scholarly journals THE LEGAL DUEL: THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND DRUG ACCESS ISSUES

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 345-349
Author(s):  
Jae Sundaram
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Patent Protection ◽  
Access To Medicines ◽  
Trips Agreement ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Drug Access ◽  
The World ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Chemical Products ◽  
Phd Thesis

The problem of access to medicines became acute with the entry of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement in 1995 and caught a number of developing countries around the world, unawares. Brenda P Mey’s book on access to drugs issues is a study of this particular problem faced in two developing countries, namely India and Kenya in the aftermath of the implementation of the TRIPS compliant patent legislation. The two developing countries taken up for study are geographically located in two different continents, namely Asia and Africa with differing backgrounds and strikingly similar problems. Dr Mey’s book is a brainchild of her PhD thesis of the same title, and a library reference work in every sense. It showcases her talents as a researcher and analyst on the subject matter of lack of access to medicines (in this case India and Kenya) as a direct result from the implementation of TRIPS Agreement, which grants an extended patent protection to pharmaceutical and chemical products besides others.

Optimal Policy for Biopharmaceutical Drugs Innovation and Access in India

2011 ◽  
pp. 74-114
Author(s):  
Rakhi Rashmi
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Optimal Policy ◽  
Patent Protection ◽  
Trips Agreement ◽  
Public Access ◽  
The Public ◽  
Transfer Of Technology ◽  
The People ◽  
The Right ◽  
Government Initiative

In theory, patents work by providing the inventor an incentive to invent in the first place and then to disclose. Disclosure to the public is rewarded by giving the inventor a monopoly. As product patent and higher patent protection has been advocated by Art 27.1 of the TRIPs agreement on the basis that for greater innovation through transfer of technology is a necessity in developing countries like India as it provides capital to fund expensive innovations, who are otherwise not be able to fund expensive innovations on its own. On the other hand, at the same time drugs are also related with the health of the people and to take care of the health of the people is the utmost priority of any Government and there are issues like accessibility with regard to strong patent protection to biopharma products and data exclusivity. Also as per Art 7 of the TRIPs transfer of technology has to occur to the developing countries in order to promote technological innovations, which is conducive to social and economic welfare. Therefore, striking the right balance between incentive and public access creates a tension is essential. This study suggests optimal policy (Patent and other regulations) to have a balance between biopharma drugs innovation and their access in India while complying with the provisions of the TRIPs agreement by broadly categorising variables such as (1) patent policy such as the scope of biotech patents and the extent of the right in terms of breadth and length; and (2) regulatory environment such as the taxation incentive, Investment policy, Government initiative for the development of this sector etc.

Chairman’s introduction

1986 ◽  
Vol 316 (1537) ◽  
pp. 193-194
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
Flood Protection ◽  
Irrigation Development ◽  
Experimental Station ◽  
The World ◽  
Rothamsted Experimental Station ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Opening Session

I am honoured and privileged to be Chairman for the opening session of this Royal Society Discussion Meeting on Scientific Aspects of Irrigation Schemes. It was originally intended that Dr Howard Penman, F. R. S., was to have been the Chairman for this session, but sadly he is no longer with us. However, his valuable work over many years at the Rothamsted Experimental Station on the physics of evaporation and the determination of the Penman equation lives on and is of continuing benefit to those concerned with irrigation development throughout the world. First, I would like to stress the importance of the subject of this discussion meeting to industrial and developing countries alike, and offer the following estimates of areas under irrigation and drainage-flood protection worldwide in support of this view.

Compulsory Licensing in Canada and Thailand: Comparing Regimes to Ensure Legitimate Use of the WTO Rules

2009 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina M. Lybecker ◽  
Elisabeth Fowler
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Trips Agreement ◽  
Essential Medicines ◽  
Compulsory Licensing ◽  
The World ◽  
Aids Crisis ◽  
Doha Declaration

The tension between economic policy and health policy is a longstanding dilemma, but one that was brought to the fore with the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement in 1994. The pharmaceutical industry has long argued that intellectual property protection (IPP) is vital for innovation. At the same time, there are those who counter that strong IPP negatively impacts the affordability and availability of essential medicines in developing countries. However, actors on both sides of the debate were in agreement that something needed to be done to address the HIV/AIDS crisis, especially in developing countries. In response to sustained and significant pressure from civil society groups, members of the World Trade Organization agreed to the Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health (the Doha Declaration) in 2001. The Declaration clarified that countries unable to manufacture the needed pharmaceuticals could obtain more affordable generics elsewhere if necessary.

