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Barczewski, Maciej; Sykuna, Sebastian --- "ACTA and access to medicines in the perspective of theory of hard cases" [2012] ELECD 1346; in Rosén, Jan (ed), "Intellectual Property at the Crossroads of Trade" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012) 263

Book Title: Intellectual Property at the Crossroads of Trade

Editor(s): Rosén, Jan

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781781951682

Section: Chapter 11

Section Title: ACTA and access to medicines in the perspective of theory of hard cases

Author(s): Barczewski, Maciej; Sykuna, Sebastian

Number of pages: 10

Abstract/Description:

The aim of ACTA was to raise the standards of intellectual property enforcement found in international instruments and, in particular, the TRIPS Agreement. Its aim was enhanced international cooperation and more effective international enforcement. In this light it presents a number of TRIPS-Plus elements. Yet, it chose to create its own governing body outside the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other existing international institutions or fora, such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) or the United Nations (UN). The reason for this was that the existing international institutions were thought not to provide procedures that were sufficiently flexible to accommodate the attainment of a fast and effective result. The criticism was that this was achieved to a considerable extent at the expense of transparency.Every year about fourteen million people die from contagious diseases, three million die as a result of complications connected with AIDS, almost two million die from tuberculosis and over one million from malaria. Malaria and tuberculosis can be cured using appropriate pharmaceuticals, while proper antiretroviral therapy (ARV) makes the lives of those infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) similar to their condition prior to the onset of the disease. The high fatality rate of those illnesses results from the fact that the definite majority of patients are not treated effectively. One of the main reasons for this is the high price of drugs fixed by the pharmaceutical industry, which owns the exclusive rights to produce medicines.