Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
PRNewswire - November 16, 2005
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Defenders of Property Rights (DPR) today announced its optimism that the Brazilian government has backed away from its threats to seize American AIDS drug patents. DPR points to the fact that Brazilian Health Minister Saraiva Felipe issued a bulletin to the National Council on Health stating the government's opinion that levels of HIV and AIDS are "under control" in Brazil, which has previously been Brazil's justification for breaking patents on anti-AIDS drugs.
"While encouraging, only time and action will tell if Brazil's sudden reversal of policy will become more than talk," said Nancie Marzulla, president of Defenders of Property Rights. "If Brazil does break patents, the world will now see the act for what it truly is -- out and out theft," she added.
Defenders of Property Rights has been urging the Brazilian government for nearly a year not to take the dangerous, precedent-setting move of seizing patents on three U.S.- AIDS drugs. DPR has also worked to raise awareness for U.S. policy makers on the importance of protecting intellectual property abroad, particularly in Brazil. Defenders of Property Rights has also called on U.S. Trade Representative Robert Portman to question Brazil about its poor record of protecting American intellectual property rights. The Brazilian government had long argued that Brazil was in the midst of an AIDS "health emergency" and that a compulsory license abrogating patents would be issued if lower costs were not negotiated with American manufacturers.
Defenders of Property Rights ran a full-page, paid advertisement in the November 1, 2005 edition of Washington, DC's Washington Times newspaper to further call public attention to the issue. The advertisement urged revocation of Brazil's GSP trade status if Brazil's abuse of American intellectual property rights continues. The ad was timed to run during the current review of the GSP program prior to its expiration at the end of 2006.
Last month, DPR submitted a formal petition in response to the Office of the United States Trade Representative's call for public comment on the GSP program. DPR requested that Brazil's preferred GSP trade status be revoked in light of the country's record on intellectual property rights. Brazil's stands as the number one abuser of IP rights in the Western Hemisphere costing American businesses an estimated $900 million in losses in 2003 alone, according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA).
About Defenders of Property Rights
Defenders of Property Rights was founded in 1991 to counterbalance the governmental threat to private property as a result of a broad range of regulations. Defenders believes that society can achieve important social objectives such as protection of our environment and preservation of our national heritage without destroying private property rights or undermining free market principles. For further information, please contact: John Procter at 202-772-2179 or jprocter@dcgpr.com.
SOURCE Defenders of Property Rights
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