SupremeCourt

  • Subscribe to our RSS feed.
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Facebook
  • Digg

Thursday, February 28, 2013

LDCs seek indefinite extension of transition period for TRIPS compliance

Posted on 5:11 PM by Unknown
East African countries and other least developed countries (LDCs) are lobbying for an extension of transition period beyond the current date of July 1, 2013 to become TRIPS compliant. The LDC groups’ request for extension of transition period will be discussed in the WTO council meet scheduled to be held next week. This proposal for extension has garnered support from more than 300 civil society organizations. 

The WTO recognizes least developed countries as those comprising more than 880 million people (approximately 12% of the world population) but accounting for less than 2 % of world GDP and about 1 % of global trade in goods. The LDCs are a particularly vulnerable group and face a host of problems stemming from extreme poverty. A complete list of LDCs can be found here. Patent protection increases costs and renders many essential medicines inaccessible to the LDCs. 

Brief history 

The WTO agreement on Trade related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) was signed in 1995 and set global minimum protection standards for almost all forms of Intellectual Property (IP) including patents. The member countries were required to implement TRIPS provisions before prescribed dates depending upon their developmental status. Developed countries had to become TRIPS compliant by Jan 1, 1996. Developing countries which did not have product patent regime were given 10 years’ time until Jan 1, 2005 to implement TRIPS provisions. While the initial time frame given to LDCs for TRIPS compliance was until 1st January 2006, Article 66 provides that “Council for TRIPS shall, upon duly motivated request by a least-developed country member, accord extensions of this period.” Subsequently, two extensions have been granted to LDCs. 

The DOHA declaration extended the transition period for LDCs up to January 1, 2016 but only for TRIPS obligations related to pharmaceutical product patents and test data. 

The second extension granted by TRIPS council in 2005 provided that LDCs could take time until 1st July 2013 to implement TRIPS provisions (all provisions in general not just pharmaceutical obligations). The second extension was subject to the clause that once LDCs have implemented laws as a part of TRIPS compliance, they cannot retract those laws (“no-roll back” clause).

Image from here

Proposal by LDCs 

Recently, Haiti on behalf of other LDCs submitted a proposal to extend this the transition period for implementing all TRIPS provisions. This proposal would not be subject to any clause requiring the LDCs to preserve their existing IP laws (“no-roll back” clause). Also, this time the LDCs seek an indefinite transition period. Given that developing a viable technological base is a long term process and it is impossible to determine when the individual members will overcome constraints and achieve that goal, the LDCs have requested that the transition period should remain in force until the member is "no longer considered a LDC." 

This proposal was met with reluctance by developed countries who believe that a blanket extension for all LDCs might not be appropriate. Also they are not in favor of an infinite extension period. 

In spite of being a developing country with reasonable infrastructure and technological base, India was grappling with the product patent regime enforced by TRIPS so one can imagine the problems these LDCs would face!! 

Also it is extremely important that LDCs have the flexibility to independently manufacture affordable essential medicines (without IP hindrance) or able to import medicines without requiring to apply for a compulsory license every time. Extending the transition period will make the LDCs (especially East Africa) particularly attractive to generic drug makers from India and this will facilitate adequate supply of affordable medicare. In fact generics like Cipla have set up their plants in Africa and extending the transition period would attract investments from even more generic companies. 

Fire in the blood, writer-director Dylan Mohan Gray’s touching documentary shows how millions of people die in AIDS afflicted-Africa because they lack access to essential anti-retro-viral therapy. Swaraj is going to post on this topic shortly. 

