Generic drugs:
pharmaceutical products that are marketed under are non-proprietary or
approved name rather than a proprietary name, and whose patent has either
expired or is still valid. Generic drugs usually have the same effectiveness
of brand-name drugs but are sold at a significantly cheaper price.
Reverse Engineering:
the process by which a
drug is analyzed so that its components are known then replicated. Reverse
engineering were not a violation of agreements prior to the TRIPS as those
protected only the ‘process’ rather than the ‘final product’ which is now
also protected under TRIPS.
Compulsory licensing:
the grant by a government of permission to a third party to exploit a
patented invention.
Parallel importation:
the importation of patented products from a third country where the products
are cheaper.
TRIPS flexibilities:
sections of the agreement that allow governments latitude in the enforcement
of the agreement to allow for national concerns such as, but not limited to,
health emergencies.
TRIPS plus:
trade agreements, usually with the United States of America, that impose
obligations on states that go beyond the TRIPS obligations.
Doha Declaration:
a declaration of the WTO
member states on TRIPS and public health, reiterating flexibilities in TRIPS
with regard to health.
Article 6 of the Doha
declaration
called on member states to expeditiously find a solution for states that do
not have manufacturing capacity.
Ministerial Decision of 30 August
was a decision by the Ministerial Council of the WTO in 2003 that allowed
parallel importation of generic medicines under very restricted
circumstances
