Comments on the Pharmaceutical Patents Review Draft Report 2013
Submission Date: 2 May 2013
The Intellectual Property Committee of the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia (the IPC) provided comments in relation to the Pharmaceutical Patents Review Draft Report 2013 (the Draft Report). The IPC has chosen not to comment on all of the recommendations contained in the Draft Report.
Draft recommendation 4.1
As an interim measure, the Government should actively seek the agreement of the owners of Australian pharmaceutical patents to voluntarily agree not to enforce their patents in respect of manufacturing for export.
In relation to this recommendation, the IPC notes that the Government is still considering public submissions on the Draft Exposure Intellectual Property Laws Bill 2012. Under Schedules 1 and 2 of this Bill, Australian generic medicine producers would be able to export patented pharmaceuticals to developing and least developed countries under a compulsory licence from the Federal Court. Such a licence would only be granted under strict conditions that balance the interests of patent owners, generic manufacturers and importing countries.
These amendments to the Patents Act 1990 (Cth) (the Patents Act) will bring about Australia’s compliance with the requirements of the 2003 Doha Declaration on public health and the terms of proposed art 31bis of the TRIPS Agreement. Given the present state of the parliamentary agenda in an election year, however, it may be that these amendments will not be passed for some time.
Last Updated on 27/05/2025
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