Covid-19 and intellectual property law: Compulsory licensing and the access to covid-19 treatment

• Autor(a) principal: Oliveira, Anaísa Correia de
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10437/12203
• topic: DIREITO; PROPRIEDADE INTELECTUAL; PATENTES; ACORDO TRIPS; LAW; COVID-19; INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY; PATENTS; AGREEMENT ON TRADE-RELATED ASPECTS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

This essay concerns the problematic of the access to Covid-19 treatment at an international scale and the role of Intellectual Property Law. As in past public health outbreaks, one of the most raised questions is the possibility of patent holder’s rights being an obstacle to accessing treatment. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Compulsory Licensing has been presented as the Intellectual Property Law mechanism capable of guaranteeing Covid-19 treatment globally and effectively. We propose to analyse this figure and its possible alternatives: Voluntary Licensing, Patent Pools and the Proposal to waive TRIPS Intellectual Property provision. We will then assess which is the most effective solution to overcome this humanitarian crisis without compromising the balance between the right to health and intellectual property rights.