Intellectual Property Law and Access to Medicine : TRIPS Agreement, Health, and Pharmaceuticals

The history of patent harmonisation is a story of dynamic actors, whose interactions with established structures shaped the patent regime. From the inception of the trade regime to include intellectual property (IP) rights to the present, this book documents the role of different sets of actors - states, transnational business corporations, or civil society groups - and their influence on the structures - such as national and international agreements, organisations, and private entities - that have caused changes to healthcare and access to medication. Presenting the debates over patents, trade, and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), as it galvanised non-state and nonbusiness actors, the book highlights how an alternative framing and understanding of pharmaceutical patent rights emerged: as a public issue, instead of a trade or IP issue.