Compulsory Licensing And The Developing World

The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights is the most contentious part of the Final Act embodying the results of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, said B K Keayla, convenor of India's National Working Group on Patent Laws, at a meeting in Delhi recently (see also Marketletter November 25) to examine issues that may come up at the imminent Ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization in Singapore.

The western world must have been more than satisfied with the outcome of the GATT negotiations as a triumph of their tremendous pressure and diplomatic maneuvring to achieve new standards of free trade, said Mr Keayla. "It is claimed that all countries are supposed to benefit from the new framework. Paradoxically, in the area of technology, including the vital elements for human health, the Uruguay Round does not bring any freedom or respite from monopolies. The TRIPs agreement rather strengthens the monopolies and, particularly in human health care areas, increases the sufferings of the poor manifold," he told delegates.

Much of the argument over the patent system for TRIPs centers on the discussion of whether the agreement strikes the proper balance between private interests and the interests of the general public.