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Generally, intellectual property rights are governed by national law of each individual foreign country.  The U.S., however, has entered into a number of "reciprocal rights" international agreements to ensure minimum intellectual property rights for U.S. nationals in particular foreign countries.  The goal of these international agreements is to provide three basic privileges to all intellectual property applicants:  equivalent treatment of domestic and foreign citizens; certain minimum levels of protection must be available in all countries; and a right of "priority," whereby a filing date in one country serves as the basis for a filing date in other countries bound by the treaty.  A brief discussion of the international agreements affecting intellectual property follows.              

            Patents.  Foreign patent rights of U.S. nationals are protected by several multilateral international agreements.   The United States and most other industrialized nations subscribe to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).  A single PCT application receives an initial search and examination by a central examining authority, and the considerable expense of filing applications in various nations is deferred for up to 30 months.  Under the Paris Convention, a U.S. inventor may file a foreign patent application or a PCT application within one year of the filing date of the corresponding U.S. patent application, and the U.S. filing date will be recognized ("given priority") by the foreign country.  This priority right is quite important, because most foreign countries require a priority patent application to be filed prior to any act which makes the invention "available to the public."  The Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (T.R.I.P.s) Agreement of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (G.A.T.T.) requires certain minimum standards of patent protection in each signatory nation, including:  a minimum patent term of twenty years from the filing date; a description of the invention in such a clear and concise manner that those skilled in the art could make and use the invention; the disclosure of the invention's "best mode"; and granting the patentee the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale or importing infringing products or processes.  The North American Free Trade Agreement (N.A.F.T.A.) also provides similar protection between North American signatory nations.  

            Trademarks.  The Paris Convention applies to trademarks as well as patents.  The Paris Convention provides that each member nation:  treat foreigners the same as their own citizens, grant minimum levels of registrability and protection, and provide for a six-month right of priority among member nations.  The T.R.I.P.s Agreement of G.A.T.T. raises the threshold of the minimum level of protection provided by the Paris Convention. 

            Copyright.  Copyright protection for foreigners is ensured through three international agreements:  The Berne Convention provides national treatment, minimum levels of protection and priority between nations for copyright protection.  T.R.I.P.s extends copyright protection to computer programs and compilations of data.  The Universal Copyright Convention (U.C.C.) is similar to the Berne Convention but provides for different levels of minimum protection.

            Trade Secrets.  Trade secrets are afforded the least international protection among intellectual property.  T.R.I.P.s requires all member nations to protect "undisclosed information," which may significantly impact international trade secret protection.