Intellectual property
Intellectual Property Provisions in Regional Trade Agreements
This is a revision and update of "Intellectual Property Provisions in Regional Trade Agreements" by Valdés and Runyowa (2012). This paper adjusts the methodology applied to assess the intellectual property (IP) provisions contained in regional trade agreements (RTAs) and the aggregation of such provisions into groups; it also updates the RTAs surveyed from 194 in November 2010 to 245 in February 2014. New information contained in this revision relates to three IP-related investment and non-violation provisions in RTAs. The methodological revisions and new information result in changes to the assessment of the IP content of certain RTAs while the update reveals a growing and increasingly complex network of RTAs with IP content. This revision also provides new insights into possible improvements to the methodological toolkit for analysing IP in RTAs. The paper assembles detailed information about the IP provisions contained in active RTAs notified to the WTO. The goal was to expand beyond the more commonly studied RTAs to review the full array of agreements notified to the WTO and thus to enable consideration of the implications of this diverse range of norm-setting activity for the multilateral system. Mapping of the IP content in RTAs involving parties from all regions and levels of development is necessary to better understand crosscutting trends in RTAs and how all the parts of the international IP framework influence each other. The methodology followed involved surveying each RTA in the sample to determine whether it made reference to any of 32 different IP-related provisions. Two of the three IP-related provisions new to this revision and update are investment-related IP provisions while the other concerns dispute settlement for non-violation claims. The relevant provisions are discussed in detail and summary statistics used to identify patterns over time and by continent level of economic development and selected traders. The number of IP provisions in each RTA is then used to classify agreements according to their level of IP content. The first significant identified trend is the acceleration in the conclusion of RTAs with IP provisions after the creation of the WTO and the entry into force of the WTO TRIPS Agreement. A significant proportion of those RTAs contain some type of IP provision but the number and type of those provisions vary widely across agreements. A majority of the RTAs surveyed include general IP provisions while a smaller proportion contains explicit provisions on specific fields of IP law such as geographical indications patents trademarks and copyright. The inclusion of even more detailed provisions elaborating on specific areas of IP law is less common. As a result the actual IP content of RTAs differs greatly across the sample with slightly less than half of these agreements found to havesubstantive IP standards that can be classified as moderate or high. The RTAs containing a high level of IP provisions are characterized by a hub-and-spoke architecture in which the wording and structure of IP provisions converged around the RTAs of specific countries or blocs. The largest systems are grouped around the EFTA the European Union and the United States. The hub-and-spoke architecture seems to have encouraged the convergence of domestic IP regimes among the respective RTA signatories. The mechanics of this potentially crucial process and its economic implications require further investigation.
WIPO-WTO colloquium papers 2014
The WIPO-WTO Colloquium Papers is a peer-reviewed academic journal published jointly by the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Trade Organization each year since 2010. Providing a uniquely representative and diverse showcase for emerging IP scholarship from across the globe the journal aims to stimulate analysis and debate on intellectual property (IP) issues particularly of interest to developing countries. And it offers an avenue for the dissemination of a broader and more geographically diverse and representative range of scholarship than is common in much of the academic literature on IP law and policy.
WIPO-WTO colloquium papers 2013
The WIPO-WTO Colloquium Papers is a peer-reviewed academic journal published jointly by the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Trade Organization each year since 2010. Providing a uniquely representative and diverse showcase for emerging IP scholarship from across the globe the journal aims to stimulate analysis and debate on intellectual property (IP) issues particularly of interest to developing countries. And it offers an avenue for the dissemination of a broader and more geographically diverse and representative range of scholarship than is common in much of the academic literature on IP law and policy.
The global burden of disease and global health risks
The development of effective strategies to improve global health and react to changes in the global burden of disease (GBD) requires an understanding of the GBD and of GBD-related trends coupled with an understanding of major health risks. These are introduced in this section.
Public health and medical technologies: The imperative for international cooperation
Health is a fundamental and universal human right. The attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health is the foundational objective of the WHO.
Foreword by the Directors-General
Public health has been a priority for global action for many years. The right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health is a universal human right just as the burden of disease is shared by all humanity.
Access to medical technologies: The context
This chapter offers an overview of the main determinants of access related to health systems intellectual property (IP) and trade policy. Many other very important socio-economic factors determine access to medical technologies – factors such as health financing the importance of a qualified health care workforce poverty and cultural issues – and lack of access is rarely due entirely to a single determinant but these are not addressed in this study as they are not part of the interface between health IP and trade.
The current R&D landscape
This section reviews the challenges faced by today’s pharmaceutical industry against the background of its evolution outlined in the previous section.
Sharing of influenza viruses and access to vaccines and other benefits
A highly significant development in itself given its central role in preparing for a potential pandemic the PIP Framework also serves to illustrate many of the points made in earlier sections of this chapter relating to the role of public-sector institutions and networks capacity-building in medical innovation sharing of benefits of the fruits of innovation and dealing with IP in a public health context.
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.
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.
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.