Publication of the week: Mr Jae Sundaram

Sundaram, J., “Access to Medicines and the TRIPS Agreement: What Next for Sub-Saharan Africa?”, Information & Communications Technology Law 24.3 (2015), 242-261. DOI: 10.1080/13600834.2015.1084679.

When the proposal for an international intellectual property (IP) rights protection was included as an item in the agenda for negotiation in the Uruguay Round of World Trade Organization negotiations, it was strongly opposed by developing countries including Brazil, India, Argentina and other nations from sub-Saharan Africa. One of the chief areas of concern for the developing countries and LDCs was the difficulty of accessing affordable medicines under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) regime. Concessions were gained by developing countries in the form of Doha Declaration, to invoke the emergency provisions of the Agreement in times of need to access essential medicines for their citizens. This was not to be the case, as the ground realities were difficult to manoeuvre and there were more impediments to invoking the flexibilities than originally perceived. This article suggests that the best option available for sub-Saharan Africa is seeking an outright amendment of the TRIPS Agreement, as working within the parameters of the Agreement to achieve the goal of access to affordable medicines is not viable. It is also argued that unless sub-Saharan Africa acts urgently to seek the amendment it may be too late, as it could find itself left behind by both developing countries from other continents and patent-holding developed countries alike.

Read more on the Taylor & Francis website.

Mr Jae Sundaram is a Senior Lecturer in International Trade and Maritime Law. A dual qualified lawyer, Jae practised for a number of years before taking to academics. He specialised in Maritime Law and International Trade Law in his LLM and taught at the University of Plymouth before moving to Buckingham. He teaches International Trade and Maritime Law, Law of World Trade, and Commercial Conflict of Laws in the LLM Programme. He is also a tutor for Torts and Contract Law in the LLB Programme.  His research interests focus on Maritime Law, International Trade, World Trade, and Commercial Conflict of Laws.