Interpreting TRIPS: Globalisation of Intellectual Property Rights and Access to Medicines

Protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) has become a global issue. The Trade—Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) Agreement outlines the minimum standards for IPR protection for WTO members and offers a global regime for IPR protection. However, the benefits of TRIPS are more questionable in poorer countries where national infrastructure for research and development (R&D) and social protection are inadequate, whereas the cost of innovation is high. Today, after more th...