The trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) agreement and access to patented medicines in developing countries - Canada's Bill C-9

Abstract

TRIPS strengthened international patent protection, particularly in relation to pharmaceutical patents. A compulsory license mechanism is one of the exceptions from patent protection available under TRIPS. This mechanism applies mainly to domestic market supply. Underdeveloped countries with insufficient pharmaceutical manufacturing capacities are unable to use this exception to import medicines in public health emergencies. To resolve this problem, the WTO General Council’s decision allows the export of generic versions of patented drugs under certain conditions. Canada’s Bill C-9 was the first statute to implement the decision. Bill C-9 bears both humanitarian and TRIPS-like provisions. The role of the Government is unjustifiably limited to participation in administrative and legislative processes, while the main operators in the scheme are the generic manufacturer and partly, the patent holder. This thesis proposes several different models to transform the Bill into a workable system for the export of drugs to underdeveloped countries afflicted with pandemics.