[Intellectual property rights and right of access to medicines]

Abstract

The agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (trips) was established in 1994 simultaneously with the founding of the world trade organization (wto). the TRIPS agreement requires all WTO member states to grant patent protection for pharmaceutical products or processes for a period of at least 20 years. However only a few of the hundreds of pharmaceutical products patented every year involve new molecules. It is increasingly urgent to enhance the transparency and efficiency of the patenting process for pharmaceutical products. It is especially important for developing countries to increase scrutiny of how patents are processed and granted. This is necessary to prevent the detrimental effects of patenting of non-innovative products on access to medicines.