scholarly journals Trade, Medicines & Human Rights:  Protecting Access to Medicines  in Fiji & the Pacific

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sarah Meads
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
Access To Medicines ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Pacific Region ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Health And Economic Development

<p>Restrictive provisions in international trade agreements, particularly trade related intellectual property rights (TRIPS), are impeding access to essential medicines in developing countries, making medicines unaffordable to poor people. The extent to which trade restrictions have adverse effects on health and economic development in Fiji and the Pacific region may depend critically on how Pacific Island Countries cope with the forces of regionalism and the realities of joining the global trading system, where there are pressures to make concessions in TRIPS. Yet awareness is relatively low. A central question to be asked here is what underlying factors shape how Pacific islanders view trade and access to medicines, notably in the area of trade, health, local culture, and human rights and what are the regional and national responses to mitigate potential trade impediments. By combining a public health lens with a multi-sector review of population health trends, intellectual property rights law, trade policymaking, and human rights, this research elaborates multidisciplinary findings that are usually less evident because they are conventionally researched and managed on a sector-by-sector basis. The findings suggest human rights are less significant in this debate, with challenges associated with small island developing states, local cultural preferences and pressures from regionalism, having more of a direct influence. The combined effect of these factors may be creating a unique context that is leading the Pacific region not to deal with these issues as well as some other developing countries might. This paper also discusses the emergence of two new challenges for human rights theory; to promote the collective rights of individual countries in the 'new regionalism', and the relationship with traditional knowledge.</p>

scholarly journals Trade, Medicines & Human Rights:  Protecting Access to Medicines  in Fiji & the Pacific

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sarah Meads
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
Access To Medicines ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Pacific Region ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Health And Economic Development

<p>Restrictive provisions in international trade agreements, particularly trade related intellectual property rights (TRIPS), are impeding access to essential medicines in developing countries, making medicines unaffordable to poor people. The extent to which trade restrictions have adverse effects on health and economic development in Fiji and the Pacific region may depend critically on how Pacific Island Countries cope with the forces of regionalism and the realities of joining the global trading system, where there are pressures to make concessions in TRIPS. Yet awareness is relatively low. A central question to be asked here is what underlying factors shape how Pacific islanders view trade and access to medicines, notably in the area of trade, health, local culture, and human rights and what are the regional and national responses to mitigate potential trade impediments. By combining a public health lens with a multi-sector review of population health trends, intellectual property rights law, trade policymaking, and human rights, this research elaborates multidisciplinary findings that are usually less evident because they are conventionally researched and managed on a sector-by-sector basis. The findings suggest human rights are less significant in this debate, with challenges associated with small island developing states, local cultural preferences and pressures from regionalism, having more of a direct influence. The combined effect of these factors may be creating a unique context that is leading the Pacific region not to deal with these issues as well as some other developing countries might. This paper also discusses the emergence of two new challenges for human rights theory; to promote the collective rights of individual countries in the 'new regionalism', and the relationship with traditional knowledge.</p>

scholarly journals Die Globalisierung von Rechten an geistigem Eigentum und der Nord-Süd-Konflikt

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (126) ◽  
pp. 103-125
Author(s):  
Michael Frein
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
World Trade Organisation ◽  
Access To Medicines ◽  
Trips Agreement ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Rich

The article discusses the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as an instrument for the globalisation of intellectual property rights. It focuses on the provisions of TRIPs Art 27.3 (b), which contains global rules for the patenting of life, and the question of access to medicines for the poor in developing countries. By analysing the underlying economic and political interests of the industrial countries and multinational corporations, which have formed the provisions of the TRIPs- Agreement, it is argued that higher standards in intellectual property rights, especially patents, advantage the rich and disadvantage the poor. Therefore there is an urgent need to change the TRIPs-Agreement in line with the interests and in favour of developing countries. The article shows that there are several suggestions for the current negotiations made not only by NGOs, but also by governments of developing countries.

scholarly journals Medical Patents and the Right to Health – From Monopoly Control to Open Access Innovation and Provision of Medicines

2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-182
Author(s):  
Philippe Cullet ◽  
Hu Yuanquiong
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
Patent Protection ◽  
Access To Medicines ◽  
Right To Health ◽  
Trips Agreement ◽  
Human Right ◽  
The Right

The coming into force of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in the mid-1990s led to a massive strengthening of intellectual property rights in the global South. This was particularly controversial concerning restrictions on access to medicines and set the stage for spirited debates concerning the impacts of medical patents on the realisation of the right to health in the context of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Efforts to reconcile the right to health and medical patents led to a minor amendment of the TRIPS Agreement that has hardly had any impact on the ground while further strengthening of patent protection was obtained, for instance, through bilateral agreements. In the human rights field, attempts to strengthen the protection afforded by the right to health have been partly diluted by efforts to strengthen the claims of inventors under human rights law. At this juncture, two main elements need to be taken forward. The first is to revisit our understanding of the human right to health to ensure, for instance, that there is no compromise in the liberal promise of universality, in particular access to medicines for every person who needs them. The second element is the need to rethink the way in which legal incentives are given to innovate. In a context where patents are the only recognised legal incentive to innovate in the medical field, this discourages the development of medicines for diseases that may affect mostly poor patients, since companies need to recoup their investments. Further, it militates against giving attention to other systems of medicine whose innovations can usually not be protected under the patent system, even where treatments are effective. Keywords: TRIPS Agreement, Access to Medicines, Right to Health, ICESCR

Antiglobal Challenges to Marketing in Developing Countries: Exploring the Ideological Divide

2005 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terrence H. Witkowski
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
Dietary Patterns ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Development Theory ◽  
History Of Development ◽  
History Of

Antiglobalization critics have accused marketing in developing countries of undermining local cultures, placing intellectual property rights ahead of human rights, contributing to unhealthy dietary patterns and unsafe food technologies, and promoting unsustainable consumption. Following a brief review of the history of development theory and practice, the author describes these four challenges and presents rebuttals, drawing from the philosophy of marketing. Subsequent sections explore some areas of similarity between antiglobal and marketing thought, as well as some further ideological differences.

Climate Change Resilience and Technology Transfer: The Role of Intellectual Property

2011 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 485-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Monirul Azam
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Technology Transfer ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Climate Change Resilience

AbstractThe impact of climate change has emerged as a major threat to sustainable development and poverty reduction efforts in many less developed countries, in particular in the least developed countries (LDCs) such as the countries in the African region and Small Island States. New technologies are necessary for the stabilization and reduction of atmospheric greenhouse gases and to enhance the capacity of poor countries to respond to shifts in resource endowments that are expected to accompany climate change. Therefore, technology transfer, particularly in the case of access to environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) is widely seen as an integral part of climate change resilience. Concerted efforts will be required for the development, deployment and transfer of ESTs to reduce vulnerability and increase resilience to the risks of climate change. Thus, development and transfer of ESTs has emerged as a fundamental building block in the crafting of a post-Kyoto 2012 global regime for climate change resilience. In this context, the role of intellectual property rights (IPRs) has been the subject of increased attention in the climate change discussions since the Bali conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2007. Different conflicting views and positions have emerged pointing to the role of IPRs in either facilitating or hindering the transfer of ESTs. The dissemination of ESTs from developed countries to developing countries and LDCs is a very complicated process often simplified by the argument that patent waiver for ESTs or allowing copying with weak intellectual property rights will help the developing countries and LDCs to better cope with the climate change problems. This article tries to examine the relationship between the IPRs (with special reference to patent system) and the resilience discourse with a starting point in the terms of social and ecological resilience.

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