Abstract
The aim of this paper, organized in two parts, is to provide the reader for an introduction to the intellectual property. In the first part of this paper, we will focus what means IP and its main historical aspects and the transformations which the IP protection system passed through until the formation of WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) and the discussions that took place at this organization. In the second part, it will be focused the transformation of GATT (General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs) into the WTO (World Trade Organization), as well as a comparison between the main treaties concerning IP with Brazilian internal legislation (mainly Law 9.279/1996) concluding that any country wishing to keep its sovereignty during the XXI Century must take close care of all matters related to IP and can not accept the threats of industrialized countries, which try to turn IP into a tool to amplify the economical domination, while it is known that IP should be used to develop international trade and to diminish the astonishing differences between "industrialized" and "under development" countries. The indication of other publications about IP as well as the indication of the original version of the legal texts (treaties and laws), allow the reader to go deeper into this subject.