LDCs represent weakest and poorest segment of the international community and considering the huge disease burden (HIV, Hepatitis) on LDCs, adequate measures should be adopted for protecting health of people in the LDC community.
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
Posted in Doha Declaration, Madhulika, TRIPS | No comments
Newer Post Older Post Home

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Popular Posts

  • IPAB on Payyannur Ring
    [*S lightly long post] Background: The Intellectual Property Appellate Board (“ IPAB ”), in its recent order in SubhashJewellery v. Payyan...
  • Satyajit Ray's sketches and copyright controversies
    A copyright row appears to have started between the Satyajit Ray Society and the Delhi Art Gallery, that is organising a countrywide exhibit...
  • Ghost Post: Samsung v. Apple Presidential Enforcement Veto
    SpicyIP subscribers recently received a short blurb from Shamnad on this FT article regarding the hypocrisy of stamping 'national inter...
  • Dorling Kindersley v. Sanguine Technical Publishers
    A recent Delhi High Court order passed on 21 January, 2013  with respect to copyright licensing has come to our notice. An analysis of the j...
  • SpicyIP Tidbit: ALCS August Distribution
    In the UK, the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society is an organization run and owned by writers that collects money due to its mem...
  • Delhi HC rejects the "Hot News" Doctrine: A Summary
    The applicability of the Hot News doctrine was rejected recently in a landmark ruling delivered by Justice Bhat of the Delhi HC. This post i...
  • IP Research Assistant position at IIT, Madras
    Feroz Ali Khader, MHRD IP Chair at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, is looking for research assistants to work on various is...
  • Thalappakatti biryani trademark row
    The southern district of Dindigal in Tamil Nadu occupies a special place in the hearts of biryani lovers. In the late 1950s, one Nagasamy N...
  • SpicyIP Tidbit: GI for Pedana Kalamkari Art Form
    Image from here Recently, as The Hindu reports , Pedana Kalamkari art form received GI protection. Members of Vegetable Dye Hand Block Kalam...
  • Loss of an IP Leader: RIP Prof Daruwalla
    Most in the Indian IP firmament may have heard of the doleful demise of one of our IP leaders, Mr. Tehemtan Nasserwanji Daruwalla. He was an...

