Book Reviews

Staehelin, Alesch. Das TRIPs-Abkommen: Immaterialgüterrechte im Licht der globalisierten Handelspolitik. Bern: Stämpfli Verlag, 2. ed. 1999. Pp. xiv, 335. Index. CHF 88; DM 88.

The Agreement on Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), signed as an annex to the 1994 WTO Agreement, does not only constitute a significant development for intellectual property law, but also has important consequences for the notion and shaping of international trade law. Until recently, the international system for the protection of intellectual property rights led an independent existence untouched by the treaties and institutions of international trade law. The international intellectual property agreements were administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), while the GATT trading system barely, if at all, dealt with issues of intellectual property law. However, the steadily growing economic significance of intangible goods protected by intellectual property rights, as well as the increasing focus of the last GATT rounds on non-tariff barriers to free trade, have meant that the strict separation between intellectual property and international trade law can no longer be upheld. A low level of protection of intellectual property rights constitutes a barrier to free trade and makes exports of intangible goods to low-protection countries costly. TRIPs is the outcome of a US initiative aiming at the integration of intellectual property law into the world trading system. It constitutes a broadly encompassing intellectual property code, which sets high protection standards. In contrast to the traditional WIPO-based system for the protection of intellectual property rights, TRIPs also obliges the member states to establish an effective enforcement system and includes a dispute-settlement procedure for complaints against states that do not respect their obligations under TRIPs.

The book under review covers a wide range of issues on the topic of TRIPs. It treats its general provisions and the different types of intellectual property rights as well as examining the enforcement and dispute settlement provisions. Furthermore, as indicated by the subtitle of the book - `Intellectual property rights in the light of the globalized trade policy' - the author's intention is to shed light on the background to the TRIPs negotiations and on the link between intellectual property and international trade. The book also addresses the difficult question of the immediate applicability of TRIPs and discusses whether it is beneficial or detrimental for developing countries.

As the book covers such a broad range of topics, each of which would warrant in-depth discussion, the analysis of TRIPs remains quite thinly spread. Answers to controversial questions and issues still under debate are rarely given. For example, the copyright section of the book explains the relevant TRIPs provisions, but does not provide a thorough analysis of how those rules are to be construed and whether they constitute a concrete change from the traditional rules of the Berne Convention. Similarly, in his treatment of the TRIPs patent provisions, the author only briefly touches upon the much-discussed issue of patent protection for computer software, and does not go beyond a summary of the current state of the debate. Moreover, the TRIPs enforcement provisions receive only a brief description. The author does not go into the question of whether the `Special 301' (not `Super 301') procedure can be upheld - an extremely important question, which, after all, has led to a WTO panel report.¹ Furthermore, many important policy issues concerning the integration of intellectual property into the world trading system remain undiscussed:² Has TRIPs altered the way we look at intellectual property rights? Should intangible goods, such as music and motion pictures assets, be treated like other goods? Can the rules of international trade be applied to intellectual property without any need for adaptation?

In sum, readers wishing to explore very detailed and specific issues relating to TRIPs and its implications for the world trading system will at times feel unsatisfied by this book. However, the book does provide accurate and abundant information on the history of TRIPs, on its principles and on the substantive provisions covering the different types of intellectual property rights. Anyone needing to learn about TRIPs would do well to read Staehelin's book as a valuable introduction to the subject.

Dr. Maximilian Haedicke, LL.M. (Georgetown)
University of Munich and Max-Planck-Institute for Foreign and International Patent, Copyright and Competition Law, Munich.

¹ Panel Report United States - Sections 301- 310 of the Trade Act of 1974, WT/DS152/R, 22. December 1999.

² See Haedicke, Urheberrecht und die Handelspolitik der Vereinigten Staaten, 1997, p. 174 et seq.

© 1990-2004 European Journal of International Law
All comments and suggestions should be sent to webmaster
This site is part of the Academy of European Law online, a joint partnership of the Jean Monnet Center at NYU School of Law and the Academy of European Law at the European University Institute.
This file was last modified: Wednesday, August 30, 2000 07:17PM