Flynn, Matthew --- "Corporate Power and State Resistance: Brazil’s Use of TRIPS Flexibilities for its National AIDS Program" [2011] ELECD 958; in Shadlen, C. Kenneth; Guennif, Samira; Guzmán , Alenka; Lalitha, N. (eds), "Intellectual Property, Pharmaceuticals and Public Health" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011)

Book Title: Intellectual Property, Pharmaceuticals and Public Health

Editor(s): Shadlen, C. Kenneth; Guennif, Samira; Guzmán , Alenka; Lalitha, N.

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781849800143

Section: Chapter 6

Section Title: Corporate Power and State Resistance: Brazil’s Use of TRIPS Flexibilities for its National AIDS Program

Author(s): Flynn, Matthew

Number of pages: 29

Extract:

6. Corporate power and state
resistance: Brazil's use of TRIPS
flexibilities for its National AIDS
Program1
Matthew Flynn

Brazil provides one of the most unique cases for exploring the impact
of intellectual property on sustaining a social program based on social
democratic principles. In 1996, Brazil passed legislation mandating the
state to provide expensive anti-retroviral (ARV) medication to its citi-
zens who have contracted the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that
causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Also in 1996,
Brazil was one of the first countries to change its domestic patent laws as a
result of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
(TRIPS), one of the pillars of the global trading system governed by the
newly created World Trade Organization (WTO). In terms of both TRIPS
and universal AIDS treatment, Brazil was ahead of its time. The country
subsequently became one of the first countries to begin resorting to the use
of the humanitarian safeguards outlined in the TRIPS accord. Specifically,
Brazil began using compulsory licenses to drive down the price of medi-
cines. By allowing other producers to enter the market, this legal device
allows states to remove the market exclusivity a patent holder retains to
set monopoly prices.
A close review of the Brazilian experience with the TRIPS accord and
use of its flexibilities provides insight into the different forms of corporate
power and state resistance related to intellectual property (IP). Brazil's
experience with using TRIPS flexibilities reveals the importance of insti-
...