[Ip-health] EU Opposes Access Provision

[Ethan Guillen]

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Dear All,

According to a document outlining the European Commission Rio Study Group
positions, the EU is opposing important access provisions for publicly
funded research in the Rio Document.  The noted on the section says that the
group wants to delete the section because it is dealt with elsewhere, but it
is unclear where the EC believes it is dealt with.  We strongly disagree and
urge delegations to include these important provisions and to resist any
attempts to remove them.  The provisions are as follows:

(2.5) Ensuring access to knowledge and technology relevant to meet public
health needs of developing countries
(a) put in place measures that safeguard the public domain.
(b) promote public access to the results of government funded research,
through requirements that all investigators funded by governments submit to
an open access database an electronic version of their final, peer-reviewed
manuscripts.
(c) support the creation of open databases and compound libraries, including
unrestricted access to drug leads identified through the screening of
compound libraries,
(d) encourage developed countries, universities and donors to require that
publicly or donor funded medical inventions and know-how be made available
through open licensing for use in developing countries on reasonable and
affordable nondiscriminatory terms.
(e) consider the incorporation of research exemptions in legislation of
developing countries to address public health needs, consistent with their
obligations, if any, under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights and the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public
Health.

A number of prominent universities
(http://www.autm.net/ninepoints_endorsement.cfm) in the United States,
Canada and Australia this year have signed onto a statement of principles
recommending greater access to their research given, as they stated, their
"responsibility to generate and transmit knowledge, both to our students and
the wider society."

The principle (shown in full in the attached document), states:

"Universities should strive to construct licensing arrangements in ways that
ensure that these underprivileged populations have low- or no-cost access to
adequate quantities of these medical innovations."

These portions build positively upon sections of the CIPIH report,
particularly section 2.7:

"2.7 Countries should seek through patenting and licensing policies to
maximize the availability of innovations, including research tools and
platform technologies, for the development of products of relevance to
public health, particularly to conditions prevalent in developing countries.
Public funding bodies should introduce policies for sensible patenting and
licensing practices for technologies arising from their funding to promote
downstream innovation in health-care products."

Ethan Guillen
Executive Director
Universities Allied for Essential Medicines
955 Massachusetts Ave, #110
Cambridge, MA 02139
T: 775-287-2553




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[ Points_to_Consider.pdf of type application/pdf deleted ]
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[ UAEM IGWG II Position 20071105.pdf of type application/octet-stream deleted ]
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