IPR and Foreign Trade

Contents: Part A: 1. Agreement on trade related aspects of intellectual property rights. 2. Autarky. 3. Barter. 4. Bilateral investment treaty. 5. Bimetallism. 6. Branch plant economy. 7. United Nations monetary and financial conference. 8. Bretton woods system. 9. British timber trade. 10. World intellectual property organization. 11. World intellectual property organization copyright treaty. Part B: CRS Report For Congress: Intellectual Property Rights and International Trade December 20 2007. 12. Introduction. 13. Intellectual property rights basics. 14. Global intellectual property holdings. 15. Contribution of intellectual property to U S economy. 16. The organization structure of IPR protection. 17. U S trade law. 18. Issues for congress. 19. What is intellectual property rights? 20. What is a trade mark? 21. Disputes on intellectual property rights:  a case study of the US China trade disputes over intellectual property. 22. Trade related aspects of intellectual property rights. Bibliography. Index.

Intellectual property rights traditionally have been mattes of national concern. Individual nation states have developed IPR regimes reflecting their national needs and priorities. Over time, intellectual property protection and enforcement have come to the forefront as a key international trade issue for the United State, figuring prominently in the multilateral trade policy arena and in regional and bilateral U.S. free trade agreements (FTAs). The protection and enforcement of IPR in the United States and abroad is of key interest to Congress. Intellectual property is an increasingly critical component of the U.S. economy. Industries that rely on intellectual property protection in the United States claim to lose billions of dollars each year due to overseas IPR infringement. These is also concern about the potential health and safely consequences of counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs and other products, as well as the link between terrorist groups and traffic in counterfeit and pirated goods. In promoting IPR through international trade policy, congress may choose to consider whether or not FTAs are an appropriate vehicle for boosting intellectual property protection and enforcement. Congress may also balance IPR protection and enforcement with other public policy goals such as access to medicine in poor or developing countries. (jacket)