[Ip-health] Abbott Sues Act Up-Paris

[Horace.PERRET@geneva.msf.org]

See below Act Up Paris' press release:=0D
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Abbott Sues Act Up-Paris=0D
Drug company sues PLWAs for the first time=0D
06 - 12 - 2007=0D
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Pharmaceutical company Abbott decided to sue PLWAs group Act Up-Paris in=0D
response to the April 26th, 2007 netstrike we organized against the drug=0D
manufacturer : the first time a drug company has used legal action against=
=0D
us. Yet this strategy will force Abbott to justify its criminal decisions,=
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which are depriving PLWAs in Tha=C3=AFland of the company=E2=80=99s new dru=
gs,=0D
effectively sentencing them to death.=0D
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The True Crime: Abbott=E2=80=99s policy=0D
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Last December, Tha=C3=AFland issued compulsory licenses on several drugs, o=
ne of=0D
them patented by Abbott. By licensing particular drugs, the Thai government=
=0D
can produce or import less expensive, generic copies of the medicines,=0D
allowing the Thai health system to vastly increase the number of patients=
=0D
it treats.=0D
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Even though the Thai government=E2=80=99s decision explicitly respects=0D
international agreements on intellectual property, Abbott decided to=0D
retaliate in a brand new way: by refusing to register its new=0D
drugs-including the heat-stable Kaletra, a second line drug, needed by=0D
PLWAs in the case of therapeutic failure-in Thailand. Abott is effectively=
=0D
sentencing Thai AIDS patients to death.=0D
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No Possible Appeal=0D
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Abbott=E2=80=99s decision went against international agreements on intellec=
tual=0D
property (TRIPS) signed by the government members of the WTO. But the very=
=0D
same agreements don=E2=80=99t provide an appeal process to the WTO in the c=
ase that=0D
a private industrial group decides to ignore them. Only governments are=0D
accountable to the WTO. Though illegitimate and criminal, Abbott=E2=80=99s =
decision=0D
is not legally questionable.=0D
=0D
The WHO and, for instance, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs,=0D
supported the Thai government=E2=80=99s decision. Numerous doctors and rese=
archers=0D
denounced Abbott=E2=80=99s retaliation and called for a boycott of the comp=
any=E2=80=99s=0D
products, a very rare act by health workers. Among the shareholders, a=0D
strong minority urged the company=E2=80=99s leaders to step back and to wit=
hdraw=0D
their criminal decision. Without any result.=0D
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Public Challenge, the Last Weapon Abbott Wants to Deprive us of.=0D
To defend their lives, the only option for PLWAs was to publicly challenge=
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the company. On April 26, the day before the General Assembly of Abbott=E2=
=80=99s=0D
shareholders, a network of Thai PLWAs called for an international day of=0D
action, supported by NGOs around the world.=0D
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Act Up-Paris called upon activists all over the world to participate in a=
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netstrike. Hundreds, even thousands of people in France, Thailand, the U.S.=
=0D
and elsewhere, repeatedly visited Abbott=E2=80=99s website in order to forc=
e a=0D
slowing down of its servers.=0D
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Three weeks later, Abbott filed a complaint against Act Up-Paris. The=0D
laboratory wants us to be condemned for =E2=80=9Cservice denial.=E2=80=9D S=
hould this be=0D
accepted by the court, we could be sentenced to very high penalties. The=0D
fine could reach $50,000, not including liabilities, a communique release=
=0D
of the verdict (paid communication) and legal expenses. These expenses=0D
would be incredibly damaging to our organization and are a drop in the=0D
bucket compared to Abbott=E2=80=99s profits. This legal action is clearly a=
n=0D
attempt by the laboratory to silence Act Up-Paris.=0D
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Bringing Abbott=E2=80=99s suit rather than Act Up=E2=80=99s=0D
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The legal article Abbott is using against Act Up-Paris stipulates that it=
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is forbidden to limit the access to a website, unless the defendant acted=
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under a =E2=80=9Clegitimate motive=E2=80=9D. Is defending patients=E2=80=99=
 lives against profit=0D
illegitimate? The call for a boycott issued by Thai patients, public=0D
declarations made by the WHO and officials in the French government, as=0D
well as political actions around the world supports the legitimacy of our=
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motive.=0D
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By suing us, Abbott will have to prove that the lives of thousands of Thai=
=0D
people is not legitimate enough a motive to criticize publicly a medicine=
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company. The lawsuit the laboratory is bringing against us, patients, will=
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reveal to the world the very obscenity of Abbott=E2=80=99s actions in Thail=
and.=0D
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We request from Abbott=E2=80=99s leaders to:=0D
-   Stop threatening countries which are doing nothing more than resorting=
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to their rights, in agreement/compliance with international treaties.=0D
-   Withdraw their decision to put to death thousands of HIV+ people in=0D
Thailand.=0D
-   Take back their complaint against Act Up-Paris.=0D