Overview[]
Since 2000, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has completed negotiations for free trade agreements that have entered into force with Australia, Bahrain, Central America,[1] Chile, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Peru, and Singapore.[2] According to officials at the USTR, these agreements offer intellectual property protection beyond that required in TRIPS.[3]
References[]
- ↑ Participants in the Central America Free Trade Agreement are Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the United States.
- ↑ The United States also has signed free trade agreements with Colombia, Korea, and Panama, but Congress must enact legislation to approve and implement each individual agreement in order for them to go into effect. Prior to 2000, two other free trade agreements had entered into force: the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Agreement (entered into force in 1985) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Canada, Mexico, and the United States (entered into force in 1994).
- ↑ For example, these protections include adherence to new World Intellectual Property Organization Internet treaties, a longer minimum time period for copyright protection, additional penalties for circumventing technological measures controlling access to copyrighted materials, transparent procedures for protection of trademarks, stronger protection for well-known marks, patent protection for plants and animals, protection against arbitrary revocation of patents, new provisions dealing with domain name disputes, and increased enforcement measures.