DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND IP: ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE EDUCATION MATERIALS

Karen A. LeCuyer, Ph.D.

University of Connecticut School of Law

30 May 2007

Outline TRIPS, IP, and the WTO Doha Declaration: IP and Public Health Access to Health Care Information:

HIV/AIDS Health care worker education Public education

Strategies for Improving Access to Health Care Information in the Developing World

TRIPS Agreement: 1994 Sets out minimum standards for IP

Patents, copyright, trademark, geographical indications, industrial designs, etc.

Enforcement framework within international trade, enforced by the WTO

Linkage between IP and international trade all nations participating in the WTO are required to

adhere to IP standards in order to participate in non-IP trade issues

WTO and IP WTO’s mission is to lower trade barriers

and provide a platform for trade negotiations between its member countries

Developed and developing nations benefit from WTO membership Administration of trade agreements Forum for negotiations and settling disputes

TRIPS and Developing Countries TRIPS has been criticized for not

considering the needs of developing countries and forcing them to adhere to global IP standards

Increased IP standards can negatively impact access to essential medicines in developing countries

TRIPS, Fair Use and Public Access Protectionist IP policies are a problem for

developing nations as net importers of IP Doha Declaration of 2001 addresses

circumvention of patent rights for access to essential medicines

However, health care education and technology transfer are also critical for developing countries

Copyright issues have not been explicitly addressed

Doha Declaration: IP and Public Health

The Doha Declaration Developing and less developed countries

given additional time to comply with TRIPS

Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health affirmed the rights of TRIPS members to protect public health and especially to promote access to medicines

Doha Declaration and TRIPS TRIPS Agreement does not and should not

prevent members from taking measures to protect public health, Paragraph 5

Use, to the full, the provisions in the TRIPS Agreement, which provide flexibility for this purpose, Id.

Member nations determine what is a national emergency- AIDS/HIV

Doha Declaration and AIDS Improved availability of HIV/AIDS medicines,

particularly in Africa Circumvent patents with a compulsory license Problems

Less developed countries lack ability/infrastructure to produce drugs

Pharmaceutical companies have opposed licenses Access to drugs is not the only problem

Extension of Doha Principles Beyond Patents Language of the Doha Declaration suggests

that the principles apply to IP, not patents Heath care as essential for sustained

development Both health care provider and patient

education are critical areas for extension of the Doha principles

WHO, IP and Public Health WHA Resolution on Intellectual Property

and Public Health (2003) reaffirm the importance of public health

Commission on Intellectual Property, Innovation, and Public Health (CIPIH), 2004 “investment in the human resources and the

knowledge base, especially the development of tertiary education”

Access to Health Care Information Educational materials are a critical means

for the international flow of ideas, information and knowledge

Extension of Doha Principles to fair use in copyright for materials related to health care and technology transfer

Strong IP protection in the developed world while assisting the developing world

Access to Health Care Information: HIV/AIDS

Health care worker educationPublic education

Developing Countries and HIV/AIDS 38.6 million people with HIV in 2005 2.8 million lost their lives to AIDS in 2005 Sub-Saharan African countries such as

Botswana and Lesotho have HIV infection rates approaching 25% of the population

At least in Sub-Saharan African, many drug companies have reduced prices

Education of Health Care Workers Training in antiretroviral therapy and

clinical strategies for patient management Need for continuing education, particularly

in remote areas Digital media and Internet-based tools and

information Providing materials in a culturally sensitive

way

Public Health Care Education Lack of education is a risk factor for HIV

infection Education programs developed in the

United States have been shown to be effective in developing countries

Use of simpler text and pictograms Digital media and Internet-based tools and

information

Strategies for Improving Access Initiatives for improving access to

educational materials and technology Creative Commons Open source A2K

Support of nongovernmental agencies Foundations formed by pharmaceutical companies Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Clinton Foundation

Creative Commons Authors retain some rights and dedicate

others to the public License menu: Attribution License,

Noncommercial License, Developing Nations License

Science Commons Free access to scientific journals over the

Internet

Open Source Movement Open source software: open source code

Reverse engineer and develop Moving from open source to open access

Positive: eliminate costs, creation of additive works

Negative: removes economic incentives, open source materials subject to vandalism and/or misinformation

A2K Objective: protect and enhance [expand]

access to knowledge, and to facilitate the transfer of technology to developing countries

Unlike the Creative Commons, A2K IP standards are mandatory and not defined by the author

A2K and Copyright Make original works more affordably

available, particularly for educational purposes

Limit copyright protections to works that meet a creativity threshold

A2K and TRIPS TRIPS establishes minimum IP protections A2K establishes maximum IP protections A2K may foster the ability of developing

nations to produce knowledge by making information more accessible

Nongovernmental Organizations Provide medicines as well as health care

worker and public education NGOs are essential to identifying and

reproducing best practices to work with HIV/AIDS

Pharmaceutical Companies SECURE THE FUTURE, Bristol-Myers Squibb

Funds training for health care professionals as well as public health care education in Sub-Saharan Africa

Botswana/Gates/Merck partnership Health care worker training, prevention initiative

Positive Action Program, GlaxoSmithKline Education program for men in Kenya Corporate HIV/AIDS site- information for health

care professionals

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Development and Global Health Provides no-cost access to computers, the

Internet, and technology training in public libraries and reading rooms in Chile, Mexico, Botswana, Latvia, and Lithuania

Fund public health and education strategies aimed at reducing the transmission of HIV, and the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS

The Clinton Foundation Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI)

affordable treatment combined with care and prevention programs

Use business-based procedures to integrate care, treatment and prevention

Care Consortium of research and treatment institutions to allow real-time sharing of data and information

Summary Doha principles can be expanded beyond patents IP protection in the developed world need not be

sacrificed to aid developing countries HIV/AIDS is a global health crisis that is at the

forefront of efforts to increase access to knowledge worldwide

Businesses can help by improving access to information and support of NGOs