ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the attitude of less developed countries (LDCs) with respect to the debate on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPs) at the Uruguay Round. It addresses the evolution of the debate at the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) level. The chapter presents the economics of intellectual property rights protection from the point of view of LDCs. The LDCs stressed that the main problems with the multilateral trade system, from their point of view, were related to the lack of compliance by industrialized countries with GATT disciplines in traditional trade areas. The Uruguay Round can be interpreted as a new attempt to promote universality in the protection of intellectual property rights. The major beneficiaries of better intellectual property rights protection, at least in the short run, would be transnational corporations. The economic arguments for intellectual property rights protection in the Third World are built around the concept of self-interest.
