[Ip-health] Right wing corporate shill praises Mexico stand in IGWG negotiation

[James Love]

I guess if Tom Giovanetti wants to call us "Marxixst NGOs" it's ok to descr=
ibe him a bit.  Tom tells me he is to the right of George Bush.  The drug c=
ompanies pay him to follow the IGWG.  I think this adds up to right-wing co=
rporate shill.

In any event, he loves Mexico at the IGWG. Here is his latest IGWG blog.   =
Jamie

http://www.policybytes.org/blog/PolicyBytes.nsf/dx/mexico-at-who.htm

IPI PolicyBytes

Mexico makes a stand for innovation and against madness at WHO

November 8th, 2007
Tom Giovanetti

At the World Health Organization, where a handful of Marxist NGOs have
manipulated developing countries to push for the elimination of patents
on pharmaceutical and medical products (much more on that later), the
Mexican delegation is standing up for innovation and sound economic
thinking.

I think a trip to Mexico City to give them all medals should be a part
of my future travel plans.

Here is the anti-IP language that Mexico is rightly seeking to have
deleted from the final document that will be produced by the
Intergovernmental Working Group on Public Health:

    "Intellectual property, investment or trade agreements should not
prevent a country from adopting measures necessary to prevent
anti-competitive practices that may result from the abuse of
intellectual property rights." (Mexico suggests delete)

    " . . . urge active and effective participation of health
representatives in IP-related negotiations in order to ensure that the
outcomes of such negotiations incorporate all of the flexibilities
important to address public health needs." (Mexico suggests delete)

    " . . . establish measures to avoid unethical experiments involving
human beings as a requirement for registration of medicines and
technologies." (Mexico suggests delete).

    " . . . avoid the incorporation of TRIPS-plus measures in any trade
agreements and in national legislation that may have negative impact on
access to health products or treatments in developing
countries." (Mexico suggests delete)

    " . . . take necessary legislative steps in countries with
manufacturing and export capacity to allow compulsory licensing with the
aim of facilitating access to medicines consistent with the agreement on
Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and the Doha
Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health." (Mexico suggests delete).

    " . . . take necessary legislative steps to allow compulsory
licensing for export consistent with the agreement on Trade Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and the Doha Declaration on
TRIPS and Public Health." (Mexico suggests delete).

    " . . . developing countries should adopt or effectively implement
policies in order to prevent or correct anti-competitive practices
related to the use of patents for health products, including the use of
pro-competitive measures available under the intellectual property
law." (Mexico suggests delete).

    " . . . consider measures to ensure the strict application of the
patentability criteria in order to obtain the best interpretation for
public health as stated in paragraph 4 of the Doha Declaration on TRIPS
and public health." (Mexico suggests delete).


All of this language proceeds from the assumption that patent rights are
the primary culprit that keeps poor countries from having the kind of
access to medicines that they would like to have.

More on the what is going on at WHO in later blog posts. For now, kudos
to Mexico for standing up for intellectual property and sound economics,
and for standing against the Marxist madness that has pervaded the
discussions at WHO thus far.

Posted in  Health Care  Intellectual Property  || 0 Comments =C2=BB
Author: Tom Giovanetti || Location: Geneva, Switzerland