The North American Free Trade Agreement & (and) Protection of Intellectual Property: A Converging View
![handle is hein.journals/jtrnlwp5 and id is 107 raw text is: THE NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE
AGREEMENT & PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY: A CONVERGING VIEW
LORI M. BERG*
I. Introduction ......................................................................................... 99
II. Intellectual Property Rights: Definitions and Conflicts .................... 102
A. How Should Intellectual Property Be Valued? ........................... 103
B. Free Trade and Intellectual Property Protection ........................ 105
C. A Converging View of Intellectual Property Protection ........... 108
D. Why Intellectual Property Must Be Adequately Protected ....... 109
III. NAFTA and the Reasons Behind Chapter Seventeen ....................... 111
A. Mexico's Historical, Economic, and Political Structure ............. 112
B. Compliance with the GATT ........................................................... 114
C. Individual Concerns and Regional Agreements ........................ 115
IV. NAFTA's Patent Provisions and Possible Improvements from
the Viewpoint of Both the North and the South ................................ 117
A . Scope of Coverage ........................................................................... 117
B. Compulsory Licensing ................................................................... 119
V . Conclusion ............................................................................................... 121
I. INTRODUCrION
During the past several decades, new technological develop-
ments have burst upon the international marketplace with increasing
rapidity. These developments, which include the production and
advancement of products such as computers, semiconductors and
software, as well as biotechnology goods and pharmaceuticals, usu-
ally fall under the legal protection of intellectual property rights.1
Consequently, the adequate protection of intellectual property rights
has become an increasingly important issue in the world of trade.2
* J.D. expected, 1996, The Florida State University College of Law. B.A., 1993, University
of Tampa. The author would like to thank Professor Frank Garcia for his guidance. The author
would also like to give a special thank you to Kevin D. Schroeder for his critical comments.
1. Michael L. Doane, TRIPS and International Intellectual Property Protection in an Age of
Advancing Technology, 9 AM. U. J. INT'L L. & PoL'Y 465, 465 (citing Doriane Lambelet, Inter-
nationalizing the Copyright Code: An Analysis of Legislative Proposals Seeking Adherence to the Berne
Convention, 76 GEO. LJ. 467,470 (1987)). See discussion infra part II (defining intellectual prop-
erty rights and explaining how such rights are protected).
2. Doane, supra note 1, at 494-95. Adequate intellectual property protection generally
includes not only the fair grant and the [n]ominal ... protection of such rights, but also a
legal system which provides effective forms of relief for the infringement of such rights. See
RALPH H. FOLSOM ET AL, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TRANSACrIONS 613 (2d ed. 1991).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/jtrnlwp5&div=10&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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The North American Free Trade Agreement & (and) Protection of Intellectual Property: A Converging View
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