Although digital trade is growing exponentially internationally, the “regulatory restrictions on international digital trade are growing equally, if not more, rapidly” (Lovelock, 2020). This report argues that World Trade Organization rules are much needed to limit these restrictions on digital trade by drawing agreed lines that clarify which restrictions are appropriate and which are not.

A deadly global pandemic and other unique circumstances have combined to present the World Trade Organization (WTO) with an opportunity to modernize its rules for the trade-related aspects of intellectual property (IP) rights. This paper looks at the potential for reform of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement).