Development of International Conventions on Intellectual Property Rights

Local or national protection of intellectual property rights considered inadequate and ineffective that realized protection of intellectual property rights in multilateral or international level. Paris Convention is first of such conventions and recently after that Bern Convention concluded.

Since the Paris Convention, 1883 the intellectual property regime divided into two parts: one industrial intellectual property as guaranteed and organized under Paris Convention and next, non-industrial intellectual property right, i.e. copyright as excluded by Paris Convention but included and organized under Berne Convention, 1886.

Instead of these two conventions and classification of intellectual property rights there are dozens of intellectual property rights conventions developed today. Among them Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, (TRIPs) 1994 is one of the important agreements.

Arther Dunkel, the then Director-General of GATT, drafted a proposal relating intellectual property rights with trade. It created a hot debate between developed (North) and developing (South) countries. Developed countries especially US pleaded to assimilate intellectual property within the regime of GATT while developing countries tried to oppose it. But ultimately the North succeeded to include intellectual property within the regime of GATT, now WTO. TRIPs has made all intellectual property rights as trade related rights and has ended the distinction made by Paris and Berne Conventions on industrial and no-industrial intellectual property rights.