The WTO's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which came into effect on 1 January 1995, is to date the most comprehensive multilateral agreement on intellectual property. Such international agreement for intellectual property rights provides a way to introduce more order and predictability, and for disputes to be settled more systematically. The main aim of TRIPS is to narrow the gaps in the way these rights are protected around the world, and to bring them under common international rules. When there are trade disputes over intellectual property rights, the WTO's dispute settlement system is now available.

The agreement covers five broad issues:

• how basic principles of the trading system and other international intellectual property agreements should be applied
  
• how to give adequate protection to intellectual property rights
  
• how countries should enforce those rights adequately in their own territories
  
• how to settle disputes on intellectual property between members of the WTO
  
• special transitional arrangements during the period when the new system is being introduced.
  

The obligations under the Agreement will apply equally to all member countries, but developing countries will have a longer period to phase them in. The TRIPS Agreement is a minimum standards agreement, which allows members to provide more extensive protection of intellectual property if they so wish. Members are left free to determine the appropriate method of implementing the provisions of the Agreement within their own legal system and practice standards laid down in TRIPS.


Hong Kong is one of the members of TRIPS Ordinance, as

The Copyright Ordinance, Patent Ordinance and Registered Designs Ordinance (all of which came into effect on 27 June 1997), as well as the Trademark Ordinance and Trade Description Ordinance, as amended by the Intellectual Property (World Trade Organisation Amendments) Ordinance 1996, are all in full compliance with the standards laid down in TRIPS. Also, in accordance with TRIPS Agreement, the Customs and Excise Department will help rights-owners to enforce their rights in relation to copyright and trademark goods through border enforcement measures.