Health Technologies and International Intellectual Property Law

From the late twentieth century onwards, several global virus transmissions have exposed the lack of a mature legal framework in international public health to provide prompt, concrete and specific guidance during a large-scale emergency. This book brings together international trade law and intellectual property law to show how risk analysis and a precautionary approach should be taken in the intellectual property regime to enable states to issue a compulsory licence of a drug patent in order to enhance access to medicines in a public health emergency.

Phoebe Li is a research assistant at the Univeristy of Edinburgh, UK.

Part 1: Setting the Scene 1. Introduction: The Dilema - the Need for a Holistic Approach 2. The Solution Part 2: Current Landscape 3. The Development of the Precautionary Approach 4. The Precautionary Approach in International Law 5. The Different Faces of the Precautionary Approach in Intellectual Property Part 3: Recommendations 6. The Precautionary Approach in Compulsory Licensing 7. Conclusion: The Precautionary Approach as a Means to Differentiate Health Technologies in Intellectual Property