NGOs Warn On IP In Trans Pacific Trade Agreement

A coalition of some two dozen non-governmental organisations yesterday sent a letter to the United States Trade Representative raising concern about the impact on access to medicines of intellectual property provisions in a regional, Asia-Pacific trade agreement, known as the Trans Pacific Partnership, which is under negotiation.

The coalition led by Public Citizen warned against “TRIPS-plus measures,” provisions going beyond the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which could “contravene” President Obama’s election campaign promise of “support for the rights of sovereign nations to access quality-assured, low-cost generic medication.”

Read the letter here [pdf].