Category Access to Medicine

European Commission Trade Policy Review Includes a Request for Comments on The Digital Transition and Technological Development

Thanks to Ante Wessels for calling to my attention to an EU Trade Policy Review, which aims "to build a consensus around a fresh medium-term direction for EU trade policy, responding to a variety of new global challenges and taking into account the lessons learned from the coronavirus crisis." The review includes a request for comments from the public, with submissions due September 15.

WTO TRIPS Council Discusses National IP Measures and TRIPS Flexibilities in the Context of COVID-19

[Nirmalya Syam] A regular session of the TRIPS (Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Council was held virtually on 30 July 2020. This session offered the first opportunity for the World Trade Organization (WTO) Members to discuss intellectual property (IP) related issues in the context of COVID-19. Discussions focused on national measures taken by various countries in relation to IP in response to COVID-19 as well as the scope of the use of TRIPS flexibilities across the spectrum of various IP rights in order to ensure rapid development, scaled up manufacturing of and affordable, timely and equitable access to various technologies and products required to respond to COVID-19. South Africa made a strong general statement pointing to the need to consider new bold measures that will comprehensively and expeditiously address IP challenges.

WHO, WIPO, WTO launch updated study on access to medical technologies and innovation

[World Intellectual Property Organization press release] On 29 July, the Directors-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) presented a new edition of the Trilateral Study on Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation. Building on the first edition launched in 2013, the publication seeks to strengthen the understanding of the interplay between the distinct policy domains of health, trade and intellectual property (IP), and how they affect innovation and access to medical technologies, such as medicines, vaccines and medical devices. The second edition provides an improved, evidence-based foundation for policy debate and informed decision-making at a critical time for global health.

The COVID-19 Vaccine Race: Intellectual Property, Collaboration(s), Nationalism and Misinformation

[Ana Santos Rutschman] Abstract: Vaccines have long played a crucial role in the prevention, mitigation and eradication of infectious diseases. More than any other recent outbreak, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought the phenomenon of the vaccine race to the forefront of personal, national and global preoccupations. This symposium contribution examines the early features and takeaways of the COVID-19 vaccine race in four parts.

Coronavirus Pandemic: The Vaccine As Exit Strategy – A Global Hurdle Race Against Time with a Split Jury

[Francisco Colman Sercovich] ...The markets of the poorest countries, those most affected by prior pandemics thus far, are not profitable enough for wealthy countries-based multinationals to justify engaging in vaccine R&D. Beyond health-related imperatives, the large subsidies being swiftly granted by wealthy countries now in order to not just shorten schedules but also, perhaps for the most part, to ensure domestic production capacity and control of intellectual property rights, are a glaring recognition of the market failures involved and the ensuing need for public intervention -- albeit often tinted by a narrow-minded nationalism.

COVID and Copyright – Impact on Education and Libraries in South Africa

In his online newsletter, President Ramaphosa regularly speaks about unemployment, poverty and various socio-economic problems that are negatively affecting millions of people in our country. He stresses the importance of education, social upliftment and the need to improve the lives of people with disabilities. He stresses the importance of a reading culture and an employed public. He talks about the various Government initiatives and plans underway to address many of these issues. Yet, he fails to acknowledge that access to information and knowledge-sharing are key elements for socio-economic development and advancement, teaching and learning, as well as creativity and innovation in South Africa.

Lessons from COVID-19: Pharmaceutical Production as a Strategic Goal

[Carlos Correa] As often said, major crises bring about challenges but also opportunities. The strategic importance of a local pharmaceutical industry has been growingly recognized as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Developing countries should take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen their pharmaceutical industry, including biological medicines. Industrial policies would need to be reformulated under an integrated approach so as to expand value added & create jobs while addressing public health needs. South-South cooperation may also play an important role in increasing the contribution of developing countries to the global production of pharmaceuticals.

Special Section 301: US Interference with the Design and Implementation of National Patent Laws

[Carlos Correa] ... This paper examines the patent-related claims made by the USTR in relation to the developing countries on the USTR Priority Watch List. It argues that the regulations and practices identified by the USTR show a legitimate use of the flexibilities provided for by the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), and that the ignorance of the public interests of the countries concerned (for instance, with regard to access to affordable medicines) has contributed to the discredit (and ineffectiveness) of the Special Section 301.

Covid-19 Trade Secrets and Information Access: An Overview

[David Levine] The unprecedented Covid-19 (Covid) virus has brought to the forefront many challenges associated with exclusive rights, information sharing, and innovation. How do we get effective diagnostics, treatments and vaccines quickly and safely to the public? More specifically, how do we ensure that sufficient quantities are produced, that health products are affordable, and that they are equitably distributed globally? Among many challenges on the road to this outcome is the difficult question of how to handle trade secrets, namely, information that is valuable because others do not know it... For the public at large, Covid trade secrets raise two primary issues: (a) When do you have a Covid trade secret, and (2) Should access to that trade secret extend to competitors, civil society groups, and/or the public? Both are challenging questions, and the below presents a general overview of the framework for addressing each question.

COVID-19 Challenges Copyright Law and Library Lending

Major publishing houses including HarperCollins and Penguin are suing the non-profit Internet Archive for its National Emergency Library, set up to provide access to books during the COVID-19 shutdown. The Authors Guild has supported the publishers’ copyright action.

Who is Facilitating Fair Use in the time of a Pandemic?

[Mehtab Khan] The pandemic has put several pressures on the scope of fair use. Within a matter of weeks, millions of people lost physical access that they normally would have had through libraries and cultural institutions. Fair use was built to be flexible for circumstances like these. But now that users have changed the way that they are accessing copyrighted works, primarily through intermediaries, this has implicated copyright and fair use in novel ways.