Developing Nations and the Compulsory License: Maximizing Access to Essential Medicines While Minimizing Investment Side Effects

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See Mercurio , supra note 1.

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According to Article 31 of TRIPS, a compulsory license may not be issued unless the proposed user has made unsuccessful reasonable efforts to obtain authorization from the rights holder on reasonable commercial terms. Member states can bypass the reasonable efforts requirement in case of a national emergency, extreme urgency, or for public non-commercial use (see Vaughan , supra 8; TRIPS, supra note 16). Furthermore, any compulsory license must be terminated when the need for it ceases and the rights holder must be paid adequate compensation for the license, taking into account the economic value of the authorizations ( Yu P. K. , “The International Enclosure Movement,” Indiana Law Journal 8, no. 4 [2007]: 827–907; see TRIPS , supra note 16). The Doha Declaration, written after TRIPS, affirmed the right of nations to issue compulsory licenses and to determine the grounds upon which such licenses may be granted within the confines of TRIPS. For a more detailed discussion of the Doha Declaration, see Outterson K. , “Should Access to Medicines and TRIPS Flexibilities be Limited to Specific Diseases?” American Journal of Law and Medicine 34, nos. 2–3 (2008): 279–301; and Cahoy D. R. , “Confronting Myths and Myopia on the Road From Doha,” Georgia Law Review 42, no. 1 (2007): 131–192.

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Id. (Castellano), at 289; Allam A. , (2002), “Seeking Investment, Egypt Tries Patent Laws,” New York Times, October 4, at W1.

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See Castellano , supra note 29.

See Allam , supra note 30.

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See TRIPS, supra note 16.

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Id. (Edelman).

See Mercurio , supra note 1.

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See Bird Cahoy , supra note 29.

Id.; Passarelli C. Terto V. Jr. , “Good Medicine: Brazil's Multifront War on AIDS,” NACLA Report on the Americas 35, no. 5 (2002): 35–52.

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See Bird Cahoy , supra note 29.

Looking back, it is possible to conclude that the dispute between Brazil and the United States was not even necessary. According to one commentator, the Brazilian government could have produced the needed drugs in state owned labs for free, thereby falling under the “public non-commercial use” exception of TRIPS Article 31 ( Wilson C. A. D. , “The TRIPS Agreement: Is it Beneficial to the Developing World or Simply a Tool Used to Protect Pharmaceutical Profits for Developed World Manufacturers?” Journal of Technology Law and Policy 10, no. 2 [2005]: 243–264.) Perhaps an equally important lesson from Brazil's campaign, then, is to avoid entering such public disputes in the first place.

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