Categories

  • 126 (1)
  • 3(d) (4)
  • 3(f) (1)
  • 3(i) (1)
  • 3(k) (2)
  • Academic Writing (1)
  • access (10)
  • access to food (1)
  • access to health (3)
  • AIA (1)
  • AIDS/HIV (3)
  • Antitrust (2)
  • Bajaj v LML (1)
  • Basmati Row (2)
  • Biological Diversity (5)
  • Biologics (2)
  • biopiracy (4)
  • biotech (7)
  • Bollywood (25)
  • Broadcasters Rights (5)
  • Budget (1)
  • business method patent (2)
  • Call for papers (2)
  • Cipla (2)
  • Comparative Advertising (4)
  • Competition law (8)
  • Compulsory Licensing (27)
  • condonation of delay (1)
  • Conference (4)
  • Constitution (12)
  • Contracts (1)
  • Controller's decisions (8)
  • Copyright (112)
  • Copyright Amendment Bill 2010 (23)
  • copyright board (4)
  • Copyright Exceptions (6)
  • copyright office (1)
  • Copyright Rules (2013) (5)
  • Copyright Societies (9)
  • Counterfeiting (1)
  • creativity (1)
  • Cross Retaliation (1)
  • csir (4)
  • d (1)
  • D.U. Photocopy Case (16)
  • Darjeeling Tea (3)
  • Data Exclusivity (2)
  • Database (1)
  • DCGI (2)
  • decompilation (2)
  • defamation (9)
  • Designs (3)
  • Designs Act (3)
  • Differential Pricing (2)
  • Dilution (1)
  • Disabilities (3)
  • Disability (2)
  • DMCA (2)
  • Doha Declaration (1)
  • Domain Names (2)
  • Draft Policy of the Indian Government (2)
  • DRM (1)
  • Drug Regulation (7)
  • education (12)
  • Enercon (1)
  • Enforcement (1)
  • EU (2)
  • ex parte (2)
  • exhaustion (3)
  • Exhaustion of Rights (2)
  • Fair Dealing (8)
  • Fair Use (11)
  • Federal Circuit (1)
  • Fees (3)
  • FICCI (7)
  • FRAND (2)
  • free trade agreement (3)
  • FTA (3)
  • G.I. Registry (4)
  • gene sequences (3)
  • Generic medicine (4)
  • Geographical Indication (14)
  • Gilead (1)
  • Glenmark (5)
  • Gopika (34)
  • Guest post (11)
  • guidelines (1)
  • GWU-CII (1)
  • Herceptin (1)
  • hot news (3)
  • ICANN (1)
  • incremental innovation (1)
  • independence (1)
  • india (5)
  • Indian Government (1)
  • Indian patent litigation (27)
  • Indian Pharma (35)
  • Injunction (10)
  • Innovation (7)
  • INTA (1)
  • Intermediaries (10)
  • internet (11)
  • Internet Access Providers (IAPs) (5)
  • Internet Censorship (7)
  • IP scholarship (3)
  • IP aware (4)
  • IP Course (3)
  • IP Education (1)
  • IP Policy (11)
  • IP update (4)
  • ip writing competition (1)
  • IPAB (34)
  • ipchair (1)
  • IPO (1)
  • IPRS (5)
  • IT Act (1)
  • Journal (2)
  • judicial independence (3)
  • Jurisdiction (1)
  • Kruttika (4)
  • Legal Education (3)
  • Legal Research Tools (1)
  • Legal Scholarship (2)
  • library (2)
  • Licensing (7)
  • Madhulika (20)
  • mathematical methods (1)
  • Media law (3)
  • medical method (1)
  • Merck (4)
  • mhrd ip chair (1)
  • Microsoft (3)
  • Middle Path (1)
  • Moral Rights (2)
  • Movies (18)
  • musical work (2)
  • nanotechnology (1)
  • Natco (3)
  • natco defamation suit (5)
  • natco vs bayer (4)
  • need for transparency (1)
  • Novartis (8)
  • Novartis patent case in India (11)
  • NPEs (2)
  • nujs (1)
  • NUJS Conference (2)
  • Obituary (1)
  • obviousness (7)
  • Off-Topic (2)
  • online course (4)
  • Open Access (6)
  • Open Source (2)
  • Opposition (3)
  • Parallel Imports (4)
  • Parliament (1)
  • passing off (5)
  • Patent (52)
  • Patent act (10)
  • patent agent (5)
  • patent agent exam (9)
  • patent agent exam qualifications (3)
  • patent infringement (5)
  • Patent Licensing (2)
  • Patent litigation (2)
  • Patent Office (19)
  • patent pool (3)
  • Patent Prosecution (7)
  • Patent rules (2)
  • Patent Strategies (8)
  • Patents (9)
  • pegasus (1)
  • Personality Rights (1)
  • Pfizer (1)
  • Pharma (18)
  • Piracy (5)
  • plagiarism (3)
  • Plant Variety Protection (2)
  • post grant (1)
  • Prashant (2)
  • Preventive Detention (1)
  • Price Control (6)
  • prior publication (1)
  • Privacy (3)
  • Prizes (1)
  • public health (3)
  • Public Interest (4)
  • Publicity Rights (4)
  • Publishing (3)
  • radio (2)
  • Rajiv (18)
  • Rectification Petition (2)
  • Rejection (1)
  • research (3)
  • reverse engineering (2)
  • revocation (4)
  • rip (1)
  • Roche (2)
  • Roche vs Cipla (1)
  • Royalty (2)
  • RTI (2)
  • Scholarship (4)
  • section 16 (1)
  • Section 3(d) (7)
  • section 8 (6)
  • shamnad (11)
  • Shan Kohli (4)
  • Shouvik Kumar Guha (30)
  • Smartphones/Tablets (2)
  • Social Innovation (1)
  • Software (10)
  • software enforcement (3)
  • software patent (3)
  • Special 301 Report (1)
  • Spicy Tidbits (6)
  • spicyip (1)
  • SpicyIP Accolades (1)
  • SpicyIP Announcements (9)
  • SpicyIP Case (1)
  • SpicyIP Cases (3)
  • spicyip commiseration (1)
  • SpicyIP Events (11)
  • SpicyIP Fellowship (5)
  • SpicyIP Guest Series (22)
  • SpicyIP Interview (2)
  • SpicyIP Jobs (4)
  • SpicyIP Jobs/General (2)
  • SpicyIP Review (1)
  • SpicyIP Tidbits (11)
  • SpicyIP Weekly Review (27)
  • Statutory Licensing (1)
  • STI Policy 2013 (4)
  • Sugen (3)
  • Supreme Court of India (5)
  • Swaraj (19)
  • Tarnishment (1)
  • Technology (6)
  • Technology Transfer (5)
  • TKDL (5)
  • TPP (1)
  • trade (4)
  • Trade Secret Protection (1)
  • Trademark (59)
  • Trademark dilution (1)
  • Trademark Registry (9)
  • Traditional Knowledge (7)
  • Transparency (5)
  • treaty (1)
  • trial (1)
  • tribunals (2)
  • TRIPS (11)
  • UK (3)
  • unfair competition (5)
  • UNFCCC (1)
  • Universities Research and Innovation Bill (2)
  • US (1)
  • US Patent Reform (1)
  • US Supreme Court (3)
  • viva (3)
  • WIPO (5)
  • Working a Patent (2)
  • Workshop (4)
  • writ (1)
  • WTO (1)

