of Bayer's patented antibiotic Cipro for $0.12 a pill, versus the $5.50
it costs in the United States. Under the WTO TRIPS agreement, India agreed to adopt and
enforce the international drug patent regime in 2005.49 As noted in Chapter 2, intellectual
property rights violation is also an endemic problem in several other industries, most notably
computer software and music. The WTO believes that reducing piracy rates in areas such as
drugs, software, and music recordings would have a significant impact on the volume of
world trade and increase the incentive for producers to invest in the creation of intellectual
property. A world without piracy would have more new drugs, computer software, and music
recordings produced every year. In turn, this would boost economic and social welfare, and

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global economic growth rates. It is thus in the interests of WTO members to make sure that
intellectual property rights are respected and enforced. While the 1995 Uruguay agreement
that created the WTO did make headway with the TRIPS agreement, some believe these
requirements do not go far enough and further commitments are necessary.

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