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Mapping the New Frontier of International IP Law: Introducing a TRIPs-plus Dataset

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2019

Jean-Frédéric Morin Open the ORCID record for Jean-Frédéric Morin [Opens in a new window]  and
Jenny Surbeck
Jean-Frédéric Morin*
Affiliation:
Canada Research Chair in International Political Economy, Université Laval
Jenny Surbeck
Affiliation:
World Trade Institute, University of Bern
*
*Email: Jean-frederic.morin@pol.ulaval.ca
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Abstract

This article introduces a new dataset on the intellectual property (IP) provisions included in preferential trade agreements (PTAs) and makes it available for research and policy communities alike. Several PTAs include IP commitments that go well beyond the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs). A sound knowledge of these TRIPs-plus commitments is essential in order to improve our understanding of what drives them and of their legal, social, and economic consequences. Yet, until now, these provisions have not been mapped in a comprehensive and systematic way. The T + PTA dataset fills this gap by documenting the existence of 90 types of IP provisions in 126 agreements signed between 1991 and 2016. We show that, even for like-minded countries, significant variations exist in their reliance on TRIPs-plus provisions, their degree of consistency across PTAs, and their preferences for some IP rights. We also find that strong TRIPs-Plus provisions are correlated with the depth of PTAs, the asymmetry between trade partners, and the strength of their domestic IP law. By making the T + PTA dataset available, we hope to create the opportunity for a new generation of research on TRIPs-plus agreements.

Type
Research Article
Information
World Trade Review , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , January 2020 , pp. 109 - 122
Copyright
Copyright © Jean-Frédéric Morin And Jenny Surbeck 2019

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