The TRIPs Agreement: Is it Beneficial to the Developing World, or Simply a Tool Used to Protect Pharmaceutical Profits for Developed World Manufacturers?

Authors

• Clark A.D. Wilson

Document Type

Article

Abstract

There is an ongoing struggle between the rights of pharmaceutical patent owners and those in desperate need of the drugs for whom they hold the patents. Further technological innovation requires that there be sufficient incentive to research and develop (R&D) new drugs, but once these drugs are approved and protected by patent law, they should be made available to people who will suffer without them. In this regard, a system of patent rights which is too protective will hinder availability by restricting widespread dissemination to the public. On the other hand, a system of patent rights which is too weak will not encourage innovation and new technological research. Thus, for the billions of the world’s underprivileged, it is vital that a proper balance be achieved which benefits both sides.

In this Article, I will attempt to make sense of the current confusion surrounding pharmaceutical patent rights under the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPs). Section II of this Article will discuss the current restrictions enforced by the TRIPs Agreement. Section III will contain my analysis of TRIPs, the conflict between developed nations and developing nations, and conclude that, without a greater sense of global responsibility by rich nations, the TRIPs Agreement will act merely as a hindrance on the fight to eradicate disease in the developing world.

Recommended Citation

Clark A.D. Wilson, The TRIPs Agreement: Is it Beneficial to the Developing World, or Simply a Tool Used to Protect Pharmaceutical Profits for Developed World Manufacturers?, 10 J. Tech. L. & Pol'y (2005).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/jtlp/vol10/iss2/3