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En balans mellan läkemedelspatent och mänskliga rättigheter

Blomberg, Siri LU (2021) LAGF03 20212
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
On March 11, 2020, the spread of Covid-19 was classified as pandemic by the World Health Organization. Throughout the pandemic more than 280 million cases have been confirmed and more than 5.4 million people have lost their lives. The pandemic has led to an increased attention to the relation between human rights and patent protection.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze whether there is a balance between patent protection for pharmaceutical products and the right to health in accordance with article 12 of the ICESCR. On the one hand the incentive system created through patent protection warrants protection, but on the other hand the right to health requires access to medicines. Compulsory licensing of medicines in accordance with... (More)
On March 11, 2020, the spread of Covid-19 was classified as pandemic by the World Health Organization. Throughout the pandemic more than 280 million cases have been confirmed and more than 5.4 million people have lost their lives. The pandemic has led to an increased attention to the relation between human rights and patent protection.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze whether there is a balance between patent protection for pharmaceutical products and the right to health in accordance with article 12 of the ICESCR. On the one hand the incentive system created through patent protection warrants protection, but on the other hand the right to health requires access to medicines. Compulsory licensing of medicines in accordance with articles 31 and 31bis of the TRIPS Agreement provides an opportunity for states to protect the right to health through access to medicines. Be that as it may, insufficient patent protection means that the incentives for pharmaceutical companies to develop pharmaceutical innovations disappear. The thesis examines this balance of rights with consideration to the current Covid-19 pandemic.

The thesis concludes that at the time of writing there is no balance between patent protection for medicines and the right to health. This is due to a discrepancy between the theoretical possibility of issuing compulsory licenses in accordance with articles 31 and 31bis of the TRIPS Agreement and the actual possibility of issuing such compulsory licenses. In order to achieve a balance, changes must be made to both the possibilities for compulsory licensing and the current incentive system. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Den 11 mars 2020 klassificerades spridningen av Covid-19 som en pandemi av världshälsoorganisationen. Sedan dess har över 280 miljoner människor smittats och 5,4 miljoner människor avlidit. Utvecklingen av pandemin har inneburit att diskussionen avseende mänskliga rättigheter och patentskydd återupptagits.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera huruvida det föreligger en adekvat balans mellan patentskydd för läkemedel och rätten till hälsa i enlighet med artikel 12 ICESCR. Intressekonflikten består i å ena sidan incitamentssystemet som skapas genom patentskydd, å andra sidan tillgång till läkemedel. Tvångslicensiering av läkemedel i enlighet med artikel 31 och 31bis TRIPS-avtalet innebär en möjlighet för stater att skydda rätten till... (More)
Den 11 mars 2020 klassificerades spridningen av Covid-19 som en pandemi av världshälsoorganisationen. Sedan dess har över 280 miljoner människor smittats och 5,4 miljoner människor avlidit. Utvecklingen av pandemin har inneburit att diskussionen avseende mänskliga rättigheter och patentskydd återupptagits.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera huruvida det föreligger en adekvat balans mellan patentskydd för läkemedel och rätten till hälsa i enlighet med artikel 12 ICESCR. Intressekonflikten består i å ena sidan incitamentssystemet som skapas genom patentskydd, å andra sidan tillgång till läkemedel. Tvångslicensiering av läkemedel i enlighet med artikel 31 och 31bis TRIPS-avtalet innebär en möjlighet för stater att skydda rätten till hälsa genom att säkerställa tillgång till läkemedel. Ett bristande patentskydd innebär däremot att incitamenten för läkemedelsföretag att utveckla nya läkemedel försvinner. Uppsatsen utreder denna jämvikt med särskilt beaktande av rådande Covid-19 pandemi.

I uppsatsen nås slutsatsen att det i skrivande stund inte föreligger en rimlig balans mellan patentskydd för läkemedel och rätten till hälsa. Detta beror på en diskrepans mellan den teoretiska möjligheten att utfärda tvångslicenser i enlighet artikel 31 och 31bis TRIPS-avtalet och möjligheten att förverkliga dessa i praktiken. För att uppnå en balans krävs därför en förändring av dels möjligheten till tvångslicensiering, dels det nuvarande incitamentssystemet. (Less)
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author
Blomberg, Siri LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGF03 20212
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Immaterialrätt, Folkrätt, TRIPS-avtalet
language
Swedish
id
9070587
date added to LUP
2022-02-15 11:31:35
date last changed
2022-02-15 11:31:35
@misc{9070587,
  abstract     = {{On March 11, 2020, the spread of Covid-19 was classified as pandemic by the World Health Organization. Throughout the pandemic more than 280 million cases have been confirmed and more than 5.4 million people have lost their lives. The pandemic has led to an increased attention to the relation between human rights and patent protection. 

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze whether there is a balance between patent protection for pharmaceutical products and the right to health in accordance with article 12 of the ICESCR. On the one hand the incentive system created through patent protection warrants protection, but on the other hand the right to health requires access to medicines. Compulsory licensing of medicines in accordance with articles 31 and 31bis of the TRIPS Agreement provides an opportunity for states to protect the right to health through access to medicines. Be that as it may, insufficient patent protection means that the incentives for pharmaceutical companies to develop pharmaceutical innovations disappear. The thesis examines this balance of rights with consideration to the current Covid-19 pandemic.

The thesis concludes that at the time of writing there is no balance between patent protection for medicines and the right to health. This is due to a discrepancy between the theoretical possibility of issuing compulsory licenses in accordance with articles 31 and 31bis of the TRIPS Agreement and the actual possibility of issuing such compulsory licenses. In order to achieve a balance, changes must be made to both the possibilities for compulsory licensing and the current incentive system.}},
  author       = {{Blomberg, Siri}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{En balans mellan läkemedelspatent och mänskliga rättigheter}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}