Protection of intellectual property and human rights during health emergencies: an assessment of the patent waiver proposal

被引:1
作者
Nambiar, Vishnu [1 ]
Kunte, Gayatri [1 ]
Bhat, Varadurga [1 ]
机构
[1] Christ Deemed Be Univ, Dept Econ, Bengaluru, India
关键词
COVID-19; Vaccine; Patent waiver; TRIPS; Compulsory licensing; Intellectual property rights; EXTERNALITIES; JUSTIFICATION;
D O I
10.1108/IJHRH-06-2022-0064
中图分类号
R19 [保健组织与事业(卫生事业管理)];
学科分类号
摘要
Purpose- Several countries, such as South Africa and India, believe that intellectual property rights (IPRs), including patents, impede the efficient increase in vaccine production to inoculate the global population as they scramble to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Their proposal at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to waive these pharmaceutical patents has been met with resistance from a few developed countries, who believe that the abrogation of IPRs is unnecessary, even during a pandemic. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the impact of a potential waiver of medical patents at the WTO versus the status quo of IPR laws in the global economy.Design/methodology/approach- This study examines key arguments from economic and moral standpoints regarding the provisions of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement and other related international agreements and their validity based on the premise of the internalisation of positive externalities posed by vaccines.Findings -The effectiveness of the TRIPS agreement in securing medical access is weak on account of the ability of profit-making multinationals to secure IP rights and on account of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a multilateral agreement that supports patent evergreening and a period of protection on test data which challenges the access to medicines and the fundamental human right to health.Originality/value-This study examines international IPRs through the lens of human rights and proposes a new system that balances the two.
引用
收藏
页码:436 / 448
页数:13
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