The Human Right to Health: Reflecting on the Implications of IPRs as Endorsed by the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement

Abstract

With the aim of technology innovation, transfer and capacity building, the World Trade Organisation established a new regime for harmonizing the laws related to intellectual property which included certain flexibilities in the nature of compulsory licensing and parallel imports. At the same time a progressive concept of development which includes a mandate for Member countries to adopt a “right to health” within the economic, social and cultural rights framework emerged. The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights required Member States to include relevant amendments to the existing laws within its policy space to ensure adherence to the minimum agreed criteria of intellectual property protection. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement seems to be shifting this regime towards extreme privatization of R&D and stronger protection of intellectual property rights. The author analyses the implications of the TPP while focusing on chapters pertaining to intellectual property and reflects on the right to health as a human right in such context. It is argued that stringent intellectual property protection in the TPP will disadvantage trade, economic development and patient welfare objectives. The TPP should be revised to include suggestive changes for consensus building and dispute resolution that can aid in developing modern international economic law and practice.