scholarly journals Well-Known Trade Marks, Foreign Investment And Local Industry: A Comparison Of China And Indonesia

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Antons ◽  
Kui Hua Wang
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Trade Mark ◽  
Trips Agreement ◽  
Bad Faith ◽  
Trade Marks ◽  
Applicable Law ◽  
The Past ◽  
Government Incentives ◽  
The Subject

Strengthened protection for well-known trade marks in accordance with the TRIPS Agreement is an important issue for developing countries, which has led to trade pressures from industrialised nations in the past. ‘Trade mark squatting’, referring to the registration in bad faith of foreign well-known marks in order to sell them back to their original owners, is a much discussed phenomenon in this context. This article outlines the history and development of well-known trade marks and the applicable law in China and Indonesia. It looks not just at foreign and international brands subjected to ‘trade mark squatting’, but also at how local enterprises are using the system. Rather remarkably in view of the countries’ turbulent histories, local well-known marks have a long history and are well respected for their range of products. They are not normally affected by the ‘trade mark squatting’ phenomenon and are rarely the subject of disputes. Enhanced protection under the TRIPS Agreement is especially relevant for international brands and the article shows the approaches in the two countries. In China, government incentives assist the proliferation of nationally well-known and locally ‘famous’ marks. In Indonesia, lack of implementing legislation has left the matter of recognition to the discretion of the courts.

scholarly journals Improving the effectiveness of the special and differential treatment of the World Trade Organization

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Fitria Anindhita H. Wibowo
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Differential Treatment ◽  
Preferential Treatment ◽  
The World ◽  
Slow Progress ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Way

<p>This paper deals with the subject of Special and Differential Treatment (SDT) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a special right that allows developing countries preferential treatment by other member countries, particularly developed countries. The paper more specifically discusses the ineffectiveness of the SDT owing to its structure and formulation, and explores the factors that have caused such ineffectiveness. It touches upon the provisions and the ways in which they are formulated and implemented, which deemed to have lead to the ineffectiveness. An observation of the way that negotiations are conducted and the underlying interests that direct those negotiations also contribute to the slow progress of introducing changes to the provisions. Furthermore, this paper analyses and identifies steps that may be taken to improve the concept, formulation, and implementation of SDT, inter alia through amendments of the provisions and conduct of negotiations. The paper also looks at several dispute cases which highlight the ineffectiveness of the existing provisions in advancing the interests of developing countries in particular and in fulfilling its purpose in general.</p>

Biotechnological Patents and Morality

2011 ◽  
pp. 141-151
Author(s):  
Jakkrit Kuanpoth
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Patent Protection ◽  
Patent Law ◽  
Legal Analysis ◽  
The World ◽  
Micro Organisms

The chapter deals with ethical aspects of patent law and how the global patent regime helps or hinders the development of a developing country such as Thailand. More specifically, it discusses Article 27.3 of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which states that countries may exclude methods of medical treatment, plants and animals (but not micro-organisms) from patent protection. It also provides legal analysis on the issue of whether developing countries can maximize benefits from the TRIPS morality exception (Article 27.2) in dealing with biotechnological patenting.

The WTO Medicines Decision: World Pharmaceutical Trade and the Protection of Public Health

2005 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 317-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick M. Abbott
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Access To Medicines ◽  
Trips Agreement ◽  
Compulsory Licensing ◽  
The World ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
Pharmaceutical Trade ◽  
Doha Declaration

On November 14,2001, the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, meeting in Doha, Qatar, adopted the Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health (Doha Declaration). The declaration affirms that the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights “can and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of WTO Members’ right to protect public health and, in particular, to promote access to medicines for all,” and it reaffirms that the Agreement “provide[s] flexibility for this purpose.” The Doha Declaration mandated further negotiations on one important subject, providing in its paragraph 6: “We recognize that WTO Members with insufficient or no manufacturing capacities in the pharmaceutical sector could face difficulties in making effective use of compulsory licensing under the TRIPS Agreement. We instruct the Council for TRIPS to find an expeditious solution to this problem … .“

scholarly journals THE IMPACT OF TRIPS AGREEMENT ON ACCESS TO MEDICINES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: LEGAL CHALLENGES FACED BY THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY PARTICULARLY IN INDIA

