TRIPS
When Trade and Intellectual Property Collide
When trade and intellectual property collide, strange things happen. In a dispute opposing Antigua and Barbuda to the United States at the World Trade Organization (WTO), that organization authorized Antigua and Barbuda to suspend the application of the its obligations under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement).
Patenting Health: You Cannot Own the Laws of Nature
On March 20, 2012, the United States Supreme Court decided Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., 132 S. Ct. 1289 (U.S. 2012). The case was unanimous and emphatically reaffirmed that United States patent law does not allow ownership of “laws of nature.” The context was a pair of patents owned by Prometheus which claimed […]
India’s First Compulsory Licence: Patents vs Public Health?
In a move with far reaching implications for the debates around pharmaceutical patents, innovation and access to medicines, the Indian patent office issued its first ever compulsory licence in the post TRIPS era. While health activists, generic manufacturers and several academics lauded the decision, the multinational pharmaceutical industry was up in arms.
Warning Labels Threaten Tobacco Trade-marks – Or do They?
Dan Whalen is a JD candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School In late December, industry leader British American Tobacco won permission in Australian courts to pursue damages against a local importer for infringing upon one of its product’s trademarks by covering its packaging with health warnings labels. While the importer conceded that the labels may […]
Efficacy of TRIPS public health amendment raises concern at the WTO
Nirav Bhatt is an LLM candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School. WTO members on 2 March 2010, debated the question of whether a 2003 decision designed to improve access to medicines is working. Although opinions expressed in the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council varied, members agreed that they should look at real-life […]