The TRIPS Agreement adopted in 1995 provides an array of trade-related
rules on the protection and
enforcement of intellectual property
rights. It is fair to say that
many of those TRIPS rules have
been reflected in the national legislations
of the WTO Members,
but the fact remains that developing
countries are under increasing
pressures from the developed
countries to do more to improve
the enforcement of their IPRs and
to build up the institutions of IP
enforcement. Some felt that such
demands from the IP holders or
western governments have gone
beyond what the TRIPS Agreement
requires, and therefore
constitute TRIPS-plus requirements.
So we have witnessed the
phenomenon that some developing
countries are forced to spend
more and more resources on
efforts related to enhancing the
enforcement of intellectual property
rights. This malady has come
into light when the level of compliance,
primarily through enforcement
of private property
rights, is governed by certain
binding international obligations
without formal understanding of
compliance costs and the need for
creating a balance featuring optimal
level of compliance.
