[Ip-health] S. American Ministers vow to avoid TRIPS-plus measures

[B.Baker@neu.edu]

It's certainly good news when Health Ministers from South America commit
themselves to avoiding TRIPS-plus provisions in bilateral and regional
trade agreements, but there is more than a little irony when they do so
after their countries have already granted TRIPS-plus terms to the U.S.

For example, Chile, Columbia and Peru have all agreed in proposed or
finalized Agreements to eventually grant patents on plants, to extend
patent terms for regulatory delay, to grant 5 years of data exclusivity,
and to link registration processes to patent status - all TRIPS-plus
provisions.  Although the joint declaration does not agree to avoid data
exclusivity explicitly, data exclusivity is a TRIPS-plus provision.

Brook K. Baker
Health GAP