ABSTRACT
Section 301 is the section of the US Trade Act which is used by the US Trade Representative (USTR) to address foreign unfair trading practices, including unfair practices on intellectual property rights. Section 301 might produce a "Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)-plus" consequence without there being a formal agreement between the United States and the relevant developing country. This chapter analyses the intellectual property provisions of the Nicaraguan Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and the Jordan Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The United States is using BITs as a carrot to get developing countries to sign bilateral intellectual property agreements (BIPS). Bip includes agreements both specifically on intellectual property rights and trade agreements containing provisions on intellectual property rights. Bilateral intellectual property and investment agreements are part of a ratcheting process that is seeing intellectual property norms globalize at a remarkable rate.
