Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
TRIPping Up Property Rights
IPN Opinion article
After years of campaigning, activists have narrowed the debate about health care in poor countries to a single premise: intellectual property rights restrict access to medicines. But this discussion takes energy away from the things that really matter: infrastructure, doctors, nurses.
IP fixation is bad for health
IPN Opinion article
International NGO campaigns in India have given the misleading impression that patents are the single most important barrier to good health in less-developed countries. This fallacy is drawing attention away from the real causes of disease.
The Future of World Trade
IPN Opinion article
IPN's Executive Director, Julian Morris, writes about the future of world trade,
"It is time to rethink how multilateral liberalization proceeds. Since the WTO does a good job of administering the agreements within its ambit, it might be best to limit its role to such administrative tasks. The failure of its recent Ministerial meetings means that multilateral liberalization is, in any case, slipping out of its grasp. Instead we are witnessing an explosion of bilateral and regional agreements, as countries seek other ways of pressing forward with trade liberalization."
India's crackdown on fakes
IPN Opinion article
India's parliament recently passed legislation to protect intellectual property. IPN Director Julian Morris says that, despite attempts to weaken the law, "This legislation represents movement in the right direction."
Free the industry, not the drugs
IPN Opinion article
If chanting slogans and booing speakers could magically create new innovative drugs, this week\'s Barcelona AIDS Conference could be considered a raging success. Activists have certainly put their moral righteousness on display as they pour abuse on pharmaceutical companies. On Tuesday they prevented a U.S. cabinet member from speaking. The U.N. organizers of the conference have smiled benignly on it all. But despite the posturing, the idea that giving greater powers to government at the expense of the private drug companies will lead to more sustainable drug delivery is deeply flawed.
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Patents, innovation, incentives and access to medicine: Striking the right balance
IPN Opinion article
PDF transcript of Julian Morris's speech at June 2002 event in Geneva, Switzerland - "Implementing the Doha Declaration on TRIPs and Public Health".
Investment and Access: Brazil's Experience with TRIPs and its Implications for Implementing the Doha Declaration
IPN Opinion article
PDF transcript of Francisco Cannabrava's speech at June 2002 event in Geneva, Switzerland, "Implementing the Doha Declaration on TRIPs and Public Health"
