Intellectual property
Health systems-related determinants of access
There are different determinants of access and any lack of access to medicines or other medical technologies is rarely due entirely to a single determinant. The following sections discuss the main determinants of access that are linked to health IP and trade.
Guide to TRIPS documents
The TRIPS Agreement includes a set of transparency mechanisms which require members to furnish extensive information about their IP laws and policies and details about how IPRs are administered and enforced in their territories; these laws are also reviewed in detail in the TRIPS Council. In addition the TRIPS Council has itself established a series of reporting processes concerning specific aspects of members’ IP systems. The operation of these transparency mechanisms in the years since 1995 has yielded a uniquely comprehensive and systematic body of information that now covers some 130 jurisdictions (essentially all WTO members other than LDC members for whom these provisions do not yet apply).
Foreword
International cooperation on public health is inherently multi-dimensional with a focus on building effective health systems. It is dynamic and responsive to the demands of countries around the globe. Towards this goal the World Health Organization (WHO) the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) have been working closely together for almost two decades to support global endeavours to improve health outcomes.
Acknowledgements
Preparation of the Handbook was a collective endeavour by the WTO Intellectual Property Government Procurement and Competition Division drawing on years of practical feedback from technical assistance and training programmes prepared and delivered by the Division in particular the material prepared for the first version of the TRIPS module of WTO eTraining. The former director of the Division Mr Adrian Otten substantively reviewed and enhanced earlier versions of this material.
Public health policy
This chapter outlines the policy framework for public health intellectual property (IP) international trade and competition focusing on how they intersect with particular emphasis on medical technologies. The framework described comprises the policy economic and legal features of IP and innovation systems regulation of medical products competition policy and relevant trade policy measures including import tariffs rules on trade in services government procurement and regional and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs). In addition it outlines the human rights dimension of access to medicines.
Conclusion
Le monde tel que nous le connaissons aujourd’hui a été façonné par les innovations technologiques. Une nouvelle technologie la chaîne de blocs – technologie de registres distribués – a été accueillie par beaucoup avec enthousiasme et optimisme comme le prochain grand facteur de changement. La chaîne de blocs qui permet de diffuser des données et des informations numériques de manière sûre transparente et immuable sans avoir à recourir à un tiers de confiance unique est une technologie particulièrement prometteuse. Elle pourrait permettre aux individus et aux entreprises du monde entier d’effectuer des transactions de manière plus efficace plus économique et plus rapide tout en conservant un haut niveau de sécurité. Elle pourrait avoir un impact considérable sur la façon de réaliser les opérations commerciales qu’il s’agisse des transactions financières ou des transactions commerciales transfrontières physiques en réduisant les coûts de traitement de vérification de suivi de coordination et de transport grâce à la simplification et à la numérisation des processus qui impliquent de multiples parties prenantes et qui étaient jusqu’à présent fortement tributaires du papier. Elle pourrait réduire la fraude permettre une meilleure administration des droits de propriété intellectuelle renforcer la traçabilité et la confiance dans les chaînes de valeur et offrir de nouvelles possibilités aux petites entreprises.
Copyright: A Nordic perspective
During the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations I worked at the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture where my main responsibilities included copyright law and policy. I participated in coordination of the Nordic countries (Finland Iceland Norway and Sweden) in the capitals and represented the Nordic countries in the later stages of the TRIPS negotiations in Geneva. During the same period I was also actively involved in WIPO’s work on copyright and the protection of layout-designs of integrated circuits and also contributed to the intergovernmental work under various other international and European fora such as the International Convention for the Protection of Performers Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations (Rome Convention). Since January 1995 I have served at the WTO Secretariat IP Division.
Introduction to the TRIPS Agreement
This chapter provides an overview of the TRIPS Agreement. It first explains the historical and legal background of the Agreement and its place in the World Trade Organization (WTO). It then turns to the general provisions and basic principles as well as other provisions and institutional arrangements that apply to all the categories of intellectual property rights (IPRs) covered by TRIPS. Chapters II to VIII then discuss each of these categories their essential principles and their administration and enforcement in more detail.
Copyright: An Indian perspective
My unexpected participation in the TRIPS negotiations as my country’s sole negotiator on copyright remains one of the unforgettable experiences of a 38-year civil service career.
Traditional knowledge and traditional medicine
Traditional medicine has long been used as a mainstay of health care for many populations. This section reviews a number of issues concerning traditional medical systems with respect to IP regulatory systems and trade.
Overcoming market failure: The challenge of neglected diseases
There is a particular problem in incentivizing medical R&D for diseases that disproportionately affect poor people in developing countries as the market mechanisms such as intellectual property rights (IPRs) do not work in this case. A key factor is the limited purchasing power of both governments and patients in the countries where such diseases predominate; unlike for other diseases there is no positive spillover from drug development targeted at more affluent markets. These diseases are called neglected diseases and this section deals with the challenges of medical innovation in this area.