PHA-Exchange> How intellectual property law and international trade agreementsaffect access to ARVs

[Claudio]

From: <araceli_castro-sanjuan at hms.harvard.edu>

How do intellectual property law and international trade agreements affect 
access to antiretroviral therapy?

PLoS Med 3(8): e332; 2006.

Michael Westerhaus (Brigham & Women's Hospital) and
Arachu Castro (Harvard Medical School)

Available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0030332


"In this paper, we examine the key areas of concern regarding access to ART 
related to US-negotiated bilateral, regional, and multilateral trade 
agreements. We first examine developments in IP law in the wake of WTO's 
Doha Declaration, which affirmed the priority of public health over the 
protection of patents. We look specifically at those developments with 
particular salience for health related issues and link this history with the 
current context of access to antiretrovirals (ARVs) worldwide. Next we map 
out the key claims about, and questions surrounding, the role of patent law, 
followed by a critical look at the impact of trade agreements on IP law and 
their potential threat to global health. Finally, we suggest policy and 
advocacy strategies to ensure and promote access to ART in the era of US-led 
attempts to strengthen global IP law through the vehicle of "free" trade 
agreements."