Under global trading rules, the inventors of medicines ordinarily enjoy the right to a 20-year monopoly on their inventions. But five years ago, the United States joined 141 other countries to sign the Doha Declaration, confirming the right of poor countries to break drug patents and produce cheap generic drugs in the event of contagions like HIV.
The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), an influential business entity, expressed strong support for the signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the United States and Taiwan.
Thailand's National Economic and Social Advisory Council has urged the government to delay free trade negotiations with the US on financial services and take intellectual property rights and agriculture liberalisation off the agenda.
With just 40 days in force, the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US already has negative effects for the Salvadoran people, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) has denounced Thursday.
The American government demands that the Bahrain government enact laws protecting intellectual property rights for computer programs and patent registry as a condition for implementing the free trade agreement.
We are living in a post-TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) world. Almost every member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has had to reform their intellectual property laws in order to meet the minimum standards of protection that TRIPS prescribes .
An annual reports released by the US Congress on Friday revealed that intellectual property rights remain a sticking point in progress towards a Free Trade Agreement between Kuwait and the US.
The economic strength of the United States makes it "virtually impossible" for developing nations to negotiate a fair bilateral free-trade agreement, according to Argentina's new ambassador to Thailand.