Intellectual Property, Bilateral Agreements and Sustainable Development: THE CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTATION

The document analyzes the challenges developing countries face when implementing 'TRIPS-Plus' intellectual property (IP) provisions found in free trade agreements (FTAs), particularly those signed with the USA, EU, and EFTA. It argues that while these agreements often impose higher standards of protection than the WTO's TRIPS Agreement, countries can adopt a 'creative and forward looking' implementation strategy. This includes utilizing existing flexibilities such as compulsory licensing and parallel imports, and modernizing national institutions and competition laws to balance IP protection with local innovation and public health needs.

• Free trade agreements (FTAs) often include 'TRIPS-Plus' provisions that deepen the harmonization of intellectual property laws beyond the minimum standards set by the WTO's TRIPS Agreement, often as a 'price paid by the developing countries in exchange for trade concessions'.
• FTAs signed with the USA are more expansive and detailed than those with the EU or EFTA, emphasizing accelerated TRIPS implementation, protection for emerging technologies, and the creation of WTO-based dispute settlement mechanisms for IP matters.
• The implementation process for US FTAs is often conditioned on a 'certification' act, where the US President must determine that the partner country has taken the necessary measures to comply with the agreement before it enters into force.
• Developing countries can utilize specific flexibilities within the IP system to mitigate the impact of FTAs, including compulsory licensing and the freedom to establish their own regimes for the exhaustion of intellectual property rights to allow parallel imports.
• Provisions regarding 'regulated products' (pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals) are highly controversial because they protect undisclosed safety and efficacy data for at least five years and link marketing approval to patent expiration, which may hinder access to medicines.
• To offset the costs of higher IP protection, the author recommends that developing countries modernize their competition laws and policies, as a competitive market helps minimize the social costs of IP protection.

APA

Roffe, P. (2007). Intellectual Property, Bilateral Agreements and Sustainable Development: THE CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTATION. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/FTA_ImplementationPub_Jan07.pdf

Chicago

Roffe, Pedro. Intellectual Property, Bilateral Agreements and Sustainable Development: THE CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTATION. Center for International Environmental Law, 2007. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/FTA_ImplementationPub_Jan07.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Roffe |first1=Pedro |title=Intellectual Property, Bilateral Agreements and Sustainable Development: THE CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTATION |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=January 2007 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/FTA_ImplementationPub_Jan07.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{roffe2007intellectual, author = {Roffe, Pedro}, title = {{Intellectual Property, Bilateral Agreements and Sustainable Development: THE CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTATION}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2007}, month = jan, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/FTA_ImplementationPub_Jan07.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }