Exploring the Flexibilities in TRIPS: Lessons from India's Pharmaceutical Patent Law
(2015) 41:1 Commonwealth Law Bulletin 82-106.
Posted: 29 May 2015
Date Written: July 31, 2014
Abstract
This article examines the extent to which the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) permits countries to utilize two key flexibilities, i.e. the exclusion of new forms of known drugs from patent protection and local working requirements to facilitate access to affordable medicines and foster domestic pharmaceutical innovation. It examines how India has implemented and recently utilized these two key flexibilities and concludes with the view that other developing countries can equally follow the Indian model.
Keywords: TRIPS Agreement, Evergreening, Section 3(d), Local Working Requirements, India, Developing Countries, Pharmaceutical Patent Law
JEL Classification: O34
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation