Written in celebration of Pedro Roffe's life and achievements, this chapter captures the many valuable contributions he has made in his three decades at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and a decade and a half at the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable...

The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights entered into force more than 15 years ago. Although commentators have widely criticized the Agreement for its failure to address the needs, interests, conditions, and priorities of less developed countries, few have examined...

The adoption of the WIPO Development Agenda in October 2007 has provided less developed countries with a rare and unprecedented opportunity to reshape the international intellectual property system in a way that would better advance their interests. However, if these countries are to succeed,...

This chapter focuses on the "TRIPS Wars," which involved the developed countries' repeated strikes on the sovereignty, autonomy and policy space of developing countries. These strikes began with the establishment of the TRIPS Agreement, which was then followed by the increasing efforts to...

When the World Intellectual Property Organization was established in April 1970--with its origins tracing back to the adoption of the WIPO Convention in July 1967--the organization was at the center of a deeply divisive debate between developed and developing countries over the appropriate...

In January 2009, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body released a panel report on China - Measures Affecting the Protection and Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights. The dispute concerned the inadequacy of protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in China under the TRIPS...