Negotiations on the
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement are shrouded in secrecy. A report for
UNITAID (hosted and administered by the WHO), presents an interesting
assessment of ‘leaked’ provisions from TPP’s ambitious IPR agenda: http://www.unitaid.eu/images/marketdynamics/publications/TPPA-Report_Final.pdf
The report confirms
that the TPP IPR chapter essentially consolidates and enhances the reach of TRIPS-plus
provisions. It further suggests that TPP’s wide-reaching provisions on patents,
by tilting the scales both in terms of substance and procedure in favour of
patent applicants, may pose a threat to addressing issues relating to public
health.
India has so far
successfully resisted TRIPS-plus approaches under its Free Trade Agreements. The
UNITAID report could be a useful tool to enhance domestic preparedness to understand and deal with such provisions.
No comments:
Post a Comment