hythorn: it is really simple and I cannot begin to think why you consider this to be dangerous for a nation's healthcare program in order to insist on more generics being prescribed, each healthcare entity needs to beef up its national formulary
This is Oxfam's view on what would happen with this agreement in place. An impact on developing countries with developing healthcare systems, denied cheap, generic drugs.
oxfam: Trade ministers from the countries negotiating ACTA will meet in Lucerne, Switzerland to discuss controversial rules that would strengthen and expand monopolies of multinational drug companies in developing countries. In its current form, the Agreement will inhibit generic competition and will have a devastating impact on access to medicines in developing countries. The Agreement as it stands empowers multinational drug companies to ask customs officers in exporting, transit and importing countries to seize legitimate and safe generic medicines on the false grounds that they are counterfeit goods. The EU, in particular, is insisting that customs officials should be able to seize medicines for patent infringement - even through the patent status of a medicine bears no relationship to whether it is counterfeit."Negotiating countries are cynically using legitimate fears of counterfeit medicines to exert greater control over the trade in generic medicines to poor countries," said Oxfam spokesperson Rohit Malpani. "ACTA is proposing a new, expanded framework of intellectual property protections on behalf of multinational drug companies which will be combined with border measures to stifle the trade in legitimate generic medicines. This will mean that poor people will be denied legitimate and life-saving generic medicines."
It would be devastating to everyone. It would mean that drugs new will be put on hold even before the mega-pharmaceuticals battle it out in the courts to deicide who's "idea" the drug was. In the mean time, it denies drugs to the (usually poorest) people who need it the most. Like I said, lives will be lost.
hythorn: if the patent for an Rx expires, you can make a generic version, if it hasn't, you can't
Not with ACTA in place you can't.
This is from http://infojustice.org/archives/5719
infojustice.org: "The most likely rationale for actionable trademark confusion is a result of the fact that both brand name and generic medicines must display the drug’s international non-proprietary name (“INN”) for the active ingredient.# In addition, both the generic and original manufacturers of the drugs could use portions of the drugs non-proprietary name in their branding, while also using similar trade dress to ensure consistency and bioequivalence for consumers. These necessarily similar factors might be perceived as confusing and therefore infringing, given the low standards present in ACTA. Once generic drugs are suspected or determined to have infringed on an intellectual property right, those involved in their production and distribution are subject to a host of enforcement provisions, which are of equal concern."
Great... let's lock up the doctors too!
There isn't a facepalm big enough in the world for this "treaty".
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