South-South Collaboration for an Intellectual Property Rights Flexibilities Agenda

• Autor(a) principal: Menezes,Henrique Zeferino de
• Data de Publicação: 2018
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Contexto Internacional
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0102-85292018000100117
• topic: Intellectual Property Rights; Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS); South-South Collaboration; IP Flexibilities; IP Flexibilities Agenda

Abstract This article analyses South-South initiatives for building an intellectual property (IP) flexibilities agenda, highlighting the particularities in this specific area of international relations as well as the difficulties encountered in building a common position. I start by outlining the changes and transformational dynamics in the international regime for the protection of IP, and examining how these changes, notably the proliferation of TRIPS-plus rules through preferential agreements, affect developing countries. Next, I examine the development of South-South collaboration as a strategic option for maintaining the policy space developing countries need to develop legal frameworks attuned to their specific needs and interests, and for building norms that strengthen IP flexibilities. I conclude that a strong and more purposeful response by countries like Brazil, India and China has been difficult to achieve for several reasons: i) the diversity of forms of protection included in the international negotiations; ii) the multiplicity of areas and public policies affected by IP regulations; and iii) domestic economic changes in developing countries.