Arab countries need to adopt a new approach to make the most of their TRIPS commitments, Niveen Wahish discovers while talking to a top intellectual property official "Dream, imagine, invent, innovate..." runs a 30-second advert on World Intellectual Property Day. This is the World Intellectual Property Organisation's (WIPO) core message, stressing the benefits of intellectual property rights. Sadly, this message has not been fully understood by the Arab world, Sherif Saadallah, director of the WIPO Arab Bureau, told Al- Ahram Weekly. "Thus far Intellectual Property (IP) laws have been misunderstood as not being in the interest of the general public," he said. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of IP are patents, particularly with respect to pharmaceuticals. The prevailing view is that the application of trade related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) will lead to an unacceptable rise in the price of medicines. The TRIPS agreement came into force in 1995 after the establishment of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1994 at Marrakesh. However, an extension until 2000 was granted to developing countries to bring their national laws into compliance with TRIPS requirements. A further five-year transitional period, until 2005, has been granted for pharmaceuticals. Although there are still three years before the final deadline, the TRIPS debate is already heating up. While international pharmaceutical companies wish to protect their costly investments in new compounds and medicines (which are said to amount to some $500 million), developing countries claim that the companies are exaggerating their costs, and their products must be made more affordable. However, Saadallah is adamant that at least 80 per cent of medicines in use are already in the public domain, hence not protected by patents. Patent protection is granted for a 20-year period after which medicines fall into the public domain, that is, anyone can use or reproduce them without permission or payment. Saadallah also stressed that the government can negotiate the price of patented medicines with any given manufacturer. Should negotiations fail, the government could issue a compulsory licence in cases of national emergency. "The problem in developing countries is that we don't look closely at agreements," Saadallah said. He cited the example of Anthrax, where the US and Canada decided that the company owning the patent for the Anthrax antidote was not producing the required quantities at the right price. The authorities simply issued a compulsory licence. "We [Arab countries] don't know the extent of our rights. We can use [compulsory licences] in case of emergencies and epidemics," he added. However, the TRIPS patent system not only affects users, but manufacturers as well. Saadallah stressed that the pharmaceutical industry must understand the system they've been following so far "is over", and must adopt a new strategy for survival. "Currently there is an infrastructure for a huge [pharmaceuticals] industry. This might be lost," he said. Saadlallah added that pharmaceutical companies used to operate in an environment where IP was not protected. With the new national IP law and international monitoring, these producers might face closure if they do not evolve. He pointed out that there is a mechanism within the WTO which monitors member country laws, ensuring compliance with TRIPS. Copies of the national laws are presented to members of the WTO, who read it and present questions. If the national laws do not correlate with the country's international commitments, a complaint to the WTO can be filed. At present, there are many IP related disputes, none of which involve developing countries. However, this may not be for long. The Egyptian IPR law, which was ratified by parliament earlier this summer, is currently being translated by WIPO, after which it will be referred to the WTO for a reading. "It's a process that takes between three months and a year," Saadallah said. Although WIPO lacks any enforcement mechanisms, it advises on possible options for member countries and provides legal and technical assistance. Saadallah was puzzled by Egyptian pharmaceuticals' producers, who insist on producing the latest medicines. Under TRIPS, this will no longer be possible unless they have a licence or pay for the patent. He advised Egyptian pharmaceuticals' producers to follow India's lead, and concentrate on making and exporting generics, that is, medicines that are now in the public domain. "India exports $7-$8 billion worth of generics annually," he said. "This is not the end of the road, our industries will not close down. However, producers have to adopt a different strategy to survive," he added. Saadallah also highlighted that pharmaceutical companies spent "90 per cent of their research and development budget producing medicine for 10 per cent of the world's population." He suggested that developing countries should support research and development of medicines important for developing countries. Arab countries have the capacity to undertake this research and development. Indeed, Saadallah stressed that there is great scope for work in this area. "Should companies from developing countries come up with medicines for endemic diseases they will register record sales," he added. Intellectual property is not a new issue for the Arab region. The region has had IP laws for decades, the problem, however, is lack of application. Moreover, Arab laws before TRIPS protected the manufacturing process, but not the product. With TRIPS, both the process and the end-product are protected. All Arab countries are members of WIPO, except Syria, which is party to the Paris Convention, one of the treaties overseen by WIPO.
