**3. The World Trade Organization (WTO) and TRIPS**

The WTO, the primary rule-making body for international trade. In order to set universal standard of protection and enforcement of IPRs among the WTO (World Trade Organization) member states, an influential international treaty came into existence which was termed as Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The TRIPS Agreement negotiated during the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) between 1989 and 1990 and is administered by the WTO. The trade in services covered by the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). These three agreements have been described as the three pillars of the WTO [18, 19]. The TRIPS Agreement aims to set minimum standards in intellectual property protection. TRIPS is considered to be the most important international agreement on IP, incorporating into it much substantive law from previous international agreements, such as the Berne Convention and Paris Convention [20]. These agreements and treaties include the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) treaty. The main contentions in TRIPs include: patentable subject matter (for example genetically engineered products, food, medical and agricultural products, biological processes etc.), duration of protection, limitations on rights, and legal enforcement of rights [21].
