TRIPS plus 20

This book examines the impact and shortcomings of the TRIPS Agreement, which was signed in Marrakesh on 15 April 1994. Over the last 20 years, the framework conditions have changed fundamentally. New technologies have emerged, markets have expanded beyond national borders, some developing states have become global players, the terms of international competition have changed, and the intellectual property system faces increasing friction with public policies. The contributions to this book inquire into whether the TRIPS Agreement shouldstill be seen only as part of an international trade regulation, or whether it needs tobe understood - or even reconceptualized - as a framework regulation for theinternational protection of intellectual property. The purpose, therefore, is not to definethe terms of an outright revision of the TRIPS Agreement but rather to discuss the frameworkconditions for an interpretative evolution that could makethe Agreement better suited to theexpectations and needs of today's global economy.