Access to generic antiretrovirals: inequality, intellectual property law, and international trade agreements.
نویسندگان
چکیده
The governments of numerous low- and middle-income countries are currently instituting rules that strengthen changes in domestic intellectual property legislation, often made to conform to the mandates of "free" trade agreements signed with the United States. These measures frequently include intellectual property provisions that extend beyond the patent law standards agreed upon in recent World Trade Organization negotiations, which promised to balance the exigencies of public health and patent holders. In this paper, we analyze the concern that this augmentation of patent law standards will curtail access to essential medicines, particularly as they relate to the AIDS pandemic. We critically examine the potential threats posed by trade agreements vis-à-vis efforts to provide universal access to antiretroviral medications and contend that the conditioning of economic development upon the strengthening of intellectual property law demands careful attention when public health is at stake. Finally, we examine advocacy successes in challenging patent law and conclude that greater advocacy and policy strategies are needed to ensure the protection of global health in trade negotiations.
منابع مشابه
How Do Intellectual Property Law and International Trade Agreements Affect Access to Antiretroviral Therapy?
I n recent years, globalization has forced a deeper appreciation of the relationship between intellectual property (IP) law and global health. The threat of an emergent avian bird fl u pandemic led to calls for Roche to relax patent restrictions on oseltamivir, a drug with potential effi cacy against bird infl uenza [1,2]. In the context of the fall 2001 anthrax attacks, the US government faced...
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متن کاملThe examination of intellectual right of medicinal plants and the issue of bio-theft due to agreement of TRIPS
Over the past two decades, the role of intellectual property rights in all areas of science and technology has exploded globally– primarily due to the rules prescribed by the World Trade Organization’s TRIPS and by bilateral/regional trade agreements. The TRIPS agreement obligates all WTO member countries to adopt and enforce minimum standards of intellectual property rights. The TRIPS agreemen...
متن کاملنقش حقوق رقابت در بهبود سلامت عمومی
Competition as an important incentive for innovation leads to freedom of choice and price reduction and contributes to more rapid provision of new and effective therapeutic technologies. On the other hand, anti-competitive practices adopted by economic undertakings in the health sector may disrupt competition including limited access to medicines and medical services or increase in their price....
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عنوان ژورنال:
- Cadernos de saude publica
دوره 23 Suppl 1 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2007