The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), also known as the TRIPS Agreement, is a multilateral trade agreement governed by the World Trade Organization and is an international rule for the protection of intellectual property rights that is observed by WTO members.
Its purpose is to: strengthen effective and adequate protection of intellectual property rights, and ensure that measures and procedures for the implementation of intellectual property rights do not become trade barriers; establish a multilateral framework and rules to deal with the problem of international counterfeit product trade. Intellectual property rights are private rights, and the use of intellectual property rights without the permission of the right holder generally constitutes infringement; recognize the goals of public policies of various countries in protecting intellectual property rights, including development goals and technological goals; give maximum flexibility to the domestic implementation of laws and regulations of the least developed country members; and resolve trade-related intellectual property rights disputes through multilateral procedures. The agreement has 7 parts and 73 articles. The intellectual property areas involved include patents, trademarks (including service marks), geographical indications (names of origin), industrial designs, copyrights and related rights, undisclosed information (including trade secrets and confidential experimental data), new plant varieties and others. The main provisions include: general provisions and basic principles, the validity, scope and use standards of intellectual property rights, the enforcement of intellectual property rights, the acquisition, maintenance and related procedures of intellectual property rights, the prevention and settlement of disputes, transitional arrangements, institutional arrangements, final provisions, etc. The main contents of the agreement are: it proposes and reiterates the basic principles of protecting intellectual property rights, and establishes the basic relationship between the “Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights” and other international conventions on intellectual property rights.
The scope of protection of the agreement includes seven types of intellectual property rights, including copyright and related rights, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs, patents, integrated circuit layout designs, undisclosed information including trade secrets, and stipulates minimum protection requirements; it also involves the control of restrictive competition behavior, stipulates and strengthens the intellectual property law enforcement procedures, and conditionally treats different types of members differently. The purpose of the agreement is to promote more full and effective protection of intellectual property rights in the scope of international trade, so that right holders can benefit from their creations and inventions, be motivated, and continue their efforts in creation and invention; reduce the distortion and obstruction of international trade caused by intellectual property protection, and ensure that the implementation and procedures of the “Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights” do not constitute barriers to legitimate trade.