Blog Archive

  • ▼  2013 (364)
    • ►  September (13)
    • ►  August (41)
    • ►  July (36)
    • ►  June (36)
    • ►  May (32)
    • ►  April (51)
    • ►  March (66)
    • ▼  February (40)
      • Off-Topic: Call for Papers from the Journal of Tel...
      • Budget 2013-14: What’s in stock for IP and innovat...
      • LDCs seek indefinite extension of transition perio...
      • Madras High Court judgment gives a boost to unauth...
      • SpicyIP Event: MIP India IP and Innovation Forum
      • National Innovation Foundation: Boosting Frugal Te...
      • SpicyIP Weekly Review (February Week 4)
      • SpicyIP Tidbit: Retraction Watch posts restored
      • Revisiting the Trans Pacific partnership agreement
      • The Sugen v. Cipla post-grant opposition: The lost...
      • Legality of trademark protection for deities in th...
      • Guest Post: The complex problem of developing mode...
      • SpicyIP Weekly Review- ( February Week 3)
      • Blocking (Counting) your Chickens before they hatc...
      • Accessibility of public libraries to persons with ...
      • The ‘Global’ Fund being criticized
      • Spicy IP Tidbit: Indian patent office puts an end ...
      • The G.I. Registry digitizes all G.I. records: Tran...
      • Dorling Kindersley v. Sanguine Technical Publishers
      • BMS Hepatitis Patent Invalidated: A Viral Effect f...
      • Patent prosecution highway: A potential game chang...
      • SpicyIP Event: Pharma IPR 2013
      • Patent Office finally takes Form 27s seriously
      • SpicyIP Weekly Review- (February Week 2)
      • Why aren’t there any takers for compulsory licenses?
      • The 19 year war- Financial Times Ltd. v Times Publ...
      • RetractionWatch fiasco: Manipulation of DMCA notic...
      • IPAB directs IPO to accept national phase patent a...
      • SpicyIP Events: MIP's 2nd Annual India IP and Inno...
      • New Unitary Patent System For Europe
      • Is there a need to break up the cartels in the rad...
      • Jailbreaking Sony Playstations To Be Illegal in In...
      • Is the suit again the Registrar of Copyright maint...
      • Déjà vu for Akhtar – nightmare before Barasat Cour...
      • Faking it! Indian Companies using IKEA’s trademarks
      • Latest In: Delhi HC bars Bisleri from using brand ...
      • Part II: Digitization- Growth trends of the Film a...
      • Part I: Digitization of content: a comparative ana...
      • Patent office notifies the next patent agent exami...
      • IPAB revokes several claims of yet another patent ...
    • ►  January (49)
  • ►  2012 (131)
    • ►  December (29)
    • ►  November (42)
    • ►  October (50)
    • ►  September (10)
Powered by Blogger.