WTO TRIPS Agreement – the Cabinet Expects to Finish the Legal Procedure before the End of 2009.

　World Trade Organization (WTO) has inserted Article 31bis to the text of the Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), which allows WTO members that do not have the capacity to manufacture required drugs to import them under a compulsory license.  The said Article is added to solve the problem of less developed countries lacking the capacity to manufacture required drugs at the occurrences of serious lethal epidemics.  The Cabinet recently approved the above WTO’s Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement and expected the Legislative Yuan to finish the legal procedure before the end of 2009.

　Pursuant to the provisions of Article 31 of the TRIPS Agreement, WTO’s member can authorize any third party other than the right holder to manufacture brand-name drugs under compulsory licenses.  However, the said Article did not explicitly regulate whether WTO’s member lacking the ability to manufacture drugs can obtain these drugs from other WTO’s member.  To solve this issue, WTO has passed Article 31bis in 2005 for allowing less developed countries to obtain brand-name drugs from other WTO’s members under compulsory licenses to combat epidemics such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

　The proposed amendment, Article 31bis, is the first instance for WTO to make any amendment to the TRIPS Agreement since the organization first established.  All WTO members should ratify the said amendment before 31 December 2009.  (2008.04)    

/DC