Policy Space for Domestic Public Interest Measures under TRIPS

Abstract:     
This paper examines the scope of policy space available to integrate economic, social and environmental concerns under the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Protection (TRIPS). It does this by comparing the amount of discretion available for domestic public interest measures in two other core areas of WTO regulation: trade in goods and services. The paper concludes that the notion of general exceptions under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and under the General Agreement on Services (GATS) finds no equivalence in TRIPS. Still, an equivalent amount of policy space can be achieved by taking the TRIPS balancing objective and the WTO sustainable development objective seriously within the process of TRIPS interpretation and implementation. This opens significant room to integrate economic, social and environmental concerns in Intellectual Property (IP) regulation and decision-making. It is an approach which all WTO Members agreed to in para. 4, 5 a) of the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 55

Keywords: WTO, TRIPS, Flexibilities, Sustainable Development

working papers series