TRIPS agreement covers the following areas: Copyright and related rights (i.e. the rights of performers, producers of sound recordings and broadcasting organizations) Trademarks including service marks Geographical indications including appellations of origin Industrial designs; patents including the protection of new varieties of plants Layout-designs of integrated circuits and Undisclosed information including trade secrets and test data

1. By Anjita khadka

2.  TRIPS is the abbreviation for Trade Related Aspects Of
Intellectual Property Rights
 Effective since 1995
 It was negotiated at the end of Uruguay round of the General
Agreement On Tarrifs and Trade in 1994
 Parties involved are all the 158 WTO members
 Simply put forward this agreement sets down minimum standards
for many forms of Intellectual Properties
TRIPS agreement covers the following areas:
Copyright and related rights (i.e. the rights of performers,
producers of sound recordings and broadcasting organizations)
Trademarks including service marks
Geographical indications including appellations of origin
Industrial designs; patents including the protection of new
varieties of plants
Layout-designs of integrated circuits and
Undisclosed information including trade secrets and test data

3. • Standards
• Enforcements
• Settling disputes

4. Agreement sets out the minimum standards of protection to be
provided by each Member, in respect of each of the main areas of
intellectual property covered by the TRIPS Agreement.
Each of the main elements of protection is defined;
• Subject-matter to be protected,
• Rights to be conferred and permissible exceptions to those
rights, and
• Minimum duration of protection
Obligations of the compliance on the pre-existing convention
Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property
Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
Also adds a substantial number of additional obligations on
matters where the pre-existing conventions are silent or were
seen as being inadequate
TRIPS Agreement is thus sometimes referred to as a Berne and

5. Deals with domestic procedures and remedies for the
enforcement of intellectual property rights.
Lays down certain general principles applicable to all IPR
enforcement procedures.
In addition, it contains provisions on civil and administrative
procedures and remedies, provisional measures, special
requirements related to border measures and criminal
procedures, which specify, in a certain amount of detail, the
procedures and remedies that must be available so that
right holders can effectively enforce their rights.

6. Makes disputes between WTO Members about the
respect of the TRIPS obligations subject to the WTO's
dispute settlement procedures.

7. • A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state
(national government) to an inventor for a limited period
of time in exchange for a public disclosure of an invention
.
• A patent is granted only for a certain period of time
• Any person imitating the invention or new manufacturing
process, without the consent/permission of the patent
holder, is committing an act of violation.
• Once the period of the patent has expired competitor
companies are free to manufacture the product which
was prevously patented.

8. • Newer medicines are required for tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS
and for bacterial infections due to the problem of
resistance.
• The majority of new medicines are discovered and nearly
all such medicines and vaccines are developed by
commercial industries of developed countries.
• Industry undertakes the risks of doing multi-year tests on
the effective dose, proper indications, and safety profiles of
new chemical and biological compounds, and then designs
quality assurance systems for manufacture of the
medicines before the medicine is approved by
governmental regulatory authorities.
• The failure rate is high.

9. • T he drug research and development process is not only
risky but it is also expensive.
• Thus strong intellectual property protection in major
developed and developing countries is absolutely
essential.
• According to the provisions under TRIPs agreement, the
period of drug patents has been set for 20 years to allow
companies to recover costs involved in drug research
and development.

10. • The prices of patented drugs and the amount of patent
royalties will increase with the strengthening and
prolongation of the patent holders’ monopoly.
• The introduction and strengthening of patents for
pharmaceutical products will certainly not lead to an
increase in R&D investment by enterprises in developing
countries because of lack of technical infrastructure and
financial and human resources.

11. • Millions of people die each year of diseases that are
preventable or treatable.
• Access to treatment for diseases in developing countries
is problematic either because the medicines are
unaffordable, have become ineffective due to resistance,
or are not sufficiently adapted to specific local conditions
and constraints
• Most patients in poor countries do not have access to the
medicines they require to treat their ailments due to their
high prices
• For the poor in developing countries, availability and
affordability of essential medicines are both key problems
( due to low purchasing power and poor infrastructure)

12. • Monopolistic position (20 yrs from the date of
application) over the manufacture and distribution of life-
saving drugs.
• Control is granted by the IPR framework, developed
under the TRIPS Agreement
• Policy instruments available under TRIPS such as
compulsory licenses or government use, parallel imports
and price controls could attenuate adverse effects on the
affordable access to medicines considered essential.

13. • There are several policy options open to the
governments of WTO member countries under TRIPS to
attenuate the adverse price increases associated with
product patents:
i. Compulsory licenses:
Under a compulsory license, the right holder is
forced to license his patented invention to a third party,
decided by governments or courts, and obtain an
‘adequate remuneration’ in return.
ii) Parallel import:
Parallel imports are cross-border trade in a patented
product, without the permission of the manufacturer or
publisher. Parallel imports take place when there are
significant price differences for the same good in different
markets.
iii) Generic medicines
iv) Price control

14. • Whereas it is necessary to update the legal arrangements in
respect to patents, designs and trade-marks for the convenience
and economic benefit of the general Public,
• shall register such patent in his/her name under this Act.
• No one shall copy or use or cause to use in the name of the
others without transforming the ownership or written
permission pursuant to Section 21d,
• Valid only for a period of seven years from the date of
registration thereof under Section 7, except when it is renewed
under Section 23 B.

15. • A fine of up to Five Hundred Thousand Rupees for
committing an offense
• A fine of up to Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Rupees for
committing an attempt
• The goods or commodities related to the offense shall be
confiscated
• In case a person, contravenes the provisions or operates a
design invalidated the Department, may be punished with a
fine not exceeding Fifty thousand Rupees, and articles and
goods connected with such offense shall be confiscated on the
order of the Department, as per the gravity of offense.

16. Illegal use of trade marks
• One Hundred Thousand Rupees and articles and goods
connected with such offense confiscated