Using Patent Law as a means of ensuring affordable access to essential medicines

FIELD was approached by Oxfam GB to assess the legal and policy issues arising in a dispute between the US and Brazil over Brazilian laws that require the 'local working' of pharmaceutical patents. Elements of the Brazilian laws that were challenged by the US under the WTO's Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) are designed to ensure poor populations have access to affordable medicines for treating HIV and other diseases.

FIELD mobilised research and analysis on this extremely complex area of international and domestic law, seeking input from several other experts. Although the US eventually succumbed to pressure to withdraw its complaint, it reserved the right to reopen the issue should Brazil or another country seek to enforce it against a US-based corporation. In anticipation of a renewed dispute, efforts continue to clarify and protect the right of governments to use intellectual property laws to ensure access to essential medicines.