Propriedade intelectual

Cadernos de Saúde Pública
Print ISSN 0102-311X
Cad. Saúde Pública vol.23 no.2 Rio de Janeiro Feb. 2007 doi: 10.1590/S0102-311X2007000200002
REVISÃO REVIEW A evolução do sistema internacional de propriedade intelectual: proteção patentária para o setor farmacêutico e acesso a medicamentos Evolution of the international intellectual property rights system: patent protection for the pharmaceutical industry and access to medicines

Gabriela Costa ChavesI; Maria Auxiliadora OliveiraI; Lia HasencleverII; Luiz Martins de MeloII
IEscola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
IIInstituto de Economia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Correspondence

ABSTRACT
This article discusses the evolution of the international intellectual property rights system in three phases and the implications for public health, especially for the implementation of policies for access to medicines. During the first phase, characterized by the Paris and Berne Convention, signatory countries defined which technological fields should be protected (or not). Under the second phase, with the enforcement of the WTO TRIPS Agreement, countries are obliged to grant patent protection for all technological fields, including for the pharmaceutical industry. Within their national legislations, countries also have the opportunity to implement access to TRIPS flexibilities for medicines. With the third phase, characterized by the negotiation and signing of bilateral and regional free trade agreements, countries will have to implement TRIPS-plus provisions which may have negative implications for the TRIPS flexibilities as well as for policies for access to medicines. The authors conclude that the currently proposed international intellectual property rights system favors patent-holder rights and that a balance is needed between patent holders' and health rights.
Drugs; Intellectual Property of Pharmaceutic