Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights

Desiring to reduce distortions and impediments to international trade, and taking into account the need to promote effective and adequate protection of intellectual property rights, and to ensure that measures and procedures to enforce intellectual property rights do not themselves become barriers to legitimate trade;

Recognizing , to this end, the need for new rules an disciplines concerning:

1. (a) the applicability of the basic principles of GATT 1994 and of relevant international intellectual property agreements or conventions,
2. (b) the provision of adequate standards and principles concerning the availability, scope and use of trade-related intellectual property rights,
3. (c) the provision of effective and appropriate means for the enforcement of trade-related intellectual property rights, taking into account differences in national legal systems;
4. (d) the provision of effective and expeditious procedures for the multilateral prevention and settlement of disputes between governments; and
5. (e) transitional arrangements aiming at the fullest participation in the results of the negotiations;