The TRIPS Agreement requires Member countries to make patents available for any inventions, whether products or processes, in all fields of technology without discrimination, subject to the normal tests of novelty, inventiveness and industrial applicability.
Seven types of intellectual property rights are now covered by the TRIPS Agreement: copyright and related rights, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs, layout diagrams of integrated circuits, patents and trade secrets.
Members must provide for enforcement procedures.
World Trade Organization (WTO) - Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) (1994)