Christopher Heath

25 Years of the TRIPS Agreement Christopher Heath

When the TRIPS Agreement was concluded in 1994, many saw it as embodying a new gold standard of intellectual property protection that not only reformed the Paris and Berne Conventions but also made further IP agreements unnecessary. Although this optimistic vision has eroded - obligations to protect IP rights can now be found in trade agreements and can be enforced before domestic courts and investor-state tribunals - the Agreement continues to pervade trends and developments in international law, not only in IP but in trade law also. This comprehensive commentary on the past, present, and future of the Agreement focuses on its influence on key topics in IP as well as on enforcement and dispute resolution.

The editors have assembled a group of renowned IP law practitioners and academics who, taking each area of IP law, in turn, show the extent to which TRIPS provisions have survived, expanded, or been supplanted by other bodies. Their analysis covers the different IP rights addressed in the TRIPS Agreement (copyrights; trade marks; geographical indications; patents; data protection and enforcement) both in historical perspective and in their development in the last 25 years. An additional three chapters cover: most-favoured-nation obligations in regard of subsequent free trade agreements; how societal interests alter the interpretation of TRIPS obligations; the judicial role in the WTO panels and Appellate Body; minimum standards and reduction of flexibilities in IP policy; relationship of WTO/TRIPS with other international agreements.

As intellectual property becomes more pervasive in society than ever before - and as both technology related to the use of IP and the way protected works are consumed have changed beyond recognition over the past 25 years - jurists, academics, and practitioners in IP and trade law will welcome this unique opportunity to test the true scope of national sovereignty in the interpretation of intellectual property rights.