10 August 2006

TRIPS Tripped up by Doha?

Here's a hopeful analysis. It concerns the pernicious Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement, which is often used by Western nations to force other countries to pass harsh laws that control intellectual monopolies.

The piece claims that TRIPS was accepted by developing countries as a quid pro quo for obtaining fairer treatment for their agricultural goods. But the recent collapse of the so-called Doha round of trade negotiations means that such fairer treatment is unlikely to be forthcoming. So, the logic runs, maybe developing countries should give TRIPS the heave-ho in return. Interesting.

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