Enhancing Access to Medicines: Interpreting Exceptions to Patent Rights in Article 30 TRIPS
Enhancing Access to Medicines:
Interpreting Exceptions to Patent Rights in Article 30 TRIPS
Lowri Davies
 
ABSTRACT: Ensuring access to essential medicines is a significant challenge for states. Concerns around strict patent protection becoming a barrier to access presents a potential tension between states’ international obligations set out in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and states’ human rights obligations in relation to health. Such concerns exist not only with regard to TRIPS, but also other bilateral and regional free trade agreements. This article examines how such tensions could be addressed through treaty interpretation, in particular the extent to which TRIPS could be interpreted to serve public health objectives. Specific focus is placed on the exceptions to patent protection in Article 30 of TRIPS to evaluate whether the WTO Dispute Settlement Body could apply a broader interpretation of Article 30, in light of the objectives and purpose of TRIPS outlined in Articles 7 and 8, for the purpose of enhancing access to cheaper generic medicines.

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