TRIPS and Developing Countries: Towards a New IP World Order?

摘要

The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is a landmark international agreement that was negotiated in 1994 and administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The TRIPS agreement brought intellectual property law into the international trading system for the first time. Many developing countries contend that TRIPS is tipped in favor of developed countries and transnational corporations. The editors of this collection of contributions by researchers and scholars believe that "the traditional view of TRIPS no longer holds true under the shifting geopolitical dynamics which seem to define the new multilateralism in international relations, a multilateralism where human rights appear to progressively emerge as strong influential factor on trade and development policy." The editors attempt to suggest ways that TRIPS could evolve into a mature institution supportive of not just economic development, but of a wholesome "triple bottom line," also known as the simultaneous development of people, planet, and profit.