TRIPS and Climate Change in the International Economic Order

This article analyses the relationship between the industrial property protection system, as introduced by the TRIPS Agreement, and international arrangements relating to climate change. It aims at providing a picture of how legal, structural and policy-related divergences and convergences between both domains influence the achievement of environmental goals. The difficulties in pursuing climate change mitigation objective are often attributable to the exclusivity of patent rights, resulting in unavailability of needed technologies. Patent law, as one of the elements of the climate change mitigation scenario, if supported by adequate regulatory framework and effectively employed within the context of the climate change normative structure (the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol), can contribute to achieving mitigation and adaptation goals