South Centre Statement to the 23rd Session of the Working Group on the Right to Development
15 – 20 May 2022
Although we need to increase the international efforts to effectively realize the RtD, there seems to be insufficient engagement by many countries in the relevant intergovernmental processes. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to encourage and mobilize the participation of all countries in such processes. This Working Group is in a remarkable position to provide a platform for a participatory process that allows for the exchange of views and to build the necessary consensus to move forward.
Advancing Global Response to Antimicrobial Resistance: Examining Current Global Initiatives
By Mirza Alas
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a severe ongoing crisis threatening our health systems. Since adopting the WHO Global Action Plan on AMR in 2015, there has been progress, particularly in improving awareness, surveillance and implementation of infection, prevention, and control measures. However, there has been a slower response related to optimizing the use of antimicrobials in the animal sector and actions related to the environment. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has also undermined the implementation of activities to address AMR, including shifting resources to other areas and deprioritizing responses to AMR due to the ongoing pandemic. While national-level actions are at the core of the AMR response, given its global nature and impact, there is broad recognition of the need to ensure that national efforts are complemented with measures at the global level. Examining global initiatives to address AMR and how they can be strengthened to accelerate action is critical to better understand the importance of global coordination and increasing investment to close the gaps that remain.
COVID-19 Vaccines as Global Public Goods: between life and profit
By Katiuska King Mantilla and César Carranza Barona
In the context of a health emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, the global availability of and access to vaccines are imperative. This research paper provides an analysis from the perspective of international political economy, of the financing of COVID-19 vaccines and of the market strategies adopted by some of the companies that developed them. It notes that the development of vaccines was supported by substantial public funding from countries that later received preferential access to those vaccines through advance purchases. Despite such public support, the vaccines were not deemed as public goods but remained under the control of their developers.
Analysis of the Outcome Text of the Informal Quadrilateral Discussions on the TRIPS COVID-19 Waiver
By Carlos M. Correa and Nirmalya Syam
Almost one and a half years after the proposal for a waiver of certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement regarding health technologies for COVID-19 was proposed by India and South Africa with the support of the majority of WTO Members, the TRIPS Council has been unable to reach consensus on the proposed waiver or engage in text negotiations. In this context, the TRIPS Council agreed to suspend the discussions to allow the possibility of some solution to emerge from informal high-level consultations between the European Union, the United States of America, India and South Africa. Recently, the WTO Director-General transmitted the outcome of the informal consultations along with a draft text to the TRIPS Council. In this context, this policy brief analyzes the elements of the draft text that has been transmitted to the TRIPS Council. The proposed solution, which offers clarifications and limited waivers on some of the provisions governing compulsory licenses on patents relating to vaccines, reflects developed countries’ strong opposition to the broader waiver sought by the proponents to rapidly expand manufacturing capacity and the supply of health products needed to address the pandemic.
DATA FOR DEVELOPMENT: HOW TO LEGALLY CHARACTERIZE DATA?
SOUTH CENTRE’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE eTRADE FOR ALL LEADERSHIP DIALOGUE OF THE UNCTAD eCOMMERCE WEEK 2022
Radical technological changes have always challenged pre-existing legal frameworks as demonstrated, for instance, by the commercialization of computer software independently from hardware and the use of genetic information to develop biotechnological innovations in various areas such as health and agriculture. The emergence of big data is a new and outstanding example of such situations. With the growing digitalization of multiple activities, ranging from education and health to ‘smart farming’ and the supply of the most diverse goods, the production and storage of data have exploded. Individuals, businesses and governments are generating an immense amount of data and this will only continue to grow in the future. Yet, the legal characterization of data is still a matter of considerable divergencies and debate. Policy makers and scholars are still searching for legal approaches suitable to address the complex relationships among producers, processors, controllers and users of data…
South Centre Comments on Amount A: Extractives Exclusion
The South Centre today provided its comments to the OECD Inclusive Framework’s Task Force on Digital Economy (TFDE) on the Amount A: Extractives Exclusion. These rules are part of the overall OECD project on the taxation of the digitalized economy known as Pillar One. They determine the amount of a Multinational Enterprise’s (MNE) profits that will then be partially redistributed to market jurisdictions, which are expected to be largely developing countries.
Extractive Exclusion is of critical importance to developing countries as it is meant to ensure that revenues from natural resources such as mining, oil, gas, etc are excluded from the scope of the tax, known as Amount A.
South Centre/KEI/PIJIP Workshop on the L&E work programme and the WIPO broadcasting treaty
27 April 2022, 14:00-16:00 CEST
On Wednesday, 27 April 2022 from 14:00 CEST to 16:00 CEST, the South Centre, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI), and the Washington College of Law’s Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property (PIJIP) will convene a workshop to prepare for the 42nd session of WIPO’s Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights. The workshop will address two themes: 1) Proposal by the African Group for a work programme on exceptions and limitations and 2) Appraising proposals for a WIPO broadcasting treaty in 2022 and its implications on access to culture and knowledge.
Patent Analysis for Medicines and Biotherapeutics in Trials to Treat COVID-19
by Srividya Ravi
This report provides an analysis of patents covering medicines in trials to treat COVID-19. The aim of the report is to support national patent offices and interested parties in developing countries with information that can serve as guidance for the examination of the claims contained in relevant patents or patent applications.
The medicines considered for the patent analysis in this report are remdesivir, ruxolitinib, favipiravir, molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir, and the biotherapeutics tocilizumab, siltuximab and sarilumab.
An Examination of Selected Public Health Exceptions in Asian Patent Laws
By Kiyoshi Adachi
This study examines the variations within Asia of two exceptions to patent rights that are commonly justified under Article 30 of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the TRIPS Agreement), namely the research and experimentation exception and the regulatory review (or “Bolar”) exception. Both these exceptions are important in the context of the 2001 Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health insofar as they are designed to provide flexibility to protect public health and support countries’ overall scientific and technological aspirations. The study examines, from a comparative perspective, examples of these respective exceptions in patent legislation in South, Southeast and East Asia, and identifies peculiarities in the variations among countries in these sub-regions.
