Report Released at IP Global Congress Warns of ACTA's Potential Impact on Access to Medicines

International Participants to Deliberate Report, Other IP Concerns

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Megan Smith, Public Relations Coordinator, 202-895-4537

WASHINGTON, DC, August 25, 2011 -- The opening session of the Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest was held at American University Washington College of Law on Thursday, August 25, 2011, where a draft report on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and the public interest commissioned by the EU Parliament Green Party was released.

The report specifically addresses the threats to public access to medicines posed by ACTA. Sean Flynn, associate director of the law school’s Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property (PIJIP), authored the draft which outlines two central arguments against the proposed agreement.

“First, the secretive nature of the ACTA negotiation process undermined the ability for stakeholders—consumers, patients, and average citizens—to participate in the drafting of this agreement,” says Flynn. “Further, ACTA’s provisions require or encourage member countries to raise IP enforcement standards on medicines. This includes developing countries. So, parts of this agreement only keep a small group of commercial interests in mind, yet could negatively impact public health worldwide.”

During the Global Congress from Aug. 25-27, 2011, experts and advocates working on international IP issues will share research, ideas, and policy proposals for how international IP law can better protect global public interest concerns. The EU’s considerations of ACTA as well as U.S. involvement in the upcoming Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations are topics of discussion in addition to the contents of the report.

The draft report can be viewed online, and will be open for public comment for 30 days. Comments can also be sent to the publicly archived mailing list.

For more information or for media inquiries, please contact Megan Smith (megans@wcl.american.edu). Highlights and information about the Global Congress can be found on American University Washington College of Law’s Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property website.

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American University Washington College of Law

In 1896, American University Washington College of Law became the first law school in the country founded by women. More than 100 years since its founding, this law school community is grounded in the values of equality, diversity, and intellectual rigor. The law school's nationally and internationally recognized programs (in clinical legal education, trial advocacy, international law, and intellectual property to name a few) and dedicated faculty provide its 1700 JD, LL.M., and SJD students with the critical skills and values to have an immediate impact as students and as graduates, in Washington, DC and around the world. For more information, visit wcl.american.edu.