In December 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which featured 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). These goals were developed at a time when countries were busy negotiating TRIPS-plus bilateral, regional and plurilateral agreements. This chapter explores how developing countries could realign TRIPS-plus intellectual property negotiations with the SDGs. It begins by discussing the intersection between these goals and the development of the intellectual property system—at both the domestic and international levels.

The chapter then outlines the direct and indirect impediments that the recent and ongoing negotiations for TRIPS-plus trade agreements have placed on the promotion and fulfilment of the SDGs. These agreements include the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. In view of the potential dangers and complications caused by TRIPS-plus intellectual property negotiations, this chapter concludes by identifying six distinct strategies that developing countries may deploy to ensure greater promotion and fulfilment of the SDGs.