Essay On Intellectual Property

1257 Words3 Pages

Intellectual Property Law used to only protect art, music, and literature, but because of technological development, Intellectual Property Law now also protects a greater variety of innovations including designs, inventions, symbols, discoveries, and words. The phrase “intellectual property” was first known to be used in the late 1700’s; however, it was not widely talked about, nor was the Intellectual Property Law in actuality commonly implemented. Intellectual Property Rights slowly gained more attention by mid-1800’s after the Industrial Revolution had taken place: more companies were created, competition between corporations became fiercer, and owning unique innovations were crucial to winning the competition. However, as Intellectual Property …show more content…

Intellectual Property Protection in America was exclusively for American citizens and residents; foreign products were sold at very cheap prices. Charles Dickens, as an example among all foreign writers who had their books sold dirt cheap in America in the nineteenth century, was very annoyed by the fact that Americans can read his book without even paying a penny: pirated versions can be obtained anywhere. He began to argue at literary dinners that copyright protection is just as important and helpful to him as it is to American writers. But Americans in the literary world did not find his argument appealing and called him a money-grabber, they accused him of “mixing pleasure and business (“When Charles Dickens Fell out With America”).” Dickens was unable to persuade American writers and publishers until 1891 when American literary culture and industry began to thrive. American literature progressed so much that people began to reconsider Dickens’s advice: to protect foreign works’ intellectual property rights in America. Congress extended copyright protection to foreigners for copyright protection abroad for American authors in return, passing the International Copyright Act of 1891. The International Copyright Act of 1891 was the first act passed by Congress that protects Intellectual Property of foreigners in America. The passage of the International Copyright Act …show more content…

” Seeing the economic-development tactic that developing countries employ, it is in the developing countries’ best interests to stop them. Under vigorous lobbying by the United States and other developed countries, TRIPS, Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, was negotiated in 1994. TRIPS Agreement covers copyright, related rights, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs, patents, layout-designs of integrated circuits, and undisclosed information (“Overview of TRIPS”). In order to be a member of the World Trade Organization, a country must agree to the TRIPS Agreement and provide protection to intellectual property in the above areas. The ratification of TRIPS Agreement impacted the present situation of Intellectual Property because this is the agreement that enforced Intellectual Property Protection worldwide with 164 members (“Membership”), and the debate between developing countries and developed countries could only have been prompted because of the global implementation of Intellectual Property Rights Protection. If Intellectual Property Rights were never globally protected by the TRIPS Agreement, developing countries would have continued with imitating and would never have argued

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