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamini Shanmugaiah
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Pharmaceutical Industry ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights ◽  
Access To Medicines ◽  
Trips Agreement ◽  
Compulsory Licensing ◽  
Legal Challenges ◽  
The Impact

The impact of intellectual property rights in particular patent relating to public health has posed numerous challenges faced by developing countries who are members of World Trade Organisation (WTO). This paper examines the impact of TRIPS Agreement (Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights) in relation to developing countries in general with specification made to India. Significant changes brought about by the TRIPS flexibilities in particular usage of compulsory licensing and Bolar provision have to a certain extent benefited the developing countries in the field of public health during national emergency. The TRIPS flexibilities by way of amendment have helped countries that (do not possess manufacturing capacities) to import medicines. Some developing countries even utilised TRIPS flexibilities in an aggressive manner to enforce their right to have access to medicines from other countries for the benefit of their citizens. Further, TRIPs flexibilities have helped developing countries to manufacture generic products to make it affordable to the people. This paper specifically examines the impact of the TRIPS Agreement on Indian generic pharmaceutical industry and the legal challenges faced by Indian pharmaceutical industry after the implementation of product patent regime effective from 1 January 2005. The Patent Amendment Act 2005(India) will be looked into especially on the controversy in respect of Section 3(d) of the Patent Amendment Act 2005(India) on the requirement of patentability. The new Section 92A of the Patent Amendment Act 2005(India) on the grounds to invoke compulsory licensing will be analysed to see whether Indian government has applied restrictive or broad approach, as compulsory licensing is certainly an important legal

scholarly journals Access to Medicines, BRICS Alliances, and Collective Action

2008 ◽  
Vol 34 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 345-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter K. Yu
Keyword(s):  
World Trade ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Access To Medicines ◽  
Trips Agreement ◽  
Essential Medicines ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
The World ◽  
Doha Declaration ◽  
Special Arrangement

On December 6, 2005, shortly before the World Trade Organization (“WTO”) Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong, WTO member states agreed to accept a protocol of amendment to the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (“TRIPs Agreement”). This amendment sought to provide a permanent solution to implement paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health (“Doha Declaration”). If ratified, the new article 31bis of the TRIPs Agreement will allow countries with insufficient or no manufacturing capacity to import generic versions of on-patent pharmaceuticals.To facilitate the supply of essential medicines to countries with insufficient or no manufacturing capacity, article 31bis(3) creates a special arrangement not only for the affected countries, but also for those belonging to a regional trade agreement. Such an arrangement allows less developed countries to aggregate their markets to generate the purchasing power needed to make the development of an indigenous pharmaceutical industry attractive.

The Use of Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health (2001): A Review of Implementation Experiences in the Developing Countries

2012 ◽  
pp. 186-209
Author(s):  
Alexandra Bhattacharya
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
Access To Medicines ◽  
Trips Agreement ◽  
Compulsory Licensing ◽  
Trade Regime ◽  
Council Decision ◽  
Internal Barriers ◽  
Doha Declaration

Paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health (2001) recognized the difficulty of some WTO member states in using the compulsory licensing flexibility allowed in the TRIPS Agreement due to their lack of local pharmaceutical manufacturing capacities. However, there has been almost no implementation by countries of the subsequent WTO General Council decision of 30th August, 2003 which was designed to resolve this Paragraph 6 issue. This is due to the existence of various impediments – generally in the form of external and internal barriers. A comparative analysis is undertaken of the implementation of the Council Decision in two countries with varying levels of development and with different obligations with regards to enforcement of the TRIPS Agreement. It is shown that external barriers such as proliferation of bilateral agreements have more impeding effect on developing countries such as South Africa which are already part of the full TRIPS compliance regime. Conversely, internal barriers such as institutional and structural drawbacks have more of an impact in Least Developing Countries (LDCs) such as Bangladesh which have been given a transition period for TRIPS compliance and are not yet fully susceptible to external pressures of the international trade regime. The increased preference of countries to use alternative innovative mechanisms such as the Medicines Patent Pool to improve access to medicine outside the framework of the global IP/Trade regime reiterates the unworkability of the Council Decision in promoting access to medicines.

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