Pools solve for inefficiencies in TRIPS
Raju 17 (K D , Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, West Bengal-721 302, India Received 27 March 2016; accepted 11 November 2016 Compulsory v Voluntary Licensing: A Legitimate way to Enhance Access to Essential Medicines in Developing Countries Journal of Intellectual Property Rights Vol 22, January 2017, pp 23-31)//susu
It has been observed that the pharmaceutical patents under the TRIPS Agreement have increased the drug prices exorbitantly, especially in developing countries. This made the patent regime itself most unpopular especially in developing countries. Right to health is the heart of the idea of CL provisions. Voluntary licenses and patent pools are promising and a new approach to delivering affordable medicines to developing and least developed countries under the TRIPS regimes of intellectual property protection. These concepts may be converted into practical realities in treating poor patients throughout the world rather than only protecting the intellectual property rights and the interest of multinational pharmaceutical companies. There must be a balancing act between the social welfare and the protection of innovation and intellectual property rights. The system of voluntary license in any form will make the medicines more affordable and faster delivery in developing country markets. The WTO members should promote voluntary agreement system at international level like MPP and through their domestic legal system with more incentives for VL. It is not an easy task for the developing countries on the background that CL is always issued when VL is denied.