[Ip-health] IPR a hard sell in Malaysia
Chee Yoke Ling
yokeling@myjaring.net
Wed Jan 24 09:31:11 2007
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IPR a hard sell in Malaysia
Fauwaz Abdul Aziz
Jan 24, 07 12:27pm
(HYPERLINK
"http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/62522"http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/62=
5
22)
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US senior officials trying to sell the need for stronger intellectual
property (IP) protection regulations as proposed in the free trade agreemen=
t
(FTA) with Malaysia were in for a hard time yesterday from business and
social groups.
Comments from participants at a briefing yesterday on IP protection, jointl=
y
organised by the US embassy and the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers
(FMM), suggest that many remain unconvinced that Malaysia will reap all the
benefits outlined from an enhanced IP protection regime.
=93Nobody in Malaysia can deny the need to protect IP,=94 said M Supperaman=
iam,
former ambassador for Malaysia to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), in hi=
s
opening remarks to the briefing held at FMM headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
But there remains the problem of =93balancing between strengthening IP
protection regulations and the socio-economic needs and public policy
objectives=94 of developing countries such as Malaysia, said Supperamaniam,
who is also FMM advisor on the WTO and FTAs.
The fear of increasing cost of medicines, for example, due to longer patent
terms and increased protection of clinical research data have yet to be
convincingly put to rest by advocates of enhanced IP protection, he noted.
Citing the suspension of the US-Thailand FTA negotiations last year,
Supperamaniam said among the reasons the talks stalled was the inability of
the two governments to agree on the IP protection provisions of the FTA,
particularly in relation to HIV/Aids medicine.
Reports that stronger IP protection regulations have led to the growth of
the new and generic medicines industry in some countries, for example, are
contradicted by other reports suggesting declining public health standards.
He further said that biotechnology company Hovid Bhd had recently announced
plans to relocate to India out of fears that it would lose out to US
pharmaceutical companies following the implementation of the FTA=92s patent
laws restricting generic medicines production.
Attorney-Advisor at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Karen M Haud=
a
on the role of IP protection in promoting new and low-cost drugs was
followed by more questions about the results of stronger IP rights.
Superamaniam continued his line of questioning by recounting WTO discussion=
s
where developing countries had challenged the aims of greater IP protection=
.
Much-needed funds, he said, often go towards non-essential clinical researc=
h
and pharmaceutical development instead of combatting critical diseases
plaguing the developing nations such as in Africa.
Claims rebutted
Another USPTO official, senior counsel Peter N Fowler, cited a 1994 World
Bank (WB) report on IP protection, foreign direct investment, and technolog=
y
transfer to press the case for Malaysia to strengthen IP protection in orde=
r
to secure foreign investment.
=93When corporations were asked if they would invest in R&D (research and
development), more than 80 percent stated the strength or weakness of the I=
P
regime in a country would have a strong effect on whether to invest there o=
r
not,=94 said Fowler.
=93A clear and enhanced legal framework and regulatory regime aimed at the
future, combined with a strong and proactive enforcement regime, will
produce results, make Malaysia an attractive investment destination, and se=
t
Malaysia apart from others in the region.=94
Fowler was subsequently queried, however, by a civil society representative
who pointed out that the 1994 WB report had been rebutted by subsequent
studies.
Companies, according to one report cited by the participant, blamed the lac=
k
of laws preventing former employees of companies from revealing trade
secrets as among their foremost concerns, not IP protection regulations.
The participant also recounted work by researchers from a local university
that suggested companies conducting research and development in Malaysia
were relocating to other countries, but not because of Malaysia=92s alleged=
ly
low standards of IP protection.
The companies were moving because Malaysia=92s population was too small a
market size compared to India, for example, and because of the relative lac=
k
of skilled human resources, she said.
The issue, said an economist after the briefing, boils down to the question
why Malaysia, which had already agreed to the WTO=92s Trade-Related Aspects=
of
Intellectual Property Rights provisions, would want to go beyond them and
implement even higher standards of IP protection.
Noting that 98 percent of patents in Malaysia already belong to foreign
corporations, there will not be many gains in higher IP protection
regulations, he said.
=93Even after this briefing, the only conclusion one can reach is that
Malaysia will not benefit to any significant degree from higher IP rights
regulations - not as much as US companies, at least,=94 said the economist =
who
declined to be identified.
The Malaysian and US governments have been conducting negotiations on the
signing of the FTA, but are unlikely to meet the July deadline.
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