Role of Wto in Protecting Ipr

A Paper on Role of World Trade Organization in Protecting Intellectual Property Rights

Authors

1. Satyendra Narayan Singh

Assistant Professor

GNIT, Greater Noida.

Mob. [phone]

2. Alok Mohan

Assistant Professor,

RBMI, Greater Noida.

Mob. [phone]

Abstract

Now a days protection of Intellectual Property Rights has become a very essential aspect for every country because so many Intellectual Properties are of national interest. Copyright, patents, trademarks, designs and even natural resources contains national importance. TRIPS enforces a powerful mechanism for protection of Intellectual Property Rights. This paper seeks to provide an introduction to the role played by WTO to protect intellectual property, the basic provisions of the TRIPS Agreement, and recent TRIPS developments.

I. Introduction

One of the most significant developments of the Uruguay Round of Trade Negotiations (1986-94) was the inclusion of intellectual property rights (IPRs) issues on the agenda of the multilateral trading system. The resulting Agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is one of three pillar agreements, setting out the legal framework in which the World Trade Organization (WTO) has operated since the end of the Uruguay Round.

For the multilateral trading system, TRIPS marked the departure from narrow negotiations on border measures such as tariffs and quotas toward the establishment of multilateral rules for trade-affecting measures beyond borders. This move reflected underlying trends in international commerce. Due to the growth of trade in knowledge and information-intensive goods, the economic implications of imitation, copying, and counterfeiting had in many industries become at least as relevant for international commerce as conventional border restrictions to trade.

Yet the TRIPS negotiations on intellectual property were marked by significant North-South differences.