TRIPs Transition Period "Far Too Long:" IFPMA

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Associations has noted its concerns over some aspects of the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) agreement, which came into effect on January 1, 1995 as part of the Final Act of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

The IFPMA applauds the fact that TRIPs makes medicines patentable, removes discrimination between fields of technology, and requires effective enforcement procedures against infringements and equal treatment between imports and domestic products. However, it is seriously concerned about the transitional arrangements for implementing TRIPs. All countries, regardless of economic development, may delay these obligations until January 1, 1996. Developing countries and those moving from a centrally-planned to a market economy are granted another four years, and if a developing country does not provide patent protection by the end of this five-year period, such protection can be delayed for a further five years.

The industry says TRIPs implementation must be accelerated. Intellectual property is key to attracting foreign direct investment, it says; Italy, Japan and Korea are examples of this. An effective patent system encourages local inventive and innovative activity, and enables smaller enterprises to compete with large, established companies. It promotes technology transfer into the country by reducing a foreign patent owner's concern about marketing an invention in the country, and encourages industry to commercialize inventions in that country.