UNDP | Poverty Reduction

Intellectual Property Rights

Key initiatives | Resources

Patents, copyrights, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs and trade secrets are collectively known as Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and are promoted as incentives for increased innovation and technology transfer. They have traditionally played an important role in knowledge based economies and now play a crucial role in international trade. IPR regimes also create temporary monopolies (20 years in case of patents, 70+ years in case of copyrights) and restrict access to technology for imitators, thereby slowing down technological diffusion to latecomers in the development process, making them the object of contention.

At the multilateral level, IPR is governed by the WTO’s Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). In its current form, the TRIPS Agreement can potentially impact developing countries in a number of important areas, such as:

i. Access to drugs and essential medicines with its attendant effects on public health.
ii. Research & development and innovation
iii. Traditional Knowledge and Biodiversity
iv. Copyright implications for educational and learning materials
v. Technology transfer and South-South technical cooperation.

As developing countries continue implementing and incorporating IPR into national laws as laid down in TRIPS (and in some cases, regional and bilateral trade agreements), appropriate capacity building will be critical for countries to effectively use IPR to achieve sustainable development goals.

Key Initiatives

Intellectual Property and Access to Low Cost Drugs
Although the number of people receiving treatment for AIDS has tripled since the end of 2001, only 20% of those in need of treatment are now receiving it. More than 5 million people around the world are still in need of life-saving medicines. Access to medicines remains one of the critical issues surrounding the fight against AIDS and the complex web of patents and trade agreements aggravates the issue further.

TRIPS requires that all member countries provide patent protection to both products and processes in all technologies including pharmaceuticals, making them expensive and thereby, restricting their access. Patent provisions under TRIPS adversely affect production and/or export of generic antiretrovirals (ARVs) which is the cheapest option available in developing countries. (Until recently, patented ARVs could cost as much as US$12,000 per patient per year. Generic ARVs can be made available today at US$140). While TRIPS on one hand impacts access to affordable drugs, it contains certain flexibilities and safeguards (including the December 2005 Amendment) that allow countries to take measures for sustained access to affordable drugs.

A joint UNDP capacity building project on these issues attempts to operationalize the 2001 Doha Ministerial Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health and its 6 December 2005 Amendment to the TRIPS Agreement in the true spirit of the 2001 Declaration. The Amendment waives Article 31(f) of TRIPS on compulsory licensing, which limits production of generic drugs to the domestic market, by allowing countries without drug manufacturing capacity to import generic drugs under certain conditions.

The principle function of the project is to build developing country capacity to provide access to HIV/AIDS drugs in the context of the flexibilities and safeguards within TRIPS, and in other trade agreements with IPR provisions (both bilateral and regional). Its main objectives are threefold:

1. To provide technical assistance at the national and regional level to generate enabling trade, health and IP legislation that allows access to the lowest cost HIV/AIDS drugs.

2. To strengthen South-South cooperation among groups of developing countries for importation or production of generic drugs and to facilitate the exchange and transfer of good practices between them.

3. To strengthen developing country negotiating capacity to ensure that human development and public health considerations are given prominence in multilateral, regional and bilateral negotiations and to strengthen their collective bargaining power to ensure that the IPR architecture allows access to the lowest cost, quality drugs.

Resources

Remuneration Guidelines for Non-Voluntary Use of a Patent on Medical Technology - UNDP/WHO, 2005.
This paper addresses WTO provisions regarding remuneration for non-voluntary use of patents; experience of royalty setting in voluntary and non-voluntary settings; the policy framework for setting royalties on medicines in developing countries; and proposed royalty guideline frameworks.

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IPR regimes also create temporary monopolies (20 years in case of patents, 70+ years in case of copyrights) and restrict access to technology for imitators, thereby slowing down technological diffusion to latecomers in the development process, making them the object of contention. At the multilateral level, IPR is governed by the WTO’s Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). In its current form, the TRIPS Agreement can potentially impact developing countries in a number of important areas, such as: i. Access to drugs and essential medicines with its attendant effects on public health. ii. Research & development and innovation iii. Traditional Knowledge and Biodiversity iv. Copyright implications for educational and learning materials v. Technology transfer and South-South technical cooperation. As developing countries continue implementing and incorporating IPR into national laws as laid down in TRIPS (and in some cases, regional and bilateral trade agreements), appropriate capacity building will be critical for countries to effectively use IPR to achieve sustainable development goals. Key Initiatives Intellectual Property and Access to Low Cost Drugs Although the number of people receiving treatment for AIDS has tripled since the end of 2001, only 20% of those in need of treatment are now receiving it. More than 5 million people around the world are still in need of life-saving medicines. Access to medicines remains one of the critical issues surrounding the fight against AIDS and the complex web of patents and trade agreements aggravates the issue further. TRIPS requires that all member countries provide patent protection to both products and processes in all technologies including pharmaceuticals, making them expensive and thereby, restricting their access. Patent provisions under TRIPS adversely affect production and/or export of generic antiretrovirals (ARVs) which is the cheapest option available in developing countries. (Until recently, patented ARVs could cost as much as US$12,000 per patient per year. Generic ARVs can be made available today at US$140). While TRIPS on one hand impacts access to affordable drugs, it contains certain flexibilities and safeguards (including the December 2005 Amendment) that allow countries to take measures for sustained access to affordable drugs. A joint UNDP capacity building project on these issues attempts to operationalize the 2001 Doha Ministerial Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health and its 6 December 2005 Amendment to the TRIPS Agreement in the true spirit of the 2001 Declaration. The Amendment waives Article 31(f) of TRIPS on compulsory licensing, which limits production of generic drugs to the domestic market, by allowing countries without drug manufacturing capacity to import generic drugs under certain conditions. The principle function of the project is to build developing country capacity to provide access to HIV/AIDS drugs in the context of the flexibilities and safeguards within TRIPS, and in other trade agreements with IPR provisions (both bilateral and regional). Its main objectives are threefold: 1. To provide technical assistance at the national and regional level to generate enabling trade, health and IP legislation that allows access to the lowest cost HIV/AIDS drugs. 2. To strengthen South-South cooperation among groups of developing countries for importation or production of generic drugs and to facilitate the exchange and transfer of good practices between them. 3. To strengthen developing country negotiating capacity to ensure that human development and public health considerations are given prominence in multilateral, regional and bilateral negotiations and to strengthen their collective bargaining power to ensure that the IPR architecture allows access to the lowest cost, quality drugs. Resources Remuneration Guidelines for Non-Voluntary Use of a Patent on Medical Technology - UNDP/WHO, 2005. This paper addresses WTO provisions regarding remuneration for non-voluntary use of patents; experience of royalty setting in voluntary and non-voluntary settings; the policy framework for setting royalties on medicines in developing countries; and proposed royalty guideline frameworks.
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