Minutes - TRIPS Council - View details of the intervention/statement

Ambassador Eduardo Pérez Motta (Mexico)
C.i Scope and coverage
30. The representative of Australia said that the Declaration clearly articulated the scope and coverage of the proposed solution as it covered pharmaceutical products needed to deal with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other epidemics. More detail on the criteria would, however, be necessary to provide certainty to patent holders and recipient countries. During the drafting of the solution, there should be scope to allow for some changes in product coverage. He said that additional products like active ingredients or diagnostic kits could only be included in the agreed criteria if they were related to the specific diseases mentioned. A key safeguard to be included was the limitation in a compulsory licence that the patented product would only be used to deal with the specified diseases. On the question of general eligibility of importing beneficiary Members, he said that, at the very least, the criteria must specify the inclusion of least-developed countries and exclusion of industrialized countries. Developing countries' eligibility was to be decided on manufacturing capability and in this context he said that the Declaration made it clear that each Member had the right to grant compulsory licences and to decide the grounds on which such licences were granted. The final drafting should take special note of the circumstances of those countries that had not granted patents to these products within their own territory. He said that, with respect to assessing manufacturing capacity, objective criteria were necessary but also said that this was a matter for further discussion. On the question of eligible supplying Members, he said that Australia did not have a final position on the subject.
IP/C/M/37