Trips-Plus Regulations in Bilateral and Statewide Trade Agreements: Their Bearing On Intellectual Property Rights and International Trade

Abstract

Intellectual property (IP) related goods have become a source of concern in the global economy of trade and substantial exports and imports. A primary concern for IP-intensive goods is the issue of cross-border trade. Through a collective effort of the member nations of the WTO, the TRIPS Agreement has always served to regulate and facilitate the entire trading mechanism for IP-intensive goods, but more stringent provisions under TRIPS-Plus are also frequently followed to provide additional assistance, going beyond the minimum standards of protection. In such circumstances, patents play a crucial role in the business models of pharmaceutical sector. The matters of compulsory licensing regime and data exclusivity also create a point of discussion as pharmaceutical as an industry, hugely affect Bilateral and Regional Trade Agreements. This leads to the unveiling of the Doha Declaration, which was introduced with the underlying intention of providing additional guidance to the TRIPS Agreement. Simultaneously, this makes the parallel importation and patent revocation, an essential conversation. This research is an effort to understand the Free-Trade Agreements, US laws, and the role of TRIPS-Plus provisions in the global context of trade.