Title: Patent Rights and Access to Medicines: Are Patents Really the Only Barrier for Good Health Care in Developing Countries?
Abstract: The scope of this chapter is threefold: The first is the analysis of problems arising with the adoption of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement between access to medicine on the one side and the patent owner's rights on the other side. The second is the availability of alternatives for an international patent system and whether these solutions more adequately meet the needs of developing countries. The third one is a cursory examination of other restraints which impede the provision of health care in developing countries. Prior to the TRIPS Agreement, the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property governed international patent relations.Keywords: access to medicine; health care infrastructure; patent rights; TRIPS agreement