What is the TRIPS Agreement?
International rules governing the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), formulated at the December 1993 Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Trades and Tariffs (GATT). All GATT member-countries agreed to rewrite their national laws to conform to internationally agreed norms for protecting patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs, and trade secrets. The TRIPs agreement also extended protection to such technological areas as pharmaceutical products and computer software, which were previously unprotected in many countries. The general timetable for implementing the TRIPs agreement, which entered into force on July 1, 1995, is one year for industrialized countries; five years for developing countries and countries shifting from centrally planned economies; and 10 years for least-developed countries.