The GATT TRIPs is an international agreement on intellectual property rights, including copyrights and patents. It has faced controversy for burdening poorer countries and limiting access to drugs. A provision was added to allow countries to manage public health crises. Developed nations require further protection for intellectual property rights, and the GATT TRIPs is unlikely to change due to support from powerful WTO members.
The General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) was completed in 1994 during the Uruguay Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) trade negotiations. It is the most significant international agreement on intellectual property rights (IP), introducing intellectual property laws into the international trade arena for the first time. All WTO members are obliged to implement the agreement.
Within the agreement, copyrights are emphasized. GATT TRIPs ensures that the licensing of copyright is unencumbered by registrations and other regulations. Computer programming is classified as a literary work and therefore is protected by copyright. Also included are requirements for the establishment of patent laws, especially regarding technological innovations and botanical discoveries, such as new types of trees. Provisions of the agreement also require that national protection for patents and copyright be limited. In terms of these rights, citizens should not receive favoritism from national governments.
The rules for protecting these rights, as well as for resolving disputes, are clearly defined. The WTO strictly enforces the GATT TRIPs. Countries found to be non-compliant may be subject to trade sanctions.
Since its inception, the GATT TRIPs have faced controversy due to the burden it places on the poorest countries that must join the agreement to maintain WTO membership. For example, drugs are not available at market rate in developing countries, mainly due to the power of patent holders. Patent holders are usually found in developed nations, causing cash flow away from less developed countries.
This problem is illustrated with the AIDS crisis in Africa, where GATT TRIPs have hampered progress. African nations, with their high AIDS death toll, are being forced to reduce their Gross National Product (GNP), a nation’s productivity index, to fund the drugs their citizens need. A study conducted by the World Bank, entitled Confronting AIDS, concluded that the annual GDP growth of African countries is reduced by 0.5% due to health care costs. For countries that tend to have high growth rates, such as Botswana and Uganda, the negative effects of this growth reduction would be seen in the long run. Many African countries known to have lower GDP growth rates, such as Somalia, are hardest hit.
While the GATT TRIPs were not changed as a result of this controversy, a provision was added to allow countries to better manage a domestic public health crisis. National governments are now allowed to produce medicines without the specific consent of the patent holders. This arrangement was the result of the Doha meeting held among members after significant protest from developing countries.
Developing countries and developing countries were given a reprieve until 2005 and 2016 respectively to fully incorporate the GATT TRIPs. As they continue to struggle with the implementation process, due to factors such as limited legal advice, developed nations require further protection for intellectual property rights. The United States, which served as the driving force behind the creation of this international trade agreement, won 13 GATT TRIPs international intellectual property rights theft cases under the Clinton administration. The additional protection lobbyists get includes anti-avoidance laws to protect the digital rights management system. Bilateral and regional trade agreements serve to further increase the protection of patent rights.
While the problems associated with GATT TRIPs are many, they are unlikely to be changed due to the support it gets from powerful WTO members, such as the US and EU countries.
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