Report Examines Intersection Of Human Rights, Health And Intellectual Property

The Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks” blog highlights a paper (.pdf) from Yale’s Global Health Justice Partnership, a joint initiative of Yale Law School and Yale School of Public Health, in which the authors “seek to counter the weight given to intellectual property rights with human rights laws, conventions, and arguments,” noting “too often developing countries, fearing economic consequences if they prioritize health over intellectual property, enforce patent protections that keep life-saving drugs out of reach.” The blog continues, “An exploration of one of the landmarks of the once uncharted intersection of health and human rights, ‘A Human Rights Approach to Intellectual Property and Access to Medicines’ also is a handbook for treatment access advocates,” noting, “In addition to a delineation of arguments against international trade laws that impede access to treatment, it includes appendices of relevant cases and documents” (Barton, 9